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Also known as

Laad card game rules (also called Bhabho)

Short answer
Laad — also called Bhabho — is the western Indian name for the shedding card game known elsewhere as Bhabhi, Thulla, Getaway and Donkey. The rules are the same everywhere: deal the whole deck, the Ace of Spades leads, follow the suit if you can, and if you can’t, any card you play stops the round and forces whoever played the highest card of that suit to pick up the pile. Last player holding cards loses.

Where Laad is played

Laad and Bhabho are the names you’ll hear in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana, and among families from those regions abroad. They refer to the same game that Punjabi families call Bhabhi and that English speakers call Getaway.

Like the rest of this family, it’s a folk game passed down at home rather than codified anywhere, so the name you use is mostly an accident of which relatives taught you. Bhabho has its own page, including what the Thulaa app calls the loser.

The rules

  1. Deal everything. One 52-card deck, dealt out clockwise one card at a time until none remain. Some hands will be a card larger with 3 or 5 players.
  2. Ace of Spades opens. Whoever holds it must lead it as the very first card.
  3. Follow the suit. Whoever starts a round plays any card, and its suit is the one everyone owes. If every player can follow it, all those cards are discarded out of the game — nobody picks anything up — and whoever played the highest of them starts the next round.
  4. Or don’t. With no card of that suit, play anything. The round ends at once and whoever played the highest card of the original suit takes every card into their hand.
  5. Escape. Empty your hand and you’re out and safe. The last player left holding cards loses the round.

Does Laad play differently to Bhabhi?

No — not systematically. The core mechanic is identical, and the differences you’ll run into are household variants rather than regional ones. The usual points to settle before the first deal:

  • Whether a player whose last card is the highest of the round gets away anyway, or has to draw a card and start the next one.
  • Whether play runs clockwise or anticlockwise.
  • Whether you deal at all, or cut the deck into piles and let the youngest player choose first.

The main rules page covers each variant, and the strategy guide covers how to avoid being the one left holding everything.

FAQ

Laad: 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.