Rules

Durak is a card game for 2 to 6 players. The goal is to be the first player with no cards left.

Set up the game

  1. Use a 36-card deck, from 6 through ace.
  2. Deal 6 cards to each player.
  3. Turn over one card from the deck. Its suit is the trump suit for the game.
  4. Place the rest of the deck on top of that card. This is the draw pile.
  5. The player with the lowest trump card makes the first attack.

Card order

Cards rank from low to high:

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, ace

A trump card beats any card from another suit. A higher trump card beats a lower trump card. No card can beat the ace of the trump suit.

Regular game

  1. The attacker plays any card from their hand.
  2. The next player is the defender.
  3. The defender must beat the attacking card. Use a higher card of the same suit, or use a trump card. A trump card can only be beaten by a higher trump card.
  4. Players may add more attacking cards. Each added card must have the same rank as a card already on the table.
  5. The attackers cannot play more cards than the defender held at the start of the move. There can never be more than 6 attacking cards in one move.

If the defender beats every card

Put all cards from the table into the discard pile. The defender becomes the attacker for the next move.

If the defender cannot beat every card

The defender takes all cards from the table into their hand. The player after the defender becomes the attacker for the next move.

Transferable game

Transferable Durak follows the regular rules, with one extra choice for the defender.

  1. Before beating any cards, the defender may play a card with the same rank as an attacking card on the table.
  2. The attack moves to the next player. That player becomes the new defender.
  3. The attack can only be transferred if the new defender has enough cards to defend against every attacking card.
  4. The new defender may defend, take the cards, or transfer the attack again.

Draw cards after each move

After the move is complete, players draw until they have 6 cards, or until the deck is empty.

  1. Players draw in the order in which they joined the attack.
  2. The defender draws last.

Win the game

When the deck is empty, players continue without drawing. The first player with no cards left wins the game.