What is Twenty-Nine?
Twenty-Nine is the four-player partnership game of Bengal, Bangladesh and Nepal — the game of a million café tables. It belongs to the Jass family, which means the usual rules of seniority don't apply: the Jack is the boss of every suit and the 9 outranks the Ace. The trump suit is chosen in secret, laid face-down, and revealed only at the perfect moment. Play free against sharp bots or with friends in a private room.
How a hand works
- Four players, two partnerships, 32 cards — the 7 up to the Ace. In each suit the order is J, 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, 7.
- Starting left of the dealer, bid the card points your team will capture: minimum 16, maximum 28.
- The winning bidder slips one card face-down — that card's suit is trump, hidden until someone can't follow suit and asks for the reveal.
- Only sixteen cards carry points: each Jack 3, each 9 two, each Ace and 10 one — 28 in all.
- Count the points after eight tricks. Reach your target and your side gains a game point; fall short and it loses one. The match runs to ±6.
Game points — the race to six
+1bid made (×2 if the defenders doubled, ×4 if you redoubled)
−1bid failed (the same multipliers apply)
−4 / +4to the bidder's target when a trump King-and-Queen "marriage" is declared
±6ends the match — traditionally tracked with the red and black sixes
Learn the game properly
Questions people ask
- Why is it called Twenty-Nine?
- Historical arithmetic: 28 card points plus one for the last trick. The modern standard — which we play — counts just the 28.
- When is the trump revealed?
- Only when a player can't follow suit and chooses to ask. Until that moment, even the bidder's partner doesn't know it.
- Is it free to play?
- Completely — bots, private rooms and all. No account, no download.