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Bhabho card game: the name, the rules, and the Pabho

Short answer
Bhabho is the name used in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana for the shedding card game known elsewhere as Bhabhi, Thulla, Getaway and Laad. It is the same game: the whole deck is dealt, the Ace of Spades leads, you follow the suit if you can, and if you can’t, the card you throw stops the round and whoever played the highest card of the led suit picks up the pile. The last player holding cards loses. In the Thulaa app that player is called the Pabho.

Bhabho, Bhabhi or Pabho?

Three spellings, one game. Bhabhi is the Punjabi and Hindi name, and the one you will see most often online. Bhabho is the form used in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana; families from those regions usually say Laad and Bhabho interchangeably. Pabho is not a regional name at all: it is simply what the Thulaa app calls the loser on its results screen. All three refer to the person left holding cards at the end of a round, which is how the game got its name in the first place.

If you came here looking for what the word Bhabhi means and why some tables avoid it, that is covered on the Bhabhi page. This page is about the game under its western name.

Where Bhabho is played

Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana at home, and wherever families from those states have settled: Mumbai, Leicester, New Jersey, Nairobi. The game travels with the people, not the name, so a table in London might have one player calling it Bhabho, one calling it Thulla and one calling it Getaway, all playing the same rules.

The rules

  1. Deal the whole deck. One 52-card deck, clockwise, one card at a time, until it is gone. Hands may be uneven.
  2. The Ace of Spades leads. Whoever holds it plays it first.
  3. Follow the suit. The first card of each round sets the suit. If everyone follows it, those cards are discarded for good and the highest card leads the next round.
  4. If you can’t, throw anything. That card is a thulla. The round stops at once, and whoever played the highest card of the led suit picks up every card on the table.
  5. Get out. Empty your hand and you are safe. The last player holding cards is the Bhabho.

That is the whole game. The full rules page has a worked example and the common household variations, and the seven beginner mistakes will save you your first few rounds.

Bhabho in the Thulaa app

Thulaa plays the Bhabho rules exactly as above, with four players at every table. Quick Play fills a table in about a minute; a private room takes a code you send to your group. The results screen names the loser the Pabho, the thulla gets its own animation, and the Ace of Spades still leads. How to play Bhabho online with friends.

FAQ

Bhabho: quick answers

01What is a Thulla in the Bhabhi card game?
A Thulla is an off-suit card played by someone who cannot follow the suit that was led. It stops the round immediately — nobody after them gets to play. Whoever played the highest card of the original suit must then pick up the entire pile and add it to their hand.
02Is Bhabhi the same as Thulla, Getaway and Donkey?
Yes. Bhabhi, Thulla, Getaway, Laad, Donkey, Bhabho, Kazhutha, Kalutai, Tochoo and Cangkul are regional names for the same game. The core rule is identical everywhere: follow the suit if you can, and if you can't, your off-suit card ends the trick.
03How many players do you need for Bhabhi?
Bhabhi needs at least three players and works well up to six with a single 52-card deck, but four is the classic table and by far the most common. The Thulaa app plays it as a pure four-player game: every table, whether Quick Play or a private room, seats exactly four.
04Can you play Bhabhi online with friends?
Yes. Thulaa is a free app for iPhone and Android that runs live four-player Bhabhi games. Create a private room, share the code, and your friends join straight into your table. There is also Quick Play, which matches you with live opponents in about a minute.