What is Call Break?
Call Break is a trick-taking card game for exactly 4 players, popular across Nepal, India and Bangladesh. Spades are always trump, every player calls how many tricks they expect to win before play starts, and each player scores for themselves — there are no partnerships.
Is Call Break the same as Call Bridge or Callbreak?
Yes. Call Break, Callbreak and Call Bridge are the same game, and it's also played as Lakadi or Ghochi in some regions. The scoring used online — and here — pays a small bonus for extra tricks, which differs from the older Call Bridge scoring where taking more than one trick over your call loses it entirely.
How is trump decided?
It isn't. Spades are permanently trump in every round of every game, so any spade beats any card of any other suit. This is the biggest difference from Dehla Pakad, where trump is revealed by play, and Judgement, where it rotates each round.
What is the minimum call?
One. You cannot pass, and you cannot call zero — every player must undertake at least one trick. The maximum is 13, though calls that high are close to unmakeable.
Do the four calls have to add up to 13?
No. Unlike Judgement's hook rule, the calls in Call Break are completely independent. All four players might call 3 for a total of 12, or all call 5 for a total of 20 — nothing prevents it. It's perfectly possible for everyone to succeed, or for everyone to fail.
Do I have to play a higher card if I can?
Yes, and this catches most new players out. If you can follow the suit led, you must — and if you hold a card of that suit higher than the highest one played so far, you must play one of those. You cannot hold your ace back and throw a low card instead. The only exception is once someone has trumped a non-spade lead: no card of the led suit can win at that point, so any of them is allowed.
What happens if I can't follow suit?
You must trump — play a spade — if you hold one. You may not simply discard from another suit. If a spade has already been played to the trick, you must play a higher spade if you have one; if you can't beat it, you still have to play a spade, just a losing one. Only when you hold no spades at all may you throw any card you like.
How does scoring work?
Make your call and you score the call itself, plus 0.1 for every extra trick — so calling 4 and winning 6 scores 4.2. Miss your call and you lose it entirely: calling 3 and winning 2 scores minus 3. Because failures subtract, totals can and often do go negative.
Why are extra tricks worth so little?
It's what makes calling a genuine decision. A tenth of a point is a rounding error next to losing your whole call, so shading your call low is safe and shading it high is punished. Winning tricks you didn't call for is almost worthless — accuracy is the entire game.
How long is a match?
Five deals. Scores accumulate across all five, and whoever has the highest total at the end wins. If two or more players tie for the top score, they share the win.
Can I play Call Break online for free?
Yes. This site lets you create a private room, share the code with three friends, and play in the browser at no cost — or start a solo game immediately against AI opponents.