Durak
I think the finest element of Durak is the shaky, ad-hoc alliance between a player and the player sitting across from him. It is not fixed or a priori, as in Euchre and its many cousins; rather, it arises out of mutual expedience and tactical advantage. And unlike Euchre’s partnerships it can therefore be broken or ignored at any time; but unlike Risk, say, whose alliances are also shifting and based on mutual self-interest, there is no offense or injury when the knife is thrust. Every time you go easy on him it is done so in the universal cheerful knowledge that the peace doesn’t necessarily extend past the moment at hand.
