What you need
A 36-card pack: a standard deck with the 2s through 5s removed, so each suit runs 6 up to ace. Two to six players; four can play in two partnerships.
Object of the game
Get rid of all your cards once the stock has run out. The last player still holding cards loses.
Setup and deal
- 1Deal six cards to each player, one at a time.
- 2Turn the next card face up: its suit is trumps for the whole hand. Place the rest of the pack face down across it, so the trump card stays visible at the bottom of the stock.
- 3The player to the dealer’s left makes the first attack, against the player on their left.
How to play
- 1The attacker plays any card face up in front of the defender.
- 2The defender beats it with a higher card of the same suit, or with any trump if the attack card is not a trump (a trump can only be beaten by a higher trump).
- 3The attacker—and then the other players—may add more attack cards, but only of a rank that is already on the table in this bout. No more than six attack cards per bout, and never more than the defender has in hand.
- 4If the defender beats every attack card, the bout is over: the cards are discarded and the defender becomes the next attacker.
- 5If the defender cannot or will not beat a card, they pick up every card from the bout. They lose their turn to attack, so the player on their left attacks next.
- 6After each bout, players with fewer than six cards draw back up to six from the stock—attacker first, defender last.
How the game ends
- When the stock is empty, nobody draws any more and players drop out as they play their last card.
- The last player left holding cards is the durak and usually deals the next game.
Common variations
- Perevodnoy (“passing”) Durak: a defender can pass the attack on to the next player by adding a card of the same rank.
- Some tables play with a full 52-card deck when there are more than six players.
- Partnership play: partners sit opposite each other and both are safe as soon as one team runs out together.
Tips for your first game
- Save your trumps for the end—when the stock is gone, they are the cards that get you out.
- Attack with low cards of ranks you hold in pairs, so you can keep throwing in.
- Taking a small pile early is often better than wasting a high trump.
Durak FAQ
How many cards do you deal in Durak?
Six cards each, and players refill to six from the stock after every bout until it runs out.
Can you play Durak with a normal deck?
Yes—remove the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s to leave 36 cards. Some groups with many players use all 52.
Who wins at Durak?
Strictly speaking, nobody: the game only produces a loser, the last player holding cards.