What is Sweep?
Sweep (also called Seep) is a card-capturing game from the Indian subcontinent, usually played by four people in two partnerships and just as often by two, one against one. You compete to capture valuable cards by matching values, aiming to reach 100 points first.
How many players do you need?
Four, in two fixed partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other — or two, one against one. Online you can play solo against AI opponents either way: pick 2 v 2 for a partner and two opponents, or 1 v 1 for a single opponent.
Can Sweep be played by two players?
Yes. Each player is a side of one and the rules are otherwise the same — values, houses, cementing, scoring and sweeps. Only the dealing changes: with two players the pack is dealt in two batches of twelve each, and the second batch is dealt when the first has been played out.
Is there a trump suit in Sweep?
No. Sweep has no trump and no following suit — every turn is about matching a card's value against the floor, not about suit or rank order.
Is capturing mandatory?
No. Every turn is your choice: you can capture, build a house, cement one, break one, or simply throw a card face-up on the floor — even when a capture is sitting there. The one exception is the opening bid, where a player who can open a house must.
What is the opening bid in Seep?
The player to the dealer's right must open a house worth 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13 by combining a card from their hand with cards on the floor — and must hold a second card of that value to claim the house with later. A player who cannot do it throws a card face-up and the chance passes on.
What happens if nobody can open a house?
Play simply carries on. The four thrown cards stay on the floor as loose cards, no house is open, and anyone may build one later in the normal way. Nothing is reshuffled.
What is a house?
A house is a pile held at a value from 9 to 13, and only a card of that value can capture it. Building one needs floor cards under it, and you must hold a second card of that value to claim it with. Any player holding a matching card can capture it, not just whoever built it.
What is a cemented house?
A house starts uncemented (kacha). It becomes cemented (pakka) once more than one contribution worth its value has gone into it. Its value is then locked: nobody can break it (raise it to a different number), and it can only be captured by playing a card of its value. While a house is uncemented, any player except its owner can break it — add a card and take it over at a new value.
How many cards does everyone play?
With four players, twelve each, over twelve rotations — but not all at once. Everyone starts with four, and the opening bid is made on those four; as soon as it is settled, everyone gets eight more. The bid is the first of the twelve rotations, so the player who bids — or who passes — has eleven cards left once the rest arrive, while the seats after them hold twelve. With two players it is twenty-four each: the same twelve, and then twelve more dealt once those are played, with the floor and any houses left as they are.
How is a deal scored?
Every spade is worth its own value, from the ace at 1 up to the king at 13. Every ace that isn't a spade is worth 1, and the 10 of diamonds is worth 6. Nothing else scores, and the rules don't stack — the ace of spades is worth 1, as a spade. That comes to exactly 100 points a deal. Clearing the floor entirely is a sweep, worth 50.
Why did my team win the deal but not score anything?
You'd have to check the numbers, but scoring nothing usually means the deal was level. A deal always puts exactly 100 points on the table, so the Baazi is kept on the difference rather than the totals: the team that wins a deal banks the margin and the other banks nothing. An even deal moves neither score.
How do you win a match?
It depends on the match length you pick. Quick is one deal: the higher total, cards and sweeps together, wins. Short and Full play the traditional way: each deal, the team with more points banks the difference between the two totals and the other banks nothing, and the first team to 50 (Short) or 100 (Full, the Baazi) wins.
Is Sweep the same as the British game also called Sweep?
No — despite the shared name, this is a different, unrelated game. This Sweep is the Indian card-capturing game, part of the same family as Cassino.
Can I play Sweep online for free?
Yes. This site lets you create a private room, share the code with a friend (or three, for partnerships), and play in the browser at no cost — or start a solo game against AI opponents.