Durak is Russia’s most popular card game. One player attacks by playing cards, the other defends by beating them; whoever is left holding cards when the deck runs out is the loser — the “durak”.
The aim is to get rid of all your cards. Players discard them by successfully attacking and defending; the last person still holding cards loses and is called the durak (the “fool”). There is no winner as such — only a loser.
Use a 36-card deck (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace). Deal 6 cards to each player and place the rest face-down as the stock. Turn the bottom card of the stock sideways and slide it half-out — its suit is the trump for the whole round and beats any other suit. The player with the lowest trump usually attacks first.
In the most common version, after the first attack the other players (and the attacker) may “throw in” more cards — but only of ranks that are already on the table. The defender must beat all of them. The number of attacking cards can never exceed the number of cards in the defender’s hand (at most six).
If the defender cannot or does not want to beat a card, they must pick up all the cards on the table into their hand and lose the right to attack next; play passes to the following player.
After each bout, players draw from the stock back up to 6 cards (the attacker draws first) while the stock lasts; the face-up trump card is taken last. Once the stock is empty, play continues without drawing. A player who runs out of cards is safe and leaves the round. The last player still holding cards is the durak.
Perevodnoy (transfer) durak lets the defender bounce the attack to the next player by adding a card of the same rank instead of beating it. Details — deck size (36 or 52), maximum hand size, and who may throw in cards — are agreed before the game.
By the card turned sideways under the stock at the start — its suit is trump for the whole round.
There is no winner, only a loser: the last player still holding cards is the “durak”.
A higher card of the same suit, or any trump; a trump can be beaten only by a higher trump.
The common version where players throw in extra cards of ranks already on the table for the defender to beat.
No more than the defender is holding, and at most six.