DUDÁK



OBJECT OF DUDÁK: The object of Dudák is to not be the last player to empty their hand.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 players

MATERIALS: One 32-card German-suited deck, and a flat surface.

TYPE OF GAME: Shedding Card Game

AUDIENCE: Any Age 


OVERVIEW OF DUDÁK

Dudák is a shedding card game for 4 players. It uses a 32-card German-suited deck and can be played a single game or several games at a time. The goal of each game is not to be the last player to empty their hand. If you are the last player to do so you have lost the game, there is no winner. 

SETUP 

The first dealer is random, if more games are played the last game’s loser will deal. The cards are shuffled, and the dealer deals each player a hand of 8 cards. 

Cards Ranking and Combinations

A German-suited deck consists of four suits. These are the Acorns, Leaves, Balls, and Hearts. The suits are not ranked but the cards in each suit are. Each suit has the same ranking. Ace (high), King, Over, Under, 10, 9, 8, and 7 (low). 

While it is possible to modify a traditional 52-card deck to play, it makes the game less authentic, but to do so the 6s, 5s, 4s, 3s, and 2s, would need to be removed from the game. 

GAMEPLAY

The game starts with the player left of the dealer and continues clockwise from them. One each player’s turn they will play cards from their hand to the center play pile. 

To start the game the first player will play any card from their hand to start the pile. If ever during the game the pile is emptied, the next player will follow these same instructions, and play a single card from their hand to start the pile. 

Following this, players on their turn must try to beat the top card of the play pile by either playing a higher-ranked card of the same suit or a trump (discussed below). Then that same player will play any additional card to the pile for the next player to beat. 

If at any point a player cannot or wishes not to beat the top card of the pile, they will need to draw cards. how many cards they draw depends on a few factors discussed below.

At any point during the game, at the start of their turn, a player can declare a trump suit for themselves. This will be their trump suit until the next game. Players cannot share a trump suit, so the first to call it gets it. Having a trump suit changes the way the game is played, so a player may try to hold off calling a suit till later. Once three of the four are called the last player will automatically receive the last available suit as their trump suit. 

Before they have a trump suit, when a player needs to draw cards they will draw one card from the top of the play pile, and place it separate from their hand,  until the top card of the play pile is one they can and want to beat with a card from their hand. They may then play the card to beat it, take the drawn cards into their hand, and play any card for the next player to beat. It is also possible for a player to draw the whole play pile into their hand. If this happens, all cards are taken into their hand and they play no cards, passing their turn. 

After a player has a trump suit when they must draw cards, they must draw the whole play pile and pass their turn without playing a card. 

Eventually, players will start to empty their hands and drop out of the game. If at some point a player only has a single card left in hand and uses it to beat the top card of the play pile, the whole pile is removed from the game. The next player will need to start a new pile. 

END OF GAME

The final player left with cards in hand has lost the game. 

Amber Crook
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