Fool Rules
How many players play “Fool”?
The card game Fool is usually played by 2 to 6 players. The game typically lasts about 8-10 minutes.
Required Equipment for the Game
Traditional “Fool” is played with a deck of 36 cards. The card rank order is ascending – starting with six, then seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king, and ace.
A 36-card game with 6 players can be predetermined, as the first player becomes the first attacker and has an advantage over the defender, while the first defending player is at a disadvantage, so other game variants are possible.
For example, you can play with a full deck of cards, including twos, threes, fours, and fives, as well as all special cards – jokers. In this case, the black joker beats any black card, and the red joker beats any red card.
You can also play with multiple decks of cards, again excluding the face cards (twos, threes, fours, and fives) and keeping all cards from six onwards. In this case, the game will be played with 72 cards.
Card Game Fool – Main Objective
The main and most important goal of the game is to get rid of all your cards. It doesn't matter in what order you discard your cards – the main thing is not to be the last one left with cards.
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How to Play Fool?
Gameplay
The rules of the game Fool are not complicated. Let's say we are playing a traditional game with a 36-card deck and 4 players.
The deck is thoroughly shuffled, and each player is dealt 6 cards. The dealer can decide whether to give 6 cards at once or vary 3+2+1, 3+3, 2+2+2.
If more than 4 players are playing Fool, usually fewer cards are dealt – 5 or 4 cards, to make the game more interesting and to ensure players don't take too long in one attack.
Cards are dealt clockwise. The remaining cards are placed on the table.
The top card of the deck is turned over and placed under the deck, indicating the trump suit. The card should be placed so that it is slightly visible – this will help players not to forget what the trump suit is.
The game starts with the player who has the lowest trump card. Let's say hearts are chosen as trumps, and you have the six of hearts – that means you start the game.
Also, to avoid unnecessary arguments, the game can be started not necessarily by the player with the lowest trump card.
As in traditional card games played clockwise, the player sitting to the left of the dealer starts the turn and throws any card they want. An unwritten rule is that the smallest non-trump card is usually played first.
Game Start
The player who first throws a card on the table is called the “attacker,” and the player sitting to their left is the “defender.” The defending player, sitting to the left, must beat the card thrown at them – they can throw a card of the same suit but of a higher rank. If the player does not have a higher-ranking card but has a trump card, they can beat it with a lower-ranking trump card or any rank card of another suit.
In short – a trump card can be called almighty. This is where the game becomes more interesting, with more intrigue and strategy, as players must pay attention to the card thrown at the defender and the card with which the defender beat the thrown card.
For example, the defending player was thrown a seven of clubs, and the trumps in this game are spades.
If the defending player beats the card, other players must check their cards. They check if they have cards of the same rank (for example, eights or sevens) or trumps (spades).
If they do, they can throw these cards at the same defending player. The defending player will have to defend again.
Players decide for themselves whether they want to “attack” the player to the end. Another rule is that trumps can only be defended with trumps.
It is important to note that a player cannot be given more cards to beat than were dealt at the beginning of the game, in this case, 6 cards. On the other hand, other game variants are possible where the number of cards to beat is not limited.
In this case, it is worth agreeing before the game on the rules to be played.
Possible 2 Attack Outcomes:
- If the defending player beats all the cards thrown at them, they get the honor of attacking the player sitting to their left. Moreover, the beaten cards are placed in a separate pile and are no longer used in the same game round.
- If the defending player cannot beat all the cards thrown at them, they must take all the cards. It is important to collect the cards with which they defended. After collecting the cards, the game continues with the player sitting to the left.
After the defense ends, all players must take turns drawing as many cards from the common pile as were dealt at the beginning of the game (in this case, 6, so if you have 4 cards left, you must draw 2 more).
The player who discards all their cards does not drop out of the game and must also draw 6 cards from the pile. The first to “replenish” their cards is the one who made the first move in the round. If playing with unlimited card defense (players throw cards as long as the player has something to defend with), then the one who defended starts, not the one who made the move.
Who Won?
If it happens that a player does not have enough cards in the pile to make up to 6, only then do they drop out of the game, and the remaining players continue the game.
The game round is won by the player who discards all their cards, and the loser, friendly called “Fool,” is the player who is the last to have at least one card left in the deck.
If playing again, the loser collects all the cards, shuffles them thoroughly, and deals them to the players again.
Strategies for the Card Game “Fool”
When someone attacks using low-value cards, you should respond with the lowest card you have. This way, your strong cards will remain with you when a stronger attack comes.
When you have strong cards or trumps in the game of “Durak,” try not to attack or defend too often. Let other players collect more cards, and only then use your strong cards.
Carefully observe which cards have been played and which remain in the game. This will help you make better decisions for attacking and defending.
Various Versions of the Card Game “Durak”
Durak Card Game in Pairs
One of the most popular versions is the cross-play game. Usually, four players (two against two) sit opposite each other. In this case, the players of separate pairs alternately throw cards – one player from one pair “attacks” a player from the other pair.
If a player beats all the cards thrown at them, it is said that they have defended, and then they attack the opponent sitting to their left. Now their partner can help them. If the player does not beat all the cards, they take them into their hand, and the player sitting to their left attacks the partner of the player who collected the cards.
Durak Card Game Counterclockwise
This version of “Durak” is one of the more common ones. This way of playing the card game counterclockwise is very popular in Southern European regions – mostly in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and other countries that speak these languages.
Passing Durak
In the “Passing Durak” game, a player can pass cards to another player if they have a card of the same rank.
Crazy Durak
In this game, diamonds are always trumps, and hearts can only be beaten by hearts.
Durak Card Game Without Trumps
The game is played without trumps.
Hearts Against Hearts
In this game, hearts are a special type of card that can only be beaten by other hearts. Trumps cannot be beaten by hearts, but hearts cannot beat trumps either. Additionally, in this case, hearts cannot be trumps.
Changing Trump
Another card, which is invisible, is placed under the visible trump. When one of the players takes the visible trump, the invisible card is then revealed – this determines the trump for the remaining card game.
