Durak

How to play Durak

Durak is the most popular card game in Russia and much of Eastern Europe. The name means "fool". Nobody really wins: everyone tries to get rid of their cards, and the last player still holding cards is the durak. This version is Podkidnoy (throw-in) Durak for 2 to 4 players, with a 36-card deck from 6 up to Ace.

Goal

Play out all your cards once the deck is empty. Don't be the last one left with cards in your hand.

The deal and the trump

Everyone gets six cards. The next card is turned face up under the deck: its suit is the trump for the whole game. A trump beats any card of another suit. The player with the lowest trump attacks first.

Turn by turn

1. The attacker plays any card face up in front of the next player, the defender.
2. The defender beats it with a higher card of the same suit, or with any trump. A trump can only be beaten by a higher trump.
3. The attacker, and then the other players, may throw in more cards, but only of a rank that is already on the table. The defender must beat each new card too.
4. A bout has at most six attack cards (five in the very first bout), and never more than the defender had in hand.
5. If every card is beaten and nobody adds more, the cards are discarded. The defender becomes the next attacker.
6. If the defender cannot or will not beat a card, they take all the cards on the table. The others may still throw in matching cards first. The defender then loses their turn to attack.
7. After each bout everyone refills to six cards from the deck: the attacker first, the defender last. The face-up trump is the last card taken.

Playing on this site

Glowing cards in your hand can be played. Tap one to attack, throw in or beat the open card. Press Take to pick up the table, or Done when you have nothing more to throw in. On a keyboard, use the arrow keys and Enter, T to take and D for done.

End of the game

When the deck is empty, players who run out of cards leave the game safely. The last player holding cards is the durak. If the last two players run out at the same moment, the game is a draw.

Strategy tips

• Save your trumps. Trumps are your best defence. Use small plain cards to beat attacks when you can, and keep high trumps for the end of the game.
• Attack with low cards. Lead with your weakest plain cards. If you hold two cards of the same rank, lead one: you can throw in the other later.
• Taking is not always bad. Picking up a few small cards early is better than spending a high trump on a six. Early in the game you will draw back to six anyway.
• Count the cards. Only 36 cards are in play. Watch which trumps and aces have been discarded, and remember what the computer picked up.
• Play hard at the end. When the deck runs out, nobody refills. Now every card counts: throw in everything you can and keep a trump to finish.