This game was invented during dry rehearsal for the 2010 Arizona School for the Arts Showcase, in the back stage at Gammage Auditorium.
There is a correct spirit with which to play this game: the ideal player is fearless, fast, frantic, brave to the point of being foolhardy, great in heart, magnanimous in victory and jolly even in defeat. Play should not be cowardly or calculating: the sort of cold-hearted scheming so encouraged in other games of cards has no place in this game!
At the beginning of each round, the deck is placed faced down and then shuffled by milling about the cards in random piles with the hands. All players may participate in this group shuffling.
Then, each player grabs three cards at random (not yet looking at their hands). These cards are their "three people".
The remaining cards are then spread in a circle with a space in the center. This is called "The Nest".
The game proceeds as follows: one player flips a card from The Nest and places it in the center. This card is "The Bird". At that moment, play begins, and all players may now look at their hands.
Players may play cards at any time. A valid play is a single card placed on the bird, that matches the uppermost card in the bird either by suit or rank. I.e.: if an 8 of Hearts is on top of the bird, players may play either an 8 of any suit, or a heart card of any rank. Players may play only ONE card at a time. If a player plays a card that is no longer valid, i.e., because another play has played a card first, that player must pick back up the invalid card.
Players may draw a card from The Nest at any time. If the nest is ever empty, play shall be suspended while all of The Bird except for the uppermost card is turned face down and spread out to form a new nest.
Once a player has played all of their cards, they are "out". If they wish to, however, they may draw more cords to come back "in" to achieve additional glory. Drawing back in after becoming "out" and then becoming "safe" again is called a "birdy".
Play halts if, at any moment, only one player has cards in their hands. That player is the "durak", and all other players are winners.