How to Calculate Maal in Marriage

Maal (माल) are the points a hand is worth. At the end of a round every player is paid by every other player for the maal they hold, so what you win or lose is not your maal alone. It is your maal compared with everyone else's.

Step 1: count your maal

Each player adds up the maal in their hand: the tiplu, poplu, jhiplu, alters and any marriage. What each is worth varies from table to table, so agree the values before you deal. See how to play Marriage for what these cards are.

If you play Murder (मर्डर), an unseen player's maal counts as 0, however good their cards. Only seen players' maal is counted.

Step 2: compare with the table

Add up everyone's maal to get the total maal. Then, for each player:

net maal = your maal × number of players − total maal

This is the same as being paid the difference between your maal and each other player's. The nets always add up to zero: what the winners of maal collect is exactly what the others pay.

Example: three players

The total maal is 20 + 10 + 5 = 35, and +25 − 5 − 20 = 0. Asha holds the most maal, so she collects from both others.

Example: four players with Murder

Asha has 10 maal, Bikash 5, Chandra 0, and Dipa never saw, so her maal counts as 0. The total is 15.

• Asha: 10×4 − 15 = +25
• Bikash: 5×4 − 15 = +5
• Chandra: 0×4 − 15 = −15
• Dipa: 0×4 − 15 = −15

Step 3: pay the winner

Maal is only the first half of a round. The winner is then paid by each other player: Seen or Unseen points, extra Dubli points if the winner has Dubli, and Foul points from anyone who fouled. The full scoring example shows both parts added up, and how points become money at your table's rate.

Skip the arithmetic

Marriage Score Keeper does all of this for you. Enter each player's maal, mark who won and who saw, and it works out every player's round, keeps the running totals, and settles who pays whom at the end of the night. It's free, works on any phone, and speaks English and Nepali.