Durak player's glossary

Words at the table often get mixed up, especially the discard pile and taken cards. Here is a short note on what each of them means. The Russian word is given in parentheses, since that is what you will hear at a Russian table.

An open notebook with card suits and notes

Basic terms

Round (kon): One exchange from the first attacking card until someone says "done" or "take". A game is made up of several rounds.
Trump (kozyr): The suit that beats any other. It is set by the card under the deck at the start of the game.
Done (bito): The announcement that every card on the table has been beaten. The cards go to the discard pile and the turn moves on.
Take (beru): Refusing to defend. The defender picks up every card from the table and skips the next turn.
Discard pile (otboy): The stack of played cards that are out of the game. Only cards that were beaten go there.
Throw in (podkinut): Adding to the table a card of a rank already played this round.
Pass (perevod): Handing the attack to the next player with a card of the same rank. Only possible in passing Durak.
Drawing (dobor): Refilling your hand to six cards from the deck after a round.
Durak: "Fool": the player left holding cards when everyone else has none.
Epaulettes (pogony): A joke ritual: two cards are placed on the loser's shoulders. It does not affect the rules.

What people often mix up

The discard pile and taken cards

Only beaten cards go to the discard pile, and they never return to play. Cards the defender picked up stay in the game; they are simply in that player's hand now.

The trump card and the trump suit

The trump card is one specific card under the deck; someone will get it with the last draw. The trump suit is a property of every card of that suit in the current game.

Throwing in and passing

You throw in to the player who is already defending. You pass so that the next player defends instead of you. These are different moves, even though in both cases you put down a card of the same rank.

See it all on the table

In the game, the terms are labeled right on the screen: the deck, the discard pile, the trump and the action buttons.

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