Durak rules in plain words
Durak (“the fool”) is the most popular card game in Russia and neighbouring countries. The goal is simple: get rid of all your cards. The last player holding cards is the fool.
Deck and deal
Durak uses a 36-card deck (six to ace), sometimes 24 cards (nine to ace) for a short game. Each player gets 6 cards. The next card is turned face up under the deck: its suit is trumps.
Card ranking
From low to high: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, ace. Any trump beats any non-trump card.
Attacking and defending
- The player with the lowest trump attacks first.
- The attacker plays a card; the defender must beat it with a higher card of the same suit or with a trump.
- Other players may throw in cards of a rank already on the table.
- One attack has at most 6 cards and never more than the defender holds.
Discard or pick up
If the defender beats every card, they all go to the discard pile and the defender attacks next. If not, the defender picks up all cards on the table and loses the turn.
Drawing
After each attack players draw back up to 6 cards: the attacker first, the defender last.
Passing Durak
One difference: the defender may pass the attack to the next player by adding a card of the same rank. The neighbour then has to defend.
End of the game
When the deck runs out, players leave as their hands empty. The last one holding cards is the fool.