How to Play

Seep (Sip, Siv) is a partnership fishing card game from the Punjab and neighbouring regions of India and Pakistan. 4 players in 2 partnerships capture cards from a central floor by matching a played card to a pile whose values total that card's rank. Spades carry nearly all the scoring weight, and a sweep ('seep') earns a large bonus.

Seep (also Sip or Siv) is a partnership fishing card game from the Punjab and neighbouring regions of India and Pakistan. Four players in two partnerships capture cards from a central table by matching a card from hand to a pile whose values total that card's rank. Spades carry nearly all the scoring weight, and sweeping the table (a 'seep') earns a large bonus. A match is to a 100-point lead and typically lasts 30 to 60 minutes.

Players

4 players in two fixed partnerships, partners sitting across from each other. The deal and play are counter-clockwise, unusual for Western card games. The first dealer is chosen by cutting for the high card; the deal rotates counter-clockwise after each hand. Two-player and three-player variants exist and are covered under Variations.

Card Deck

One standard 52-card deck, no jokers. All four suits are used (clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades), but scoring weighs heavily toward spades. Card values for capture arithmetic: Ace counts as 1, number cards count their pip value (2 counts as 2, 3 as 3, ..., 10 as 10), Jack as 11, Queen as 12, King as 13.

Objective

Capture scoring cards into your team's pile over a series of hands and accumulate more points than the opposing team. The team that reaches a 100-point lead wins the overall match (a baazi). A deal in which a team scores fewer than 9 points loses the baazi immediately (see Winning).

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the deck thoroughly; the dealer offers it for a cut.
2. Deal 4 cards face-down to the player on the dealer's right (the 'house-maker'), then place 4 cards face-down on the table as the initial floor (centre cards), then deal 4 face-down to each of the other three players (counter-clockwise). These 4 table cards are turned face-up only after the house-maker announces a bid.
3. Opening bid (the house): The house-maker looks at their 4-card hand and must bid for a house from 9 to 13, a number that is both (a) the rank of a card they can see in their own hand (J=11, Q=12, K=13, number cards their pip value), and (b) a number for which they can actually create or capture a pile of that total from the 4 face-up floor cards. The house-maker may need to count the floor cards quickly (they are about to be revealed) to decide; in many groups the floor is revealed at the bidding moment so the house-maker can make an informed bid.
4. House-maker cannot bid: If the house-maker has no card ranked 9 through 13, the hand is dead: the cards are gathered, shuffled, and redealt by the same dealer.
5. Making the house: After bidding, the house-maker plays a card of the bid value from hand and claims floor cards that, together with the played card, total twice the bid value (so a 'house of 10' gathers floor cards totalling 10 plus the played 10, for a captured pile of value 10). Alternatively the house-maker may simply play the bid-value card to capture matching floor cards if such are available (for example, a bid that simply captures a + on the floor).10♠7♦3♣
6. Completing the deal: After the house-maker's opening play, the dealer deals the remaining cards: 4 more to each player in sequence until every player has a 12-card hand; no more cards go to the floor. The deck is now exhausted for this deal.

Gameplay

1. Turn order: Play continues counter-clockwise from the player after the house-maker. On each turn, a player must either capture, build / extend a house, or trail (see below). One card leaves the hand every turn.
2. Capture: Play a card from hand and collect floor cards (including any 'houses' already built) whose values sum to the played card's value. Capture any single matching card, any combination of cards summing to your played card, and any house whose capture value equals the played card's rank. Captured cards go face-down into your team's score pile. The played card joins the capture (not the floor).
3. Build a house (ordinary house): Combine cards from your hand with cards on the floor to form a pile with a specific capture value. For example, with a in hand and a + on the floor, you may announce 'a house of 10' and pile the on top, provided you also hold in hand another card of rank 10 (a 10 or a face-card of that value) which you reserve for a later capture. You may only create a house you can later capture with a card still in your hand.5♣3♦2♥5♣
4. Cement a house (pakki house): If another player has built an ordinary house, you may add a card from your hand to raise its capture value and 'cement' it (for example by adding a to an existing house of 10 to make a house of 13, provided you hold a King). A cemented house can only be captured by exactly the cemented value; it cannot be broken apart by another build. (Optional rule: once any house reaches a value above 13 it cannot exist and the play is illegal.)3♣
5. Break an ordinary house: If an opponent has built an ordinary (un-cemented) house that you can capture or rebuild, you may add a card from your hand to change its value (for example making a house of 9 into a house of 11), provided you hold a matching capture card. Cemented houses cannot be broken.
6. Trail: If you cannot capture, build, or alter a house on your turn, you must play one card from hand face-up onto the floor. It joins the loose floor cards and can be targeted by any player on later turns.
7. Mandatory capture: If your played card can capture a loose matching card on the floor, you must capture it; you cannot choose to trail instead.
8. End of hand: Play continues until every player has no cards left. Any cards remaining on the floor at that point go to the team whose player made the last capture of the deal.
9. Illegal play: Creating a house you cannot legally capture later (no matching card in hand, or a cemented house at a value you cannot match) is illegal; if caught, the house-maker plays a legal card instead and the play resumes.

