How to play Begga Kaat

How the game works

Begga Kaat is a penalty game played in tricks, with no trump suit at all. Some cards carry penalty points, and whoever wins a trick takes the points in it. Points add up from round to round, and the aim is to keep well away from the target score: reach it and you lose.

A few local words come up all the time:

Word	Meaning
Chaal	A trick
Colour	A suit
Paan	Hearts
Begam	A queen
Dugi	A two
Safar	A round with no points (from sifar, zero)
Trepany	One player taking all 53 points in a round

Kaat, the second half of the name, is the moment a player who has none of the led colour throws a penalty card into a chaal that someone else will win.

The cards and the deal

With four players, deal the whole 52-card pack, 13 cards each. With three, first take out one dugi of any colour except paan, leaving 51 cards, 17 each. The two of hearts has to stay because it carries a penalty point.

There is no fixed rule for choosing the first dealer. Some tables deal cards face up, one at a time, and whoever gets the first jack deals. After that, the player with the highest running total deals each new round.

The penalty cards

Card	Penalty
Queen of hearts (paan begam)	11 points
Queen of spades, clubs and diamonds	10 points each
Every other heart (A, K, J and 10 down to 2)	1 point each

That makes 53 penalty points in every round. All other cards are worth nothing. An easy way to remember the paan begam: it is a queen (10) and a heart (1) at once.

Playing a chaal

The player on the dealer’s left leads the first chaal, and play goes clockwise. After that, whoever wins a chaal leads the next.

• The leader may lead any card. No colour is barred, so hearts and queens can be led at any time.
• Everyone else must follow the led colour if they can. Playing high or low is up to them.
• A player with none of the led colour may play any card at all, including a begam or a paan card. This is the kaat, the chance to get rid of a dangerous card.
• A card of another colour can never win. The highest card of the led colour takes the chaal, and its winner adds every penalty point in it to their score.

Safar and trepany

Safar is the best result a round can bring: no penalty points at all.

Trepany is the worst: one player collecting all 53 points in a single round. Every other player then has safar. Trepany is just the name for this result, and the points stay where they fell: the player who took them keeps all 53. Players who know Hearts should note that there is no shooting the moon here.

Scoring and losing

Add each player’s points from the round to their running total. The player with the highest total deals the next round.

Before starting, agree the target. 100 is usual; a table may agree a higher target, never a lower one. The game ends as soon as a round finishes with any player at or over the target, and that player loses. If more than one player crosses the target in the same round, they all lose together. Everyone else is placed by their totals: the lowest total comes first, the next lowest second, and so on.

Quick reference

• 3 or 4 players, each playing alone; no trumps.
• Four players: 52 cards, 13 each. Three players: take out one 2 (not the two of hearts), 17 each.
• Penalties: Q♥ 11, the other queens 10 each, every other heart 1 each. 53 in all.
• Follow the led colour if you can; if not, throw anything, penalty cards included.
• The highest card of the led colour wins the chaal and its points.
• The player on the dealer’s left leads first; each chaal’s winner leads the next.
• Safar: no points in a round. Trepany: all 53.
• The highest total deals next. Reach the target (usually 100) and you lose.