The rules of “Durnius”
Setup
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. The game can be played with six people if desired.
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 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.
Gameplay
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 his/her turn and the attack passes to
the player on the defender's left. If the attack fails, the defender becomes
the next attacker.
Attack
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,
throw-in variant, and in most other variants of “durnius”, the defender has to
immediately attempt defense in response to the initial attack. In the 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 past 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.
Ace is the highest
rank and six is the lowest. Trumps always beat non-trump cards regardless of
rank. A trump six beats a non-trump ace.
One variation of
passing called travel document allows a defender who holds the trump of the
same rank to simply show the card to pass the attack on and become the new
attacker. The holder of the trump card of the same rank may play it at any time
during the attack. If playing with fewer than 4 players, it is possible for the
attack to be passed all the way around and come back to the holder of the trump
card again. In this case the trump card may not be shown or played in order to
pass the attack a second time.
Defense
The defender
attempts to beat the attacking cards by playing higher-valued defending cards
from their hand. One card is played to defend against each attacking card, and
it must be in the attacking card's suit or the trump suit. The defending cards
are placed on top of the attacking cards so that players can keep track of
which card is defending against which.
At any point
during a defense, all players other than the defender can add extra attacking
cards, provided that for each new attacking card, there is already a card of
the same rank on the table (either defending or attacking), and the total
number of attacking cards does not exceed the number of cards in the defender's
hand. The defender must also defend against these new cards. If at any point
multiple players wish to add cards simultaneously, the first attacker has first
priority, then the player to defender's left, and so forth clockwise. Some
variants only allow cards to be added to the attack once the first defending
card has been played.
At any point
during the turn, a defender unwilling or unable to beat all attacking cards may
abandon the defense by picking up all the cards on the table. This ends the
turn. The failed defender loses their turn to attack; hence the player to the
defender's left attacks next.
If, however, the
defender has beaten all attacking cards, and no other players are willing or
able to add more, the defender has triumphed. The turn ends, all cards on the
table are placed in the discard pile, and play passes to the left: the
successful defender opens the next turn as the new attacker.
No players may
examine the discard pile at any point.
End of turn
At the end of each
turn, whether or not the defense was successful, each player draws until they
have six cards in their hand or the talon is exhausted. The main attacker draws
as many cards as necessary first, followed by any other attackers in clockwise
order, and finally the defender. Once the talon is empty, play continues
without further drawing. Players who exhaust their hands leave the game.
Winning and losing
The last person
left with cards in their hand is the loser the fool or durak. In some variants,
this player becomes the dealer for the next round. The player to the fool's
right may become the first attacker for the next round.
Some variants
declare the winner of the round to be the first player to exhaust their hand
and leave. In others, there are no winners, only the loser.
Team play
With four (2 vs.
2) or six players (2 vs. 2 vs. 2 or 3 vs. 3), it is possible to play in teams.
The members of each team sit opposite one another (with two players on each
team), or alternating (with three). In some variants, the team with the lowest
trump starts the first round, but in subsequent rounds the winning team from
the previous round begins.
When playing in
teams, players may not add to attacks on their teammates.
If the last card
played by an attacker is a six, and the defender loses, the defender is
cheerfully pronounced, a fool with an epaulette, and the six may be placed on
the shoulder of the loser. This is more insulting than simply declaring the
loser durnius, because of the handicap of keeping a low-value six card through
the final part of the game. If the attacker plays two sixes, it is an even more
cheerful occasion of "epaulettes on both shoulders".
Some variants use
the epaulettes as scoring points. If someone has a six as an epaulette, the
opponents must next score against them using a seven, and so on until someone
receives an ace as an epaulette. To score, the winning individual or team must
not only end with the correct epaulette value, but must include at least one
non-trump card in the final attack.
