How to play Shelem on Bazimoon

5 min read

This guide describes the rules implemented in Bazimoon. If you play Shelem with different house rules, check the bidding and scoring below before your first match.

Set up your table

Create a room and share its invitation. The host can move players between seats or swap teammates before play starts. Guests confirm readiness after team changes.

Bid on your hand

Each player receives 12 cards, with four cards reserved as Zamin. Bid from 100 to 165 in steps of five, raise the current bid or pass. Calling Shelem is a separate commitment to win every trick.

Choose Zamin and trump

The winning bidder takes the four Zamin cards, discards four cards and chooses the trump suit.

Play with your partner

Follow the led suit when you can. If you cannot, play another suit or a trump. The highest trump wins the trick; without trump, the highest card of the led suit wins.

Check the score

Review completed rounds in the scoreboard. Bazimoon’s match target is 660 points.

How scoring works in Bazimoon

Each ace and ten is worth 10 points; each five is worth 5. Every won trick adds 5 points. The declaring team also receives the points in its discards plus 5 for Zamin, making 165 points in a round.

For an ordinary successful contract, the declaring team earns its bid, while defenders earn their captured points. A failed contract loses the bid; if defenders captured more points than the declaring team, the loss is twice the bid.

For example, a team bidding 110 that captures 120 earns 110, not 120. If it captures 80 while defenders capture 85, it loses 220 and the defenders earn 85. A declared Shelem scores +330 for all 12 tricks, otherwise −330.

A few tips for your first games

Practise with bots to learn the controls. Before bidding, consider high cards and how many cards you hold in a possible trump suit. During play, track which suits opponents can no longer follow and avoid spending a high trump when your partner is already winning the trick.

Questions