Durak

Durak (Russian: Дурак; IPA: [dʊˈrak], "") is a card game that is popular in post-Soviet states. The object of the game is to get rid of all one's cards. At the end of the game, the last player with cards in their hand is the durak.

The game is typically played with two to five people, using a deck of 36 cards, for example a standard 52-card deck from which the numerical cards 2 through 5 have been removed.

In theory the limit for a game with one deck of 36 cards is six players, but this gives a considerable advantage to the player who attacks first, and a considerable disadvantage to the player who defends first. Variants exist that use more than one deck.

The deck is shuffled, and each player receives six cards.

The bottom card of the remaining deck is laid open on the table. This determines the trump suit. The remainder of the deck is then placed on top of the revealed card at a 90 degree angle, so that it remains visible, forming a draw pile called the prikup ("talon"). The revealed card remains part of the talon and is drawn as the last card. Cards discarded due to successful defenses are placed in a discard pile next to the talon.

The player with the lowest trump is the first attacker. The player to the attacker's left is always the defender. After each turn play proceeds clockwise. If the attack succeeds (see below), the defender loses their turn and the attack passes to the player on the defender's left. If the attack fails, the defender becomes the next attacker.

The attacker opens the turn by playing one card face up on the table as an attacking card. The player to the attacker's left is the defender.

In the basic podkidnoy (подкидной, "throw-in") variant, and in most other variants of durak, the defender has to immediately attempt defense in response to the initial attack. In the perevodnoy (переводной, "passing") variant, the defender may choose to either attempt defense or to pass the attack on clockwise around the table. In this case, the defender may only pass the attack if they have a card of the same rank as the attacking card or cards. To pass the attack, they add this card to the attacking cards. The defender now becomes the new attacker, and the player to their left becomes the new defender and must beat all cards. Passing is not allowed if the new defender has fewer cards in their hand than would be in the passed attack. In games involving four or fewer players, it is possible for the attack to pass all the way around the table, so that the original attacker ends up defending against their own attack.

...
Wikipedia