Kazhutha, Gadha, Bhabhi: one game, many names

Ask five Indian families what they call this card game and you may get five answers. Most of them mean the same thing, donkey, because that is what the loser becomes. Here is a guide to the names, the house rules that change from home to home, and the version you can play on this site.

Why “Donkey”?

The game has no winner in the usual sense: players drop out one by one as they get rid of their cards, and the last one left holding cards gets the title. Being called a donkey in front of your cousins is the whole fun of it, so in most languages the game is simply named after the animal.

The name in your language

The word for donkey in a few Indian languages. Many families simply use that word for the game:

If your family uses a different name, we would love to hear it. Tell us through the contact page.

Bhabhi, Thulla and Getaway

In Punjab, across north India and in Pakistan the same game is called Bhabhi or Thulla (often Bhabhi Thulla), and in English rule books it is Getaway. The heart of the game is the same: follow suit, and if you can't, play another suit so that the highest card of the led suit picks up the pile. The last player holding cards is the Bhabhi instead of the Donkey. Read more about Bhabhi and Thulla.

What is it called in English?

People often search for the English name of their family's game. The answer is Donkey, a straight translation of Kazhutha and Gadha, or Getaway, the name used in English card-game books. There is also a British children's game called “Donkey” (pass cards to collect four of a kind, then grab a spoon), but that is a different game.

The words for a cut

The move where you can't follow suit and play another card has its own name too: a thulla in Bhabhi, a vettu (വെട്ട്) in Kazhutha, or simply a cut.

House rules that differ

Because the game is passed on by playing rather than from a rule book, every family has its own small differences. These are the questions that most often start an argument at the table:

• Who starts? The holder of the Ace of Spades, the player next to the dealer, or the loser of the last game.
• What happens to a clean round? Thrown away, with the highest card leading next. Almost everyone agrees on this one.
• Who picks up after a cut? The highest card of the led suit played so far. A few groups give the pile to the leader instead.
• Is there a penalty for losing? Some play single games, while others keep score across a session, with points, letters or Aces.
• Can the last two give up? Some groups let the last two players settle it straight away instead of playing on.

Which rules does this site use?

The most common ones, plus two popular family additions: Ace penalties across a session and the loser starting the next game. They are all on the How to play page.

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