Durak is usually explained for two players. At a real table, though, there are often three or four, and that changes more than you might expect. Several players can put pressure on the defender at once, the drawing order starts to matter, and at the end there are several winners but only one Durak. This article explains how Durak works with three and four players and how Durak Advanced applies the rules.
Cards and dealing
The game uses 36 cards from six to ace. Each player receives six cards, and the rest form the stock. The bottom card of the stock lies face up and sets the trump suit. It is the last card to be drawn.
- With three players, 18 cards are dealt and 18 stay in the stock.
- With four players, 24 cards are dealt and only 12 stay in the stock.
That alone changes the game. With four players the stock runs out after a few rounds. The phase in which you can still replace weak cards by drawing is short, and the endgame starts early.
Who starts and who defends
The first attack is played by whoever holds the lowest trump. The next player clockwise has to defend. After that, play continues clockwise around the table. Every round has exactly one defender, but with three or four players there are several possible attackers.
Who may attack?
The lead attacker opens the round with any card. After that, players may add cards whose rank is already on the table, either as an attacking or as a defending card. This is where many house rules differ. Two versions are common:
- Every player except the defender may add cards.
- Only the defender's two neighbours may add cards.
Durak Advanced combines both. In the first round of a game, all other players may add cards. From the second round on, only the defender's two direct neighbours attack.
With three players this makes no difference, because the other two players are always the defender's neighbours. With four players, from the second round on the player sitting opposite the defender sits out. That player does not have to pass or do anything else in that round.
Adding cards is allowed even while earlier attacking cards are still unbeaten, so the defender can come under pressure from two sides at once. Each attacker passes separately. The round only ends when all eligible attackers have passed and the defender has either beaten everything or picked up. When a new card comes onto the table, players who had already passed may add cards again.
How many cards may be on the table?
Even with several attackers there is one shared limit. There may never be more attacking cards than the defender held at the start of the round. Durak Advanced adds a second limit: until the first successfully defended round of the game, at most five attacking cards are allowed, and at most six after that.
With four players this limit is reached quickly. Two attackers share the same space on the table, and whoever waits too long may not be able to add anything at all.
Picking up
If the defender cannot or does not want to beat any more cards, they pick up. The attackers may still add matching cards as long as the limit has not been reached. Then the defender takes every card from the table into their hand. With two attackers, picking up is therefore often much more costly than in a two-player game.
Drawing and the next attack
After every round the players refill their hands to six cards while the stock lasts. The order is fixed: the lead attacker first, then the other players clockwise, and the defender last. Towards the end, this order decides who gets the last cards and who draws the face-up trump.
Who attacks next depends on how the round ended:
- If the defender beat every card, they become the lead attacker.
- If they picked up, they are skipped, and the player after them attacks.
With three or four players this skip is a real penalty. Whoever picks up not only gains cards but also loses the chance to attack and get rid of cards.
Transferring with several players
In Transfer Durak the defender may pass the attack on as long as no card has been beaten yet. To do so, they add a card of the same rank as all the attacking cards. The next player then has to defend, and the player who transferred becomes the lead attacker. With three or four players an attack can travel around the table several times and keep growing.
Two limits stop this from getting out of hand. After a transfer there may not be more cards on the table than the new defender holds, and the limit of five or six cards still applies. Our article on the classic variants explains the differences between standard and Transfer Durak.
The end of the game
Once the stock is empty, any player without cards is out. The others carry on, and players who are out are skipped for attacking, defending and adding cards. Whoever is last to hold cards is the Durak. If all remaining players get rid of their cards at the same time, the game is a draw.
So with four players three people can win while only one loses. That changes the mood at the table: it matters less to finish first than to avoid being the last one left.
Tactics at a larger table
Many principles from our article on attack and defence still apply. With three or four players a few points come on top:
- Remember more cards. At a larger table more cards are shown in every round. If you keep track of the ranks that have been played, you can tell earlier when adding a card is possible and when it is not.
- Think about the next round. If the defender beats everything, they attack next, and their clockwise neighbour has to defend. If that is your seat, your next defence will be against them.
- Save trumps for longer. With four players the stock is used up quickly, and in the endgame trumps are often the only cards that still defend reliably.
- Do not let the other attacker take all the space. The limit applies to both attackers together. If you have a good card to add, do not hold it back for too long.
- Watch the drawing order. Shortly before the stock runs out you can work out who will receive the face-up trump.
- Transfer with care. Every transfer puts another card on the table. If the next player can transfer back, a bigger attack can quickly return to you.
Teams and time limits
Some tables play four-player Durak in two teams, with partners sitting opposite each other. Durak Advanced does not have this team variant: every game is everyone against everyone.
In Durak Advanced, time limits make sure nobody holds up the round. An attacker who neither adds a card nor passes in time passes automatically. If the defender's time runs out, they pick up. If the first attacker does not open a round within 60 seconds, they lose the game.
Try it out
The quickest way to understand the rules for several players is to play. In Durak Advanced you can play games with two to four players against bots, or open a room and invite friends. Try one game with three players and one with four, and notice how different adding cards and the endgame feel.