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Deck and Dealing

The game uses a 36-card deck (from six to ace).

At the start, each player is dealt 6 cards.

The remaining deck is placed face down — this is the draw pile.

Trump Card

The top card of the draw pile is turned face up and placed under the deck so that its rank and suit are visible.

The suit of this card becomes the trump suit and is stronger than all other suits.

Goal of the Game

The objective is to be the first to get rid of all your cards.

The player who still has cards at the end is the loser — the fool.

Starting the Game

The player with the lowest trump card in hand makes the first move.

Card ranking from lowest to highest: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, ace.

Making a Move

A player may lead with one or more cards of the same rank (e.g., two jacks).

The next player must beat each attacking card by:

playing a higher card of the same suit; or

playing a trump if defending against a non-trump card.

Defense Rules

Trumps can only be beaten by higher trumps.

Beaten cards are placed in a separate discard pile.

If the defender cannot or does not want to beat the cards, they must take all cards from the table into their hand.

Drawing Cards

After a turn ends (either the attack is beaten or the cards are taken), players draw from the deck until they have 6 cards, starting with the attacker.

If the draw pile runs out, players continue with the cards in their hands.

Passing and Throw-Ins

Passing: if the defender has a card of the same rank as the attacking card, they may place it next to the attack to pass the turn to the next player.

Throw-ins: after the defender has beaten the attack, the attacker and other players may add cards of ranks already on the table.

End of the Game

The game continues until one player has no cards left.

That player is declared the winner, and the other — the fool.

You can also read additional information about the rules of the game here - https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Дурак_(карточная_игра)

The card game Durak (“Fool”) originated in Russia in the 18th century. The earliest known reference appears in the 1790s manual on card games The Calculating Card Player, where it was described as “the game of little fools.” At first, the game was popular mainly among peasants and common folk. The aristocracy preferred other games of the time, such as L’Hombre (18th century), Boston (early 19th century), Preference (19th century), and Whist (late 19th–early 20th century).
By the 20th century, however, Durak had become the most popular card game across the former Soviet republics, surpassing Preference and Painted Poker.
The name itself has no special meaning—the word durak (“fool”) was one of the most common insults in Russia. The whole idea of the game was to avoid being left as “the fool.” The earliest version was played with simple rules (“simple durak”), but later two main variants appeared: “podkidnoy” (throw-in durak) and “perevodnoy” (transfer durak). These new forms only increased the game’s popularity.
Other special variants also emerged, such as piki pikami (“spades by spades”), where spades can only be beaten by spades and diamonds are always trumps, sometimes nicknamed the “Japanese” variant. Over time, around 80 more versions were invented, including round durak, in which the top card on the table must be beaten by the next player in turn, or alternatively the bottom card on the table may be taken instead.
Not all variants have clear dates of origin—or even well-defined names—but together they show just how flexible and enduring the game has been throughout history.