Rules of Durnius (the Fool)

Setup

2 to 6 players use a 36-card deck (sixes to aces). Everyone gets 6 cards. The rest form the stock; its bottom card is turned face up and its suit becomes trumps. With six players the stock is empty, so the last dealt card sets trumps.

Who starts

The player holding the lowest trump starts. If nobody has a trump, the first player starts. Play goes clockwise: one player attacks, the next one defends.

Attack and defence

• The attacker plays any card.
• The defender beats it with a higher card of the same suit or with a trump. A trump can only be beaten by a higher trump.
• Every player except the defender may throw in cards whose rank is already on the table.
• A bout holds at most 6 attack cards and never more than the defender held when the bout began.
• When everything is beaten and nobody can or wants to throw in more, the cards are discarded and the defender attacks next.
• If the defender cannot or will not defend, they take every card on the table (others may throw in first) and lose their turn to attack.

Drawing

After each bout players draw from the stock up to 6 cards: the main attacker first, then the others, the defender last.

End of the game

Once the stock is empty, players who run out of cards leave the game. The last player holding cards is the fool. If the last players run out at the same time, the game is a draw.

Playing with a screen reader

• The page is split into headed sections: Situation, Table, Your cards, Players and Game log. Navigate by headings (H key).
• Every move by other players is announced automatically. When it becomes your turn you hear it, and optionally a sound plays.
• Cards are buttons. Press a card to attack, throw in or defend with it. If it can beat several table cards, "Beat" buttons appear in the Table section.
• Cards you cannot play right now are marked unavailable; pressing one explains why.
• When you may throw in more cards but do not want to, press "I'm done" right below your cards.

Keyboard shortcuts

• Alt+Shift+T reads every card on the table and whether it is beaten.
• Alt+Shift+K reads the trump suit, the trump card and how many cards are left in the stock.
• Alt+Shift+D presses "I'm done" when you do not want to throw in more cards.