Should you choose Standard Durak or Transfer Durak? Both share the same attack-and-defense foundation in Durak Advanced. The difference is whether a defender can redirect an attack by playing a matching rank. This guide describes our implementation; house rules at other tables can differ.
The shared setup
Our games use 36 cards, from six to ace, with two to four individual players. Each player receives six cards. The face-up trump indicator identifies the trump suit and remains part of the deck. The aim is to empty your hand after the draw pile runs out and the round is settled. The final player holding cards loses.
A higher card of the same suit beats a lower one. A trump beats a non-trump; a trump attack needs a higher trump. For example, if diamonds are trump, a heart queen beats a heart ten, and a diamond six also beats that heart ten. A spade king does not beat it merely by being higher.
Standard Durak: attack, defend and throw in
Standard Durak follows the throwing-in idea associated with Podkidnoy. An attacker leads a card. Eligible attackers may add cards whose ranks already appear among the attacks or defenses on the table. In our implementation only the defender’s active neighbours may attack; a player outside those positions cannot join that round’s attack.
The attack limit is at most six and is also bounded by the defender’s hand at the start of the round. A pass does not remove uncovered attacks. The table is discarded only when every attack is beaten and every eligible attacker has passed. If the defender takes, they collect all table cards, including defenses, and skip their next attack.
After a round, players draw toward six cards while the stock lasts, with the defender drawing last. Taking cards can leave a hand larger than six; the game does not remove the extras.
Transfer Durak: when can you pass an attack on?
In our Transfer mode, the defender can play a card matching the rank of the attacks and redirect the enlarged attack to the next active player. This is possible only before any attack has been defended. All attack ranks must match, and the new defender must have enough capacity for the transferred attack.
For example, a lone spade jack can be transferred using a heart jack. Both jacks then attack the next defender. With two players, that next defender is the original attacker. Holding a matching card therefore does not guarantee a legal transfer: that player may have too few cards left to face the enlarged attack.
Once you beat an attack, you commit to defending that round. Our rules do not include the house variant where merely showing a matching trump transfers the attack while you keep the card. Pagat’s Perevodnoy rules and variations provide an external comparison.
Which mode should you try first?
Choose Standard to learn suit comparisons, trump and throwing in. Choose Transfer when you want matching ranks to change who must defend. Slow, Medium, Fast and Extra Fast are timing presets configured by the administrator; they apply across modes and do not create different decks or transfer rules.
For context, read the history of Durak. When these foundations feel comfortable, explore Double Trump and Cheating Durak. Open the game to choose your mode and practise against bots.
For practical tips for your games, read our article on strategy for attack and defence.