Durak is the classic Russian shedding card game for two players, using a 36-card deck (6 up to Ace). After the deal, one card is flipped to set the trump suit. The attacker plays cards and the defender covers them with higher cards or trump: a successful defence sends the cards to the discard pile and swaps the roles, while a failed defence means taking every card on the table. Whoever is left holding cards is the durak — the fool.
Play now — it's freeDurak uses 36 cards: ranks 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace in all four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs).
Two players face each other and are dealt six cards each. The next card of the deck is then flipped face up: its suit is the trump for the whole deal, and the card itself stays visible under the draw pile until it is drawn last.
Get rid of all your cards. The deal ends once the deck and the flipped card are gone and either player's hand is empty: whoever emptied first wins, and the player still holding cards is the "durak" — the fool. If both hands empty at the same time, the deal is a draw.
The rank order is the same in every suit, weakest to strongest: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace.
Trumps are the one exception: any trump card beats any card of another suit no matter its rank, and when two trumps meet, the higher-ranked trump wins.
| Situation | Winning card |
|---|---|
| Same suit | The higher-ranked card |
| Different suit (non-trump) | Only a trump can beat it |
| Trump on non-trump | Trump always wins |
| Trump on trump | The higher-ranked trump |
The attacker opens by playing any card. The defender must cover it with a higher card of the same suit or with any trump — there is no third option.
Covered cards stay face up on the table until the bout ends, then all of them go to the discard pile and leave the game for good.
After the defender has covered every card on the table, the attacker may keep attacking with additional cards under one condition: a card's rank must match the rank of any card already showing on the table, attacking or defending.
A single bout holds at most six attacking cards, and never more cards than the defender is able to cover — an unanswerable attack serves nobody.
If the defender has covered everything and the attacker stops by declaring "bito", the table cards are discarded and the defender becomes the attacker for the next bout — the roles swap.
If the defender cannot cover a card, they declare "take": the attacker may add more matching cards first, and then the defender picks up every card on the table into their hand. In this case the roles do not swap — the same player keeps attacking in the next bout.
After each bout both players draw back up to six cards: the attacker first, then the defender. When the deck runs dry, the flipped trump card is drawn last — it becomes the very last card to enter a player's hand.
Each move is on a 25-second timer; if time runs out, the system plays a move on your behalf. The first attack alternates between deals, and deal results are tallied on a scoreboard that shows who leads the session.
Throw in your small trumps (6s and 7s) early while the deck is still full; a trump kept after the deck is gone is pure gold.
Watch the ranks already on the table — any card in your hand that matches a visible rank becomes a legal throw-in and piles pressure on the defender.
If your hand is nearly defenceless, take early rather than burning your big trumps on a losing defence.
Read the flipped card from the start: its suit becomes the strongest by the end, so shed your weak cards of that suit early.
36 cards — ranks 6 through Ace in all four suits.
In this version two players duel head-to-head: attacker versus defender, with an AI opponent available at any time.
The suit of the card flipped after the deal. Trumps beat every other suit, and the flipped card itself stays visible and is drawn last.
You declare "take": the attacker may add more matching cards, then you pick up every card on the table into your hand — and you defend again in the next bout.
When the deck and the flipped card are gone and either hand empties. Whoever is left holding cards is the durak (the loser); if both hands empty together, the deal is a draw.
Six each. After every bout both players draw back up to six — attacker first, then defender.
Yes — you can play Durak online free at durak.yeeqia.com directly in your browser, no download or sign-up required to try a table.
Yes, the site is mobile-first and runs in any modern Android or iOS browser, with full Arabic and English support.