How to Play Durak
How to Play Durak
Durak is a lively Russian card game about attacking, defending, and getting rid of your cards before everyone else. You need a normal deck of cards to play, and you can find a regular deck of playing cards from Playmore. This guide uses one common version, called Podkidnoy Durak, and house rules can vary.
Quick facts
| Players | 2–6 |
|---|---|
| Cards | 36-card deck: 6 through ace |
| Goal | Run out of cards and avoid being last |
| Important idea | Beat every attack card or pick them all up |
| Winner | There is no single winner; the last player with cards loses |
What you are trying to do
Durak is a shedding game. “Shedding” means playing cards from your hand until none remain. Each round has an attacker and a defender. The attacker tries to place cards that the defender cannot beat. The defender tries to cover every attack card with a stronger legal card. If the defender succeeds, the cards on the table are discarded. If the defender fails or chooses not to continue, they pick up the whole battle. Keep playing rounds until only one player still has cards. That player is the durak, or “fool,” and loses the game.
What you need
Use a 36-card pack by removing the 2, 3, 4, and 5 from a normal 52-card deck. In each suit, the cards rank from low to high as 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, and ace. You also need a clear table and a way to record losses if you play several games. Paper or a notes app works well.
Set it up
Choose a dealer and give each player six cards, one at a time. Turn the next card face up. Its suit is the trump suit, which means that trumps are stronger than cards in any other suit. Place the remaining deck face down across that face-up card, leaving its suit visible. This stack is the draw pile, also called the talon.
For the first round, the player holding the lowest trump starts the attack. They may lead any card, not necessarily that trump. In later rounds, the player to the dealer’s left starts. If you want a simpler family rule, agree that the player left of the dealer always starts. After a game, the loser traditionally deals the next one, but you may simply rotate the dealer.
How to play
- Start an attack. The attacker places one card face up in front of the player on their left. That player is the defender. In this basic version, an attack begins with one card.
- Defend the card. A non-trump card can be beaten by a higher card of the same suit or by any trump. A trump can be beaten only by a higher trump. For example, a 9 of hearts can be covered by a 10 of hearts or by any trump, while a queen of trumps needs a king or ace of trumps.
- Continue the attack. When the defender covers a card, attackers may throw in another card whose rank matches any rank already on the table. The table includes both attack cards and the cards used to cover them. If a 9 and a jack are showing, another 9 or jack may be added. The defender must then cover that new card.
- Respect the limit. The number of attacking cards cannot be greater than six or greater than the number of cards the defender held when the battle began, whichever is smaller. This prevents a defender from being buried under an impossible attack. Players may agree that only the neighbors of the defender throw in, especially with five or six people.
- Choose whether to keep defending. The defender may cover every attack card or pick up instead. Picking up is allowed even when a legal defense is available. If the defender picks up, they take all cards on the table, including cards already covered. They do not attack in the next battle; the player to their left attacks instead.
- Finish a successful defense. If every attack card is covered and nobody adds another legal attack, the battle ends. Put all cards from that battle face down in a discard pile. The defender becomes the next attacker, and the player to that attacker’s left becomes the new defender.
- Refill hands. After a battle, players draw until they have six cards, if enough cards remain. The main attacker draws first, followed by the other attackers clockwise, and the defender draws last. Once the draw pile is empty, players simply continue with the cards they have. The visible trump card is drawn last.
- Skip players who are out. When the draw pile is empty, a player who has used every card leaves the action safely. Pass the attack and defense around the table, skipping anyone who has already finished. The game ends after a completed battle, not halfway through one.
How you win
You win by being one of the players who gets rid of every card while the game is still going. Durak is usually described as a game with a loser rather than a winner: the final player holding cards is the durak. If several people want a match, write down each loss and play a set number of games. The player with the fewest losses at the end can be called the overall winner.
Easy first-game tips
Save some trumps for defense, but do not cling to them forever. A small trump can rescue you from a difficult attack, while a high trump is valuable for stopping another high trump. Watch the ranks on the table carefully, because they tell you which cards can be thrown in next. Before adding an attack card, check that the defender can legally receive it under the card limit.
As an attacker, begin with a card you can afford to lose. Low cards are often useful because they force the defender to spend a higher card. As a defender, pick up when covering the attack would cost your best cards or leave you with a weak hand. Finally, remember the draw order: getting back to six cards is helpful, but it also gives later players less chance to refill.
Quick questions
Can a trump beat any card?
Yes. Any trump beats a non-trump card. A trump can be beaten only by a higher trump.
What happens if I cannot defend?
Pick up every card in the battle, including cards you already used to cover attacks. You skip the next attack, and the player to your left becomes the attacker.