Durak is the best-known card game of Eastern Europe. It takes five minutes to learn and has one twist: nobody wins. Everyone tries to get rid of their cards, and the last player left holding any is the durak, the fool.
Durak in one minute
- 36 cards, six to ace. Two to six players, six cards each.
- One suit is the trump. A trump beats any card of another suit.
- On your turn you attack the player on your left with a card. They beat it or take it.
- After each bout everyone draws back up to six cards while the deck lasts.
- Run out of cards and you are safe. The last player with cards loses.
The deal and the trump
Every player gets six cards. The next card is turned face up and slid under the deck so that it stays visible: its suit is the trump for the whole game. That card is also the last one to be drawn.
The player holding the lowest trump attacks first. From then on the turn to attack moves to the left.
Beating a card
The attacker puts one card on the table in front of the defender. The defender has to cover it with a card that beats it.
A card is beaten by a higher card of the same suit, or by any trump. A trump can only be beaten by a higher trump. Rank runs 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, ace.
Throwing in
As soon as cards are on the table, the attacker and the other players may add more cards, but only of a rank that is already on the table. If a seven was beaten by a nine, any seven or nine can be thrown in.
A bout holds at most six attacking cards, five in the very first bout of the game, and never more than the defender has cards in hand.
When the defender has beaten everything and nobody wants to add more, the cards go to the discard pile and are out of the game. The defender attacks next.
Taking the cards
A defender who can't beat a card, or would rather not spend a good card on it, takes. Every card on the table goes into their hand, the attackers may still add cards of matching rank for them to pick up, and the defender misses their own turn to attack.
Taking is not always bad. Early in the game it can be cheaper to pick up three low cards than to give away a trump.
Transfer Durak
In transfer Durak (perevodnoy) the defender has a third choice. Before beating anything, they can lay a card of the same rank beside the attacking card. The attack then moves on to the next player, who has to beat both cards.
A transfer is only allowed if the next player holds enough cards to beat everything on the table. Once the defender has beaten a card, the bout can no longer be transferred.
Drawing and the end of the game
After every bout the players draw back up to six cards: the attacker first, then the other players in turn, the defender last. The face-up trump is the final card of the deck.
When the deck is empty, nobody draws any more. A player who gets rid of their last card is out and safe. The game ends when only one player still holds cards. If the last two players finish at the same moment, it is a draw.
Playing on Deckbreak
- Cards you can play are bright; the others are dimmed. Tap a bright card to play it.
- If your card could beat more than one card on the table, tap your card first, then the card you want to beat.
- Trumps in your hand have a gold edge. The deck on the left shows how many cards are left and which suit is trump.
- Take picks up the table. Done or Beaten ends your attack.
- In transfer Durak, a card of the same rank shows a Transfer spot on the table.
Tips that win games
- Get rid of low cards first. A hand of high cards and trumps at the end is how you win; a hand of sixes is how you lose.
- Save your trumps. Beating a seven with a trump early usually costs more than taking it.
- Count the trumps. There are nine in the deck, and the face-up one goes to whoever draws last.
- Keep pairs. Two cards of the same rank let you throw in, and in transfer Durak they let you pass the attack on.
- Watch the deck. The last few draws decide who gets the face-up trump, so time your attacks around them.
- When the deck is gone, think about what the defender can't beat, not about what you want to keep.
Words you will hear
- Durak: the fool, the player left with cards.
- Podkidnoy: throw-in Durak, the basic game.
- Perevodnoy: transfer Durak, where the defender can pass the attack on.
- Trump (kozyr): the suit that beats all others.
- Bout: one attack with everything thrown in, until the cards are beaten or taken.