Scoring

• Spade scoring: Every captured spade counts its face value in points for the capturing team. =1, =2, ..., =10, =11, =12, =13. This alone is 1+2+3+...+13 = 91 points.A♠2♠10♠J♠Q♠K♠
• Other Aces: Each of , , counts 1 point. Three extra points are available here.A♣A♦A♥
• : Counts 6 points. Known as 'chhota kes' in many Punjabi groups.10♦
• Grand total per deal: Spades (91) + three non-spade Aces (3) + (6) = 100 points exactly, distributed between the two teams.10♦
• Seep bonus (sweep): If on your turn you capture every loose card on the floor (leaving it empty), your team scores a 50-point bonus. Two exceptions: a seep on the very first play of the deal (the house-maker's opening capture) scores only 25; a seep on the very last play of the deal scores 0 (no bonus because there are no further plays).
• Shorter versions: A popular informal 30-point scoring system counts only , , , and the four Aces, with a majority bonus for the team holding more than half of spades and sweep bonuses equal to the rank value of the sweeping card; this is a casual shortcut.10♦9♠2♠

Winning

• Baazi win: The team that first leads by 100 points in cumulative scoring wins the match (called the baazi). The winning team may agree to play for the best of three baazis or any other tournament format.
• Under-9 automatic loss: If a team scores fewer than 9 points in any single deal, that team immediately loses the baazi regardless of running totals. This discourages pure defensive play and rewards the team that dominates a deal.
• Tie-breakers: If both teams score exactly 50 in a deal, that deal contributes nothing to the lead and play continues. If the match-ending lead is reached simultaneously (very rare), play one additional hand to break the tie.

Common Variations

• Two-player Seep: Head-to-head, same capture/build rules, no partnerships; each player scores individually. Hands are 12 cards from a 52-card deck with a 4-card floor; the same shuffle-and-deal procedure described above is used, just with two seats.
• Three-player Seep: Rare but playable. Every player for themselves with hands of either 12 or adjusted size; cards divide unevenly.
• Wildcard 30-point version: Only , , , and the four Aces count as numbered scoring cards; a majority-of-spades bonus is added; sweeps score the rank of the sweeping card, not a flat 50. Popular for quicker casual games.10♦9♠2♠
• No-cement variant: Houses cannot be cemented; they are always breakable. Shifts the tactical balance toward contested floor play.
• Variable baazi target: Match target lowered to 50 points for a shorter session, raised to 150 for a longer one.

Tips and Strategy

• Spade-capture dominates the score; every decision should weigh whether it puts spades in your team's pile or the opposing team's.
• The house-maker's opening bid sets the tone: bid a value that lets you place a house you control and that gives your partner information about your hand (your bid reveals you hold at least one card of that rank).
• Build houses only when you are confident you can capture them before an opponent can break or cement them against you. Keep the capturing card in mind at every moment; if it leaves your hand early, the house becomes a gift.
• Cementing a house is a defensive tool: once cemented, opponents cannot manipulate its value. If your partner has built a house, cementing it (when you hold the right card) locks it in.
• Watch the floor count as the hand draws to a close. The team that captures the last loose cards collects the residual; arranging your final plays so your partner or you take the last capture is worth several points in a typical deal.
• Mental arithmetic is the hallmark of strong Seep; practise summing combinations of floor cards to 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 at a glance.

Glossary

• Baazi: A complete match in Seep, traditionally first to a 100-point lead.
• Floor / centre: The face-up pile of cards on the table that players capture from and trail onto.
• Capture: To take floor cards (singly or in summed combinations) whose values total the played card's rank; captured cards go to the capturing team's score pile.
• House: A pile assembled on the floor by combining hand and floor cards, tagged with a specific capture value (9 to 13). Ordinary houses can be broken; cemented (pakki) houses cannot.
• Cemented house (pakki): A house built with two or more combinations that each total the announced value; cannot be broken or rebuilt, only captured at its exact value.
• Trail: To play a card onto the floor when no capture or build is possible; the card becomes new loose floor material.
• Seep / sweep: Capturing every loose card from the floor in one play; scores a 50-point bonus (25 on the opening play, 0 on the final play).
• House-maker: The player on the dealer's right in a 4-player deal who receives the first 4-card hand and opens the bid.
• Big-Kas / Little-Kas: Regional nicknames sometimes used for valuable spade cards such as or ; group-specific.A♠10♠