What is Transfer (Perevodnoy)?
In the standard game here, a player who is attacked has two choices: beat every attack card with a higher card of the same suit or a trump, or take all the cards on the table into their hand. Transfer Durak, called Perevodnoy in Russian, adds a third.
As long as you have not beaten any attack card yet, you can transfer the attack by playing a card of the same rank as the attack cards. Your card joins the attack, the next player becomes the defender and has to deal with all of the cards, and you become the attacker of the bout. If you are attacked with a seven and hold a seven, you can pass the attack on, now two sevens, instead of beating it.
A transfer is allowed only if the next defender holds at least as many cards as the attack would then have, and the attack may never grow beyond six cards. The new defender can transfer again in the same way, so an attack can travel around the table and grow on the way; with two players it goes straight back to the player who started it. When the bout ends, the player who opened it draws first, and the last defender draws last.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Durak | Transfer (Perevodnoy) |
|---|---|---|
| Answering an attack | Standard DurakBeat every attack card, or take all the cards on the table. | Transfer (Perevodnoy)Beat them, take them, or transfer the attack by adding a card of the attacking rank. |
| When you can transfer | Standard DurakNever. | Transfer (Perevodnoy)Only before you have beaten any attack card. Once one card is beaten, you must beat the rest or take. |
| The new defender | Standard DurakEach bout has one defender, the player after the attacker. | Transfer (Perevodnoy)The next player in turn defends against every card, yours included, and you become the attacker. They must hold at least as many cards as the attack then has, or you cannot transfer. |
| Size of the attack | Standard DurakAt most six cards, and never more than the defender holds. | Transfer (Perevodnoy)The same: a transfer that would make the attack larger than six cards is not allowed. |
| Transferring again | Standard DurakNot possible. | Transfer (Perevodnoy)Each new defender can transfer again with another card of the same rank. With two players the attack goes straight back to the first attacker. |
| Drawing after the bout | Standard DurakThe attacker draws first, then the other players in turn, and the defender last. | Transfer (Perevodnoy)The player who opened the bout draws first, then the others in turn, and the last defender draws last. |
| Other options | Standard DurakPartnership play, a 24-card deck and a five-card first bout can be chosen. | Transfer (Perevodnoy)Transfers work with all of them. In a partnership game the attack always passes to an opponent; in the first bout with the five-card limit, a transfer cannot make the attack larger than five. |
History
Durak means fool in Russian: the player left holding cards at the end is the fool. Durak is often called the most popular card game in Russia, and the standard game here is its Podkidnoy form, whose name translates as fool with throwing in.
Perevodnoy means transfer. Perevodnoy Durak is a popular and common variant of Podkidnoy Durak. Its usual rules agree with the ones here: the transfer uses a card of the same rank, it is no longer possible once an attack card has been beaten, the new defender must hold enough cards to beat the attack, and the attack can be passed on again and again, all the way round the table.
Some rules also let a defender add several cards of the attacking rank in one transfer; here each transfer adds one card. A further house rule, transferring by just showing a trump of the attacking rank, is not played here.