Card and board games

Entries on games that are easy to start and hard to master, with rules summaries and places to play.

• Durak

  The attack-and-defence card game from Russia and Eastern Europe, with a free place to play.

• Durak variants

  Throw-in (podkidnoy), transfer (perevodnoy), deck sizes and house rules.

• Chess

  The rules in one page, the three special moves, and how to read notation.

• Backgammon

  Dice, 15 checkers each, and a race home with hitting along the way.

• Go

  Simple rules, deep strategy. Start on a small board.