Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Durak is the most well known and popular card game in Russia and Ukraine. Durak, meaning fool, is the title given to the loser of the game - the last player to get rid of their cards.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
Durak is the most well known and popular card game in Russia and Ukraine. Durak, meaning fool, is the title given to the loser of the game - the last player to get rid of their cards. It is a game of skill and can be played by two to six players playing individually or with four people, playing in two teams of two. Durak uses the Russian deck of 36 cards or can be played with a standard deck of cards with the 2-5 inclusive removed. Popular variants of the game include Podkidnoy Durak (Throw-In Durak) and Perevodnoy Durak (Transfer Durak) where the key difference is that in Perevodnoy Durak a defender may pass the attack to the next player by playing a card that matches the rank of the attacking card.