How to Play Durak: Rules & Free Online Game

Objective

Durak has no winner, only a loser. Everyone tries to get rid of their cards – the last player left holding any is the Durak.

There are no points. If you play several games in one room, the scoreboard counts how often each player avoided being the fool. A draw counts for nobody.

Setup: deck, trumps and who goes first

Durak uses a 36-card deck – a standard deck with the 2s through 5s removed – ranked low to high: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace. Everyone gets 6 cards and the rest form the draw pile (or stock).

The bottom card of the pile lies face up and sets the trump suit; it is the very last card drawn. With six players all 36 cards are dealt, and the last card dealt sets trumps – it simply stays in that player’s hand.

The player with the lowest trump attacks first – if nobody has one, the first attacker rotates from game to game. The defender is always the next player clockwise.

Attacking and defending

Only the main attacker opens a round, leading any card. The defender covers it with a card that beats it. With several unbeaten cards on the table, the defender chooses the order.

A card is beaten by:

• a higher card of the same suit – the Queen of Diamonds beats the 8 of Diamonds,
• any trump, if the attack card is not a trump,
• a higher trump, if the attack card is a trump.

Throwing in extra cards

Once the first card is down, every player except the defender may throw in more cards – but only ranks already on the table, from attack or defense. If the 7 of Clubs was beaten with the King of Clubs, any 7 or King can follow. That’s why this version is called Podkidnoy, or “throw-in” Durak.

If you don’t want to add anything, tap “Done” – once everything is beaten, the button reads “Bito – done”.

Throwing in has two limits. Once one is reached, nobody needs to tap “Done”: the round ends by itself as soon as everything is beaten or the defender picks up.

• No more than 6 attack cards per round.
• Never more unbeaten cards on the table than the defender has in hand.

Bito or pick up: how a round ends

Bito (Russian for “beaten”): if everything is beaten and none of the attackers wants to add more, they all tap “Bito – done”. The cards are discarded face down and the defender attacks next. If another card is played first, whether thrown in or used to beat, everyone has to confirm again.

Pick up: if the defender can’t or won’t beat a card, they tap “Pick up” – only possible while at least one card is unbeaten. The attackers may still throw in matching cards, then the defender takes everything on the table, beaten cards included. The player after them attacks next.

Drawing: everyone then draws back up to 6 cards while the pile lasts – the main attacker first, then the other attackers clockwise, the defender last. Anyone holding 6 or more draws nothing.

End of the game: who is the Durak?

While the draw pile lasts, nobody is out – if you run out of cards, you simply draw again. Once it’s empty, anyone without cards at the end of a round is out and safe. If that’s the defender after a Bito, the next player after them attacks.

The last player holding cards is the Durak. If everyone still in the game runs out in the same round – say, the defender beats the last attack card with their last card – there is no Durak and the game is a draw.

Example round

Alex, Ben and Chloe are playing; Spades are trumps. Alex has the lowest trump, the 7 of Spades, and attacks Ben with the 7 of Clubs. Ben beats it with the King of Clubs.

Alex throws in the 7 of Diamonds, Chloe the King of Hearts. Ben covers the 7 of Diamonds with the 10 of Diamonds and trumps the King of Hearts with the 9 of Spades.

Alex and Chloe tap “Bito – done” and all six cards are discarded. Alex, Chloe and Ben draw in that order, then Ben attacks Chloe.

Had Ben been unable to beat the King of Hearts, he would have picked up – after Alex and Chloe had the chance to throw in more 7s, 10s or Kings. Chloe would then have attacked Alex.

Variants and house rules

Durak comes with plenty of house rules. Here is how our version handles the common ones:

• Transfer Durak (Perevodnoy): the defender passes the attack on with a card of the same rank. Here: no transferring.
• Only the defender’s neighbors may throw in. Here: everyone except the defender.
• The first round is limited to 5 attack cards. Here: 6 from the start.
• Four players play in two partnerships. Here: everyone for themselves.
• Who starts later games depends on the previous Durak. Here: in every game, the lowest trump attacks first.