How to play Durak

The goal of the game

Every player tries to run out of cards. Whoever gets rid of their cards after the deck is used up leaves the game and wins. The last player still holding cards loses and is called the Durak. Everyone else wins. The rule is slightly different when playing in pairs (see below).

The cards

The game uses a deck of 24, 36 or 52 cards, chosen when the table is created:

• 24 cards: from 9 to ace, for 2-4 players;
• 36 cards: from 6 to ace, for 2-6 players (the most played version);
• 52 cards: from 2 to ace, for 2-6 players.

The ranks, from low to high: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack (J), queen (Q), king (K), ace (A). The suits - spades ♠, clubs ♣, diamonds ♦ and hearts ♥ - are all equal: all that matters is whether a card is a trump or not.

Dealing and the trump suit

Each player gets 6 cards. The last card of the deck is turned face up and placed under the deck: its suit is the trump suit for the whole game. The rest of the deck (the stock) stays face down, and the trump card is drawn last.

If the whole deck is dealt (4 players with 24 cards or 6 players with 36), there is no stock: the trump card goes to the last player who gets cards, and everyone sees who has it.

The first attack is made by the player with the lowest trump, who shows it to everyone. If nobody has a trump, the player with the lowest card starts.

Attacking

Play goes clockwise: each player attacks the player on their left. The attacker opens the bout with one card or with several cards of the same rank (for example two 7s). The first card is compulsory: you cannot pass on an empty table.

A bout has at most 6 attacking cards, and never more than the defender held at the start of the bout. Until the first cards go to the "Discard pile", the limit is 5 cards.

Defending

The defender must beat every attacking card, one by one and in any order. A card is beaten:

• by a higher card of the same suit;
• by any trump, if it is not a trump itself;
• and a trump is beaten only by a higher trump.

If they cannot or do not want to beat, the defender takes the cards (see "Take").

Throwing in

While the bout is open, the other players can throw in new cards: only cards of the same rank as one of the cards on the table, attacking or defending. The defender must beat these as well. The throw-in version is called "podkidnoy durak" (подкидной дурак) in Russian.

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Who may throw in is chosen when the table is created:

• All: every player except the defender;
• Neighbours: only the players on the defender's left and right (with 2 or 3 players in the game it is the same).

Cards can be thrown in at any time while the bout is open, even by several players at once: whoever is first counts. The card limit of the bout (see Attacking) still applies.

Passing

At tables with the "Passing" mode, before beating any card, the defender can add a card of the same rank as the attacking card. The attack then passes to the next player, who must defend against all the cards on the table. In Russian the passing version is called "perevodnoy durak" (переводной дурак).

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• one card is passed at a time, and only while no card on the table has been beaten;
• the next player must hold at least as many cards as they will have to beat, and the bout limit (5 or 6 cards) still applies;
• the attack can be passed on again, even around the whole table;
• whoever passed the attack can then throw in, like the others.

There is no passing in the "Throw-in" mode. Passing by showing a trump is not used.

"Take"

The defender can press Take whenever there is an unbeaten card on the table. After that they no longer beat or pass, and the others can still throw in, within the bout limit, cards that the defender will take. When everyone presses Pass (or their time runs out), the defender takes all the cards on the table, beaten and unbeaten. They lose their turn to attack: the next bout is started by the player on their left.

"Done"

When all the attacking cards are beaten, the other players decide whether to throw in more. When everyone presses Done (or their time runs out), the bout ends: the cards on the table go to the Discard pile and do not come back into play. The bout also ends at once when the card limit is reached or the defender has run out of cards. The next bout is started by the defender who held off the attack.

Drawing cards

After every bout, whoever has fewer than 6 cards draws from the stock up to 6: first the player who opened the bout, then the others clockwise, and the defender last. The trump card under the deck is drawn last. When the stock runs out, nobody draws any more.

The end of the game

Once the stock has run out, whoever has no cards left leaves the game and wins. The game ends when only one player with cards is left: they are the Durak and lose.

The last bout is always played to the end: even if the others have left, the last player with cards can still beat the cards on the table. If they cannot beat them, they take them; if they still have cards in hand after the bout, they are the Durak.

A draw

If the defender beats the last cards with their own last cards and nobody has any cards left, there is no Durak: the game is a draw and everyone wins.

An example with 2 players and an empty stock: A attacks with their last card, and B has a single card, which beats it. Both run out of cards in the same bout: it is a draw and both win.

Playing in pairs

With 4 players you can play "In pairs", two against two. Partners sit opposite each other.

• partners do not attack each other, throw in to each other or pass to each other: if the partner is next, the attack skips them;
• the pair whose two players both leave the game first wins; both players of the other pair are Durak, even if one of them had already left;
• if both pairs leave the game in the same bout (the defender beats the last card with their last card), it is a draw and all four win.

Time to think

Every move has a time limit: at normal speed 30 seconds to attack or defend and 10 seconds to throw in, at fast speed 15 and 5 seconds. When the time runs out, the move is made automatically: the attacker plays their lowest non-trump card, the defender takes the cards, and the others press "Done" or "Pass".

After two timeouts in a row when attacking or defending, a bot plays for you until you press Take back control. At a table with other people you cannot leave while you still have cards in hand.