Mendicot Rules: How to Play Mendikot and Win the Tens
Reviewed by Kishan Modi, App Safety Researcher
Last updated:
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Mendicot (also Mendikot or Mindi) is a four-player team game from Maharashtra and Gujarat, played with a 52-card deck and Aces high. All 13 tricks are played, but what counts is capturing the tens: the team whose tricks hold three or four of the four tens wins the deal. If each team has two tens, the team with seven or more tricks wins. Taking all four tens is a mendikot, and taking all 13 tricks is a whitewash. Trump is usually chosen face down (band hukum) or set by the first player who can't follow suit (cut hukum).
Mendicot Rules at a Glance
| Rule | |
|---|---|
| Players | 4, two teams, partners opposite |
| Deck | 52 cards, Ace high |
| Cards each | 13 |
| Trump | Band hukum (hidden card) or cut hukum (first void) |
| Win the deal | 3 or 4 tens; with 2 each, 7+ tricks |
| Mendikot | All four tens |
| Whitewash | All 13 tricks (a 52-card mendikot) |
Choosing Trump: Band Hukum and Cut Hukum
Deal all 52 cards, 13 each. How trump is set is the main thing to agree before you start, because there are three common ways.
- Band hukum (closed trump): the player next to the dealer picks a card from their hand and puts it face down. Its suit is trump, but it stays hidden until a player who can't follow suit asks to see it.
- Cut hukum: no trump at the start. The first time a player can't follow suit, the suit of the card they play becomes trump for the rest of the deal.
- Random trump: a card is drawn and shown to everyone, and its suit is trump from the first trick.
Playing the Tricks
The player next to the dealer leads. You must follow suit if you can; if you can't, play any card. The highest trump wins the trick, or the highest card of the suit led if no trump was played. The winner leads the next trick.
Play all 13 tricks even if one team already has three tens, because a mendikot or whitewash is still possible and counts for more.
Why the Tens Decide Everything
After the 13 tricks, each team looks through the tricks it won and counts the tens.
| Your team's tens | Result |
|---|---|
| 4 | You win with a mendikot |
| 3 | You win |
| 2 (and they have 2) | Whoever took 7 or more tricks wins |
| 0 or 1 | You lose |
| All 13 tricks | Whitewash (52-card mendikot), the best result |
Example: your team wins eight tricks holding 10♠ and 10♦, and the other team's five tricks hold 10♥ and 10♣. Tens are split two-two, so the trick count decides it, and your eight tricks win the deal.
In practice this means you protect your tens. Don't lead a ten into a suit where an opponent might hold the Ace; wait until the higher cards have gone, or until your partner is winning the trick and you can throw it on.
Scoring and Dealing
Mendicot doesn't have one official scoring system. Many families just count deals won, with a mendikot counting for more than a plain win and a whitewash more again. Apps often play to a target, such as five game points. The usual dealing rule: the losing team deals next, so if the dealer's team loses, the same player deals again, except after a whitewash, when the deal passes to the dealer's partner.
Mendicot sits next to Court Piece and 29 as one of the classic four-player Diwali card games.
Rules checked against Pagat's Mendikot reference page.
Mendicot: FAQ
Is Mendicot the same as Mindi?
Yes. Mendicot, Mendikot, Mindi and Desi Mindi are names for the same family of games. Trump and scoring rules vary a little by region.
What is a mendikot?
Capturing all four tens in one deal. It's a bigger win than taking three tens.
What is a whitewash in Mendicot?
Winning all 13 tricks in a deal. It's also called a 52-card mendikot and is the best possible result.
What happens if both teams get two tens?
The team that won seven or more tricks wins the deal.
What is band hukum?
Closed trump: a card is placed face down at the start and its suit is trump, but it stays hidden until a player who can't follow suit asks to see it.