How to Play

A four-player Indian partnership trick-taking game where teams race to capture the four tens, with the trump suit often kept secret until revealed in play.

Mendikot (also spelled Mendicot) is a four-player partnership trick-taking game popular in the western Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Partners sit opposite each other and play with a standard 52-card deck. Tricks themselves score nothing; what matters is the four tens. A partnership wins the deal if it captures at least three of the four tens in its tricks, or (when the tens split two-two) if it also wins at least seven of the thirteen tricks. Capturing all four tens is called a mendikot; capturing all four tens and every trick is a kot, the top possible outcome. Matches are played to an agreed score, most often seven rounds.

Players

Exactly four players, forming two fixed partnerships with partners sitting directly across from each other. Players cannot choose partners after the deal; seating is agreed at the start of the session.

Card Deck

• One standard 52-card deck, no jokers.
• Ranks within each suit, high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠9♠8♠7♠6♠5♠4♠3♠2♠
• The four tens are the scoring cards; nothing else has point value.
• One suit becomes the trump (called hukum in Hindi/Marathi) during play; it may or may not be revealed before the lead.

Objective

Win the deal by capturing at least three of the four tens in your partnership's tricks, or by capturing two tens plus the majority of tricks (7 or more). Capturing all four tens (mendikot) or all four tens plus all thirteen tricks (a kot) earns bonus recognition.

Setup and Deal

1. Choose the first dealer by drawing cards; the highest card deals and the role rotates counter-clockwise thereafter.
2. Shuffle the deck and deal counter-clockwise in packets: five cards to each player first, then two batches of four, so each player finishes with thirteen cards.
3. No card is placed on the table; the trump selection follows one of the agreed methods below.

Trump Selection

• Before the session begins, the four players must agree on one of three standard methods for choosing the trump (hukum) each deal:
• Open method: The player to the dealer's right draws a card from another hand at random and shows it to everyone; that suit is trump for the deal and the card is returned to its owner.
• Closed method: The player to the dealer's right chooses one card from their own hand and places it face down on the table; its suit becomes trump, but the card stays hidden until the holder plays it or is forced to reveal it.
• First discard method: No trump is fixed in advance. The first time a player is unable to follow suit, whatever card they discard names that deal's trump suit; from that point forward the trump functions normally.
• All four players should use the same method for the entire session; mixing methods mid-match is not allowed.

Gameplay

1. Lead: The player to the dealer's right leads any card to the first trick.
2. Follow suit: Each player in turn (counter-clockwise) must play a card of the led suit if they have one. A player who is void in the led suit may play any card, including a trump.
3. Trick winner: If any trumps are played, the highest trump wins the trick. Otherwise the highest card of the suit led wins. The winner leads to the next trick.
4. Trump reveal (closed method): If the holder of the hidden trump card chooses to play it, the suit is revealed when the card hits the table. Until then, the trump suit is secret, so partners may not know whether a discard is a trump or a plain off-suit card.
5. Captured cards: Each partnership gathers its won tricks into a single pile; at hand-end, the partnership counts only how many of the four tens it captured.

Scoring

• A partnership that captures three or four tens wins the deal outright.
• If the tens split 2-2, the partnership that won the majority of tricks (7 or more out of 13) wins the deal.
• A mendikot (all four tens) is announced and often earns a bonus point on the running scorecard.
• A kot (all four tens plus every trick) earns a larger bonus, typically counting double on the scorecard.
• The losing side deals the next hand; the same dealer re-deals on ties (rare).
• Match play continues until one side reaches the agreed target, commonly seven wins, or the group plays a set number of rounds.

Winning

A deal is won by the partnership that captures three or more tens, or that ties 2-2 on tens but holds the majority of tricks. A session ends when one partnership reaches the agreed match total; a mendikot or kot is worth additional score in most households. There are no negative scores; losing a deal simply forfeits the point to the other team.

Common Variations

• Open hukum: Some tables require the trump card to be placed face up on the table so every player knows the trump before leading.
• No-trump Mendikot: Eliminates the trump suit entirely; only the led suit matters. This tightens the endgame, especially when tens appear in short suits.
• Dehla Pakad style: Runs Mendikot together with Dehla Pakad scoring, accumulating tens across several deals as stepping points toward a match total.
• Bonus aces: A few household rules award an extra point for capturing all four aces alongside all four tens (sometimes called ultra-mendikot).
• Short Mendikot: Uses a 32-card pack (2s through 6s removed) dealt 8 cards each, for a quicker game.

Tips and Strategy

• Protect your tens by leading the ace of the same suit first; opponents are forced to follow with lower cards, clearing the way for your ten to fall safely to your partner.
• Discard low cards of your long suit when you are void to avoid handing an opponent's ten to your partnership by accident.
• Count trumps. Once the hukum suit has been played out, side-suit aces become the most dangerous winners; keep one high trump in reserve to ruff the opponent's ten if it appears.
• In the closed-trump variant, never reveal the trump suit prematurely. Only play the trump card to win a crucial trick or to capture a ten.
• If the tens split 2-2 early, switch focus to winning tricks. Seven of the thirteen tricks decides the hand when the tens are even, so count tricks carefully in the middle game.

Glossary

• Mendikot: Capturing all four tens in a single deal; the game's namesake.
• Kot: Capturing all four tens and all thirteen tricks; the top result.
• Hukum: The trump suit; a Hindi and Marathi term meaning "command".
• Closed trump: Trump chosen face down; not revealed until the card is played.
• Open trump: Trump revealed to the whole table before the first lead.
• Void: Having no cards of a given suit in hand, which lets a player play any card instead of following suit.