Durak
Don't be the durak, the fool left holding cards at the end. Attack with any card, beat every attack with a higher card of its suit or a trump, or pick them all up.
How to play Durak
Deal and trumps
This is the common throw-in game with 36 cards, sixes to aces. Everyone gets 6 cards and the next card is turned face up under the stock: its suit is trumps, and it is the last card anyone draws. The player with the lowest trump attacks first (if nobody holds a trump, you start).
Attack and defence
The attacker plays a card to the player on their left, who beats it with a higher card of the same suit or with any trump; a trump is beaten only by a higher trump. When everything is beaten, the attacker and then the defender’s other neighbour may throw in cards of a rank already on the table, up to 6 attack cards and never more than the defender held at the start. A defender who can’t or won’t beat a card takes every card on the table, after the attackers have thrown in what they like, and loses the turn to attack.
Drawing and the end
When a bout is beaten, its cards go out of play and the defender attacks next. Then everyone draws back up to 6, first the player who opened the bout and the defender last. Once the stock is gone, a player with no cards left is out; the last player still holding cards is the durak. If the last players run out together, nobody is. Transfer: before beating anything, the defender may add a card of the same rank to pass the whole attack on to the next player, if that player holds enough cards.
Controls
Tap a card to lift it and tap again to play it, or drag it to the table; with a mouse, a click plays it. To defend, lift a card and tap the attack card it should beat, or drag it there. Take and Done are buttons under the table. With a keyboard, use the arrow keys and Enter, T to take and D for Done. There is no undo, because the computers’ cards are hidden.
Questions
What does durak mean?
Durak is the Russian word for a fool. The game has no winner as such: everyone tries to get rid of their cards, and the one player left holding cards at the end is the durak.
Who attacks first in Durak?
The player holding the lowest trump attacks first, and shows it. After that, a defender who beats every card attacks next, while a defender who takes the cards loses the turn and the player after them attacks.
How many cards can you throw in?
A bout holds at most 6 attack cards, and never more than the defender held when the bout started. Only cards of a rank already on the table can be added, whether it was played as an attack or as a defence.
What is transfer Durak?
In transfer Durak (perevodnoy), a defender who has not beaten anything yet may add a card of the same rank as the attack and pass the whole attack on to the next player, who then has to defend against every card. Choose the Transfer level to play it against one computer player.
Do the computer players cheat?
No. Each one sees only its own hand and what everyone at the table can see: the trump card, the table, the cards out of play and any cards a player was seen to pick up. The stronger players try out many possible layouts of the unseen cards before choosing; the Easy player plays loosely.