Durak
From Russia · Also called Fool
Throw cards at your neighbor that they have to beat. There's no winner, just one fool left holding cards.
the best bit: piling attack after attack on the same poor defender
- Players
- 2–6 (best with 3–4)
- Time
- 20–40 min
- Learn in
- A few minutes
- Mood
- Lively
- Format
- Everyone for themselves
The 30-second version
Russia's most popular card game. Players attack the person on their left with cards, and the defender has to beat each one with a higher card of the same suit or with a trump. Other players can pile on. Beat everything and you're safe for now. Fail and you pick it all up. The last player still holding cards is the durak: the fool.
don't explain it all up front. play one practice round.
Grab these
Set up
- Take out the 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s. You'll play with 36 cards, 6s up to aces.
- Deal six cards each. Turn the next card face up and slide it under the deck, sticking out. Its suit is trump, and it's the last card anyone draws.
How to play
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Attack
Whoever has the lowest trump attacks first. Play any card face up in front of the player on your left.
-
Defend
The defender covers it with a higher card of the same suit, or with any trump. A trump can only be beaten by a higher trump.
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Pile on
The attacker and the other players can add more attack cards, but only of ranks already on the table. The defender has to beat each one. No more than six attacks, and never more than the defender has cards.
-
Beat it or take it
If the defender beats every card, they're all discarded and the defender attacks next. If not, the defender picks up every card on the table, loses their turn to attack, and the player on their left attacks next.
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Draw back up
After each attack, anyone with fewer than six cards draws back up to six, attackers first and the defender last.
-
Get out
Once the deck is gone, nobody draws. Run out of cards and you're out of the game, and safe.
How to win
The last player holding cards is the durak, the fool. Everyone else wins.
Once you know it
- Passing Durak
- Before beating anything, the defender can pass the attack along by adding a card of the same rank. The next player then has to defend against all of it.
From experience…
- Save your trumps. Spend them early and you'll be defenseless at the end.
- Pile on with ranks you suspect the defender can't beat.