How to Play

Svoi Kozyri is a Russian beating game in the Durak family in which each player owns a personal trump suit. Beat the top card with a higher same-suit card or with your own trump, or refuse and pick up cards. The last player holding cards is the durak.

Svoi Kozyri, literally 'one's own trumps', is a Russian beating game in the Durak family. Each player has their own assigned trump suit, and only YOUR own trump can beat anything: opponents' trumps cannot beat each other or you. Cards are played to a central pile that grows as players beat or refuse to beat the top card; refuse and you scoop a fixed number of cards back into your hand. The first player to shed every card wins; the last player still holding cards is the loser ('durak' or 'fool').

Players

Svoi Kozyri is best for 4 players (one trump suit each) but is also playable by 2 or 3 players. With 3 players, one suit is left unassigned and acts as 'no one's trump'. This guide describes the 4-player game.

Card Deck

• Use a 36-card Russian pack (6 through Ace in each of the four suits).
• Card rank within a suit, high to low: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.A♠K♠Q♠J♠
• Each player is assigned ONE suit as their personal trump suit; that assignment lasts the whole game.

Objective

Be the first player to get rid of all your cards. Players who shed all their cards drop out of the round; the last person left holding cards is the loser of that round.

Setup and Deal

1. Players agree before play who will own which suit (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs); the assignment stays fixed for the session.
2. Shuffle the 36-card deck and deal all cards face-down, one at a time clockwise, until everyone has 9 cards (4 players); 12 each (3 players); or 18 each (2 players).
3. Six redistribution: After the deal, any 6 dealt to a player is given to the player who owns the suit of that 6. If a player owns no 6 (because they did not get any of their own suit), play simply continues without that adjustment.
4. The player to the dealer's left leads first by playing any card face-up to the centre.

Gameplay

1. The play pile. All cards played stack face-up in the centre with only the top card visible. Each new player tries to beat the top card.
2. To beat the top card, play either (a) a higher card of the SAME suit as the top card, or (b) any card of YOUR OWN trump suit (regardless of whether you can follow suit).
3. Trump beats non-trump, but only YOUR trump beats the top card; another player's trump card on top is essentially a non-trump for everyone except its owner.
4. Beating your own trump: A trump card on top can ONLY be beaten by a higher card of YOUR trump suit (i.e. by its own owner playing higher). Other players cannot beat it directly; they must refuse and pick up.
5. The two-card play. A normal turn is TWO cards: first beat the top card, then play any second card on top as the new lead for the next player. (If you cannot beat or do not wish to beat, see Refuse below.)
6. Refuse to beat (pickup). If you cannot beat the top card, or choose not to, you pick up cards from the top of the pile as a penalty: pick 3 cards if the top is a non-trump (or fewer if the pile has fewer than 3 cards left); pick 5 cards if the top is your own trump (non-Ace); pick the entire pile if the top is your own trump Ace. The player to your left then plays a fresh card to the centre and play continues from there.
7. Going out. As soon as you play your last card from your hand (and any required follow-up if applicable), you are out of the round and play continues among the remaining players.
8. End of round. The last player still holding cards is the durak (loser). They typically deal the next round.

Scoring

• Svoi Kozyri is traditionally played for honour rather than points. The loser of each round is recorded; play continues until one player has lost the agreed number of rounds and is declared the overall durak.
• Some groups score 1 point per round to the FIRST player out and 0 to everyone else, accumulating to a target of 5 or 10 points.
• Draw rule: If only one player remains and that player can beat the top card with their last remaining card, the round is a draw and the previous loser deals again.

Winning

Within a single round, the first player to shed all cards wins; the last player holding cards is the loser. Across a session, the player who has lost the fewest rounds (or, in the points variant, accumulated the most points) is the overall winner.

Common Variations

• Two-handed Svoi Kozyri: Each player owns two trump suits (so all 4 suits are covered). Symmetric variants by Besikovich play the game with hands face-up for a perfect-information puzzle.
• Blind trump assignment: Players draw their trump suit at random instead of choosing, removing pre-game negotiation.
• Open trumps: All trump assignments are public knowledge from the start; the standard rules.
• Fixed pickup: Some regional rules use a single pickup penalty (e.g. always 3 cards) regardless of whether the top is a trump.
• Kryt'-Navalivat': A close cousin where players add cards of equal rank rather than higher rank to defend.

Tips and Strategy

• Hoard your high trumps. Your trump Ace and King are decisive late-game cards; once they hit the table only you can lift them off, and your trump Ace forces any future picker to take the entire pile.
• Force pickups on the dangerous opponent. Lead a card the player to your left cannot beat (by choosing a suit they have already shown out of) to force them to pick up.
• Refuse strategically. It is sometimes better to pick up 3 cards than to use a precious high trump or your trump Ace to beat a small card.
• Track the trumps. Knowing which of an opponent's trump cards have already been played tells you when their trump suit is exhausted and they can no longer beat a non-matching card.
• Two-card combos. Plan your two-card turn together: the second card you play sets what your left-hand opponent must beat. Lead a low card in their long suit (so they will respond cheaply) only if you want them to stay in the round.

Glossary

• Svoi Kozyri: Russian for 'one's own trumps'; both the name of the game and the rule that each player owns a personal trump suit.
• Durak: Russian for 'fool'; the title given to the last player still holding cards at the end of a round.
• Beat: Play a higher card of the same suit, or one of your own trump cards, on top of the pile.
• Refuse: Decline (or be unable) to beat; pick up a fixed number of cards from the top of the pile as a penalty.
• Pickup: Cards taken back from the play pile when refusing; the count depends on whether the top card was non-trump (3), your trump (5) or your trump Ace (entire pile).
• Top card: The most recently played card in the centre pile; the one the next player must beat or pick up.