Trick-taking ยท 4 players ยท Escape before the Donkey tag finds you
Play Now โ FreeEmpty your hand before everyone else. The last player still holding cards is eliminated as the Donkey. Survivors advance through rounds until one champion remains.
Cards are dealt evenly from a standard 52-card deck. The player holding the Ace of Spades leads the very first trick of the game.
The leader plays any card โ that suit becomes the lead suit. Everyone else must follow the same suit if they have one. The highest card of the lead suit wins the trick, and the winner leads next.
If you have no cards of the lead suit, play any card from your hand. This is called a "cut." The trick ends immediately and all played cards go to the player holding the highest card of the lead suit.
Play your last card to escape the round. You're out of that round โ safe until the next. The very last player still holding cards becomes the Donkey and is eliminated.
Donkey is not about winning tricks โ it's about offloading your hand while forcing high cards onto opponents. Understanding the cut mechanic is the key to winning consistently.
Donkey โ known as "Kazhutha" (เฎเฎดเฏเฎคเฏ / เดเดดเตเดค, literally "donkey" in Tamil and Malayalam) โ is one of the most beloved social card games across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and South India. It belongs to the family of trick-avoidance games, where the goal is to unload your hand rather than capture tricks โ a sharp contrast to games like Bridge or Whist.
The game has been passed down through generations, played enthusiastically during family gatherings, festivals, and long train journeys. Its simplicity makes it accessible to all ages, while the cut mechanic adds enough depth to reward strategic play. The loser's "Donkey" label is delivered with great good-natured teasing, making it as much a social event as a card game.
On Tricksy, the classic Kazhutha rules are preserved exactly โ 4 players, 13 cards each, no trumps, and the brutal elimination format that keeps every round tense until the last card is played.
The player holding the highest card of the lead suit still collects all played cards โ including both cut cards. Both cutters benefit from getting rid of unwanted cards, while one unlucky player with a high lead-suit card pays the price.
Yes. When you're void in the lead suit you may play any card in your hand. This is your chance to dump high cards you don't want โ but be thoughtful, as cut cards still end up with the trick winner.
No. Unlike many trick-taking games, Donkey has no trump suit. Only the lead suit matters. The highest card of the lead suit always wins โ cuts simply trigger a forced pickup rather than winning the trick.
If every remaining player cuts, the trick still goes to whoever held the highest lead-suit card at the start of the trick โ the original leader. They collect all the cut cards.
Only at the very start of round 1. The player holding the Ace of Spades must lead it first. After that, the winner of each trick leads the next โ the Ace of Spades has no special role once played.
The Donkey player receives โ50 points and is eliminated from the tournament. The remaining 3 players start a new round until only one champion is left standing.