Durak

Durak - play multiplayer free durak

One of the more interesting card games to come out of many countries formally associated with the now defunct Soviet Union is Durak. This unique card game for 2 to 6 players is built around a standard 52 card poker deck with some cards removed. The objective when you play Durak is to get rid of all of your cards, the last one with a card or cards in their hand is known as the Durak or fool. So in essence, the object is not to win but simply not to lose.

Durak is best suited as a multiplayer game and can be played online for free on different internet sites. For those who wish to set up a game at home take a standard 52 card deck and remove the numerical cards 2 through 5 which will leave 36 cards in the deck. After shuffling each player will be dealt six cards face down. The top card of the deck is then flipped over and placed underneath the remaining cards at a 90 degree angle so everyone can see it. This card will be the trump suit for that particular game and the last card of the deck to be drawn.

The first player is known as the attacker and plays one card face up on the table which is the attacking card. The player to the attacker's left is known as the defender and in the basic version of Durak must respond by playing a card of higher value or a trump card. The attacker can then respond with another card of higher value or a trump card and the process continues. Another person can add a card to the attack or defense as long as the total amount does not exceed six cards or five if all defending card have been beaten or the number of cards in the defender’s hand, whichever is less.

If the defender cannot or is unwilling to beat the attacking cards played, they must pick up all the cards on the table and incorporate them into their hand. The failed defender now passes their turn to attack and the person on their left can now attack the person on their left.

If the defender beats all the attacking cards, all the cards played are discarded and play passes to the defender who now becomes the attacker. At the end of each turn starting with the attacker all players must refill their hand to six cards or until the deck runs out and the players play with what they have. When someone has run out of cards and cannot draw anymore they are out of the game. This continues until only one person is left. No players can examine the discard pile at any time.

One variation of Durak has the first person to lose all of their cards declared the winner, which at least rewards those who managed to get out first. But in most cases the “Durak” is the one who has to shuffle up the cards for the next game.

Durak is a fun game with many variants that can be used to spice it up. Playing Durak online is easy and a great way to engage in this skillful contest where the one that loses their cards becomes the winner.