"Durak" is a card game where the goal is to get rid of all your cards before the other players. The last player left holding cards is the “durak” (fool).
The game uses a deck of 24 or 36 cards. Number of players: from 2 to 4.
At the start, each player is dealt 6 cards.
After the deal, one card is drawn from the deck. The suit of this card becomes the trump suit and is visible to all players. If the entire deck is dealt, the trump suit is the suit of the last card in the deck.
The first turn goes to the player holding the lowest trump card — they become the attacker. Turns proceed clockwise.
In each round, the attacking player attacks the defending player (the next player clockwise). The first attack can be made with one or several cards of the same rank. The defending player must beat the cards played on the table.
📄 Rules for beating cards
- A non-trump card can be beaten by a card of the same suit but higher rank, or by any trump card.
- A trump card can only be beaten by a trump card of higher rank.
- The first attack can include up to 5 cards; subsequent attacks can include up to 6 cards, but not more than the defender’s cards in hand.
If the defender cannot or does not want to beat the cards, they say “Taking” and pick up all cards on the table.
The attacker may add cards of the same rank as those already on the table, following the limit on the number of cards per attack. Cards can be added both during the beating and after the defender has decided to take the cards.
When the attacker finishes adding cards, they say “Beaten,” after which other players get the chance to add cards.
If the defender successfully beats all cards, they become the next attacker. If not, the turn passes to the player after the defender clockwise.
At the end of each round, players draw cards from the deck in turn to replenish their hands to 6 cards or until the deck runs out. The attacker draws first, the defender last.