What is Hokm?
Hokm (“command”) is a four-player trick-taking card game for two teams of two; partners sit opposite each other. One player is the Hakem (ruler), who names a suit as trump. The first team to win 7 of the 13 tricks wins the hand.
Players, teams and settings
- Always 4 seats: players one and three are a team, two and four the other. Bots fill empty seats when the host starts.
- Target score: 3, 5, 7 (default) or 10.
- Turn timer (also for choosing trump): 15, 30 (default), 45 or 60 seconds.
- Leave mid-game and a bot takes your seat so your partner isn’t left alone.
Picking the Hakem and trump
- Find the Hakem: before the first hand, cards are turned face up to each player in turn — the first player to get an Ace is the Hakem.
- First five cards: the deck is shuffled and the Hakem receives five cards.
- Call trump: looking only at those five, the Hakem chooses clubs ♣, diamonds ♦, hearts ♥ or spades ♠.
- The rest: the remaining cards are dealt so everyone holds 13.
Playing a trick
- The Hakem leads the first trick.
- If you have a card of the suit led, you must play it.
- If you don’t, you may trump or discard anything — you’re not forced to trump.
- The highest trump wins the trick; with no trump, the highest card of the suit led. Ace is high: A, K, Q, J, 10 … 2.
- The trick winner leads next. As soon as a team has 7 tricks the hand ends.
Scoring and Kot
| Hand result | Points to the winners |
|---|---|
| Normal win (7 to 1–6) | 1 |
| Kot (7–0) | 2 |
| Hakem Kot: the team without the Hakem wins 7–0 | 3 |
If the Hakem’s team wins the hand, the Hakem stays; otherwise the role passes to the next player (on the other team). The first team to 7 points (or the host’s target) wins the game.
Hokm strategy tips
- Hakem: pick the suit you hold most of — length beats high cards.
- Cash your off-suit Aces early, before others run out of that suit.
- When your partner is already winning the trick, play your lowest card.
- Count trumps as they fall so you know who holds the last ones.
