Paplu, Nichlu and Tiplu in Rummy

The Indian rummy game is one of the most popular card games played in India. One of the versions of the Indian Rummy game is Paplu. Although the name may sound off, many rummy players in India are aware of the terms Paplu, Nichlu, and Tiplu.

The paplu game is a famous pass time for Indians and is often played during festivals like Diwali and Dussehra, get-togethers, etc. The game is quite similar to the classic rummy game but with a few differences.

Learn how to play paplu card game in this small guide.

What is Paplu in Rummy?

Paplu is a 21-card rummy game also known as Marriage Rummy. The history of this rummy game is rooted in Spain, from the game Conquian, and in South Asia, from the game, Rhuk and Celebes Rummy. Paplu is often called Indian rummy in international circles.

The game is played with 3 standard decks in 2 different formats - with 13 cards or 21 cards. The most common format of playing paplu is with 13 cards.

What are Paplu, Nichlu, and Tiplu?

Image: Similar Image taking Queen of Hearts as Paplu, Jack of Hearts as Tiplu, and 10 of Hearts as Nichlu.

Paplu, Niclu, and Tiplu are terms used in the Marriage Rummy game.

Paplu

The cards that are one rank or face value higher than Tiplu cards are called Paplu. For instance, if Tiplu is Jack of Hearts, then Queen of Hearts is Paplu.

Nichlu

After 21 cards are dealt to each player, a card is drawn from the deck, and it is called Tiplu. The cards below the rank of the Tiplu card are called the Nichlu cards. For instance, if the Tiplu card is 6, then three 5 cards of the same suit are the Nichlu cards.

Tiplu

After the dealer deals 21 cards to each player, a card is drawn at random from the deck of cards, and it is called Tiplu. All the remaining cards in the deck of that rank are also called Tiplu. For instance, if the drawn card is a Queen of Hearts, then all the Queen cards in the pile will be called Tiplu.

How to Play Paplu Card Game?

Setup

Paplu is played between 2 to 10 players with 2 or 3 standard decks of 52 cards. If the game is played between 2 to 6 players, 2 printed jokers are used in the game. If the game includes 7 or more players, 3 decks of cards are used.

Rules of Paplu Card Game

The paplu card game in India is popularly played with 13 cards dealt to each player. The objective of the game is to meld the cards into sets and runs. Here are the rules of the paplu card game:

For a valid declaration, a hand must contain at least one pure sequence or natural run and a second run containing wild cards.

The runs must be of the same suit (except for the wild cards).

A set cannot contain two cards of the same suit.

A wild card can be used in a natural run only if it is used for its actual rank and suit.

If the final card from the draw pile is drawn and no one has declared the game, no player wins.

In the paplu game played with three decks, a hand can contain one natural run or set of triplets and a second run.

Gameplay

At the beginning of the game, a dealer is selected. To choose a dealer, each player chooses a card from the deck randomly. The player with the lowest ranking card becomes the dealer, and the player with the highest ranking card gets to choose their seat.

Then, the dealer shuffles the cards and deals 13 cards to each player. After dealing the cards, the dealer draws a card randomly from the deck and places it face-up on the table as the joker card.

Each player arranges the cards in hand, and then the first player draws the top card from the closed deck and discards a card. The other players also take turns to either draw the top card from the closed deck or the top card of the discard pile and discard one card at the same time.

The rounds continue in the same way until one player makes a valid declaration.

Types of Melds in Paplu

Natural Run/Pure Sequence: A natural run consists of three or more cards of the same suit arranged in a sequence. It cannot have any wild cards.

Run/Impure Sequence: A run consists of three or more cards of the same suit arranged in a sequence. This run can include one or more wild cards.

Set: A set is created with three or more cards of the same rank. A set can contain a wild card.

Triplets: Triplets are a set of three cards of the same suit and rank. Triplets are included in games played with three or more decks.

How to win in Paplu card game?

If you are playing paplu with 13 cards each, then you must create at least 2 valid sequences (including one pure sequence), and arrange the remaining cards into sets and sequences.

If playing the game with 21 cards, you must have at least 3 pure sequences or tunnellas and meld the rest of the cards into other sets and sequences.

Once the cards have been arranged into valid sequences and sets, the player says paplu.

Jokers

In the paplu game, printed jokers and wild cards are used to replace any card while making a run or set. In the 21- card paplu game, the dealer chooses the value of the joker at the beginning of the game. For instance, if the dealer decides that the joker will be a 10, then the players can use 10 of all suits as wild jokers to create sets and runs.

Packing

In the paplu game, you can choose to pack or fold your hand before the first run if you feel you have a weak hand. If a player packs, their cards are added to the bottom of the card pile, and the player gives 10 points to the winner.

If a player chooses to pack after the first run, they owe the winner 40 points. If all the players choose to pack except one player, the remaining player wins and gets 10 or 40 points from the other players based on the game rules.

Scoring in Paplu

Once a player declares a paplu (a win), all the other players calculate their scores. The other players owe the winning player points based on their score.

The cards are valued at:

Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 are worth 10 points.

Joker cards are worth 0 points.

Numbered cards are worth their face value. For instance, 5 of Hearts is worth 5 points,

Tips to Win in Paplu

1. Discard high-value cards early

Try to discard the high-value cards, such as face cards, at the earliest if you cannot meld them into a sequence or a set. If you keep high-value cards for too long, you may lose more points if another player declares.

2. Take advantage of joker cards

Jokers are quite advantageous as they can be used to finish the remaining runs if you have already finished two of them. The joker cards must be used wisely to complete the sets and runs.

3. Keep an eye on the opponent

Keep an eye on the cards your opponents are discarding or drawing from the discard pile. Their cards may give you a clue about the sets and sequences they may be forming, and you can avoid discarding the cards they require.