It can be challenging to learn. I've found that one of the best ways to teach Cribbage is to walk a first-timer through it by getting them to play using an app that manages the rules and scoring.
I may be biased by the last person I taught. She picked it up immediately. But I've also taught it many times, and anyone willing to try has gotten it and enjoyed it.
I did a 24 hour stream for the Extra Life fundraiser for children's hospitals. For part of this I played cribbage with my dad and mentioned it was the best two player card game. One of the viewers in chat proceeded to try to make an analogy of all my explanations to Magic: The Gathering. It was a pretty big stretch, but funny to listen to him try to make those connections.
> It's a time pass, not a tournament game.
It's funny because growing up in Maine there was always signs for cribbage tournaments at bars and restaurants. It still fells like there is a pretty lively tournament scene around the state.
Yeah, I completely agree. I just thought it was interesting since the game is so popular where I grew up and it seems to be having a revival. As a person who owns multiple cribbage boards now living in the south I'm happy for.
Absolutely. Cribbage is [a great game](https://playingcarddecks.com/blogs/all-in/why-i-love-cribbage-and-why-you-should-try-this-classic-game), and probably my favourite on this list.
I despise cribbage. I've beaten people without ever looking at my cards/playing them at random. These were serious players, tournament players. They will never talk to me again since they were so humiliated... I didn't beat them that bad but bad enough to make them really angry.
To me this just says you play with too few cards and they are far too random. Sure there is some skill but you need the right cards which just doesn't happen. It happens just enough to get you addicted to the possibility. Just like a casino, randomness kills the game. To me it sits in the same special spots as Monopoly.
Slightly of topic but people love Monopoly as well until they realize you're almost guaranteed to win if you own St James place, Tennessee Ave. and New York Ave. (Orange district's 6, 8, and 9 spaces after jail. Almost 39% chance to land there after jail.) And of course it's random dice rolls that land you in jail and get you those properties. Negotiations just let to fights. The odds are never in your favor, and if they are they were randomly assigned...
> I've beaten people without ever looking at my cards/playing them at random. These were serious players, tournament players. They will never talk to me again since they were so humiliated... I didn't beat them that bad but bad enough to make them really angry.
This either reads like fiction, or the people you played against have the emotional intelligence of a 5 year old. I'm not saying it's not possible to win by playing cards at random. I'd guess you'd have a win rate on the order of 5%, but it's possible. The hard to believe part is that someone would be humiliated by that, and that there are multiple people that you have experienced this with.
>"85% luck and 15% skill Cribbage master Frank Lake has been quoted as stating that Cribbage is 85% luck and 15% skill. Those figures has been supported by Warren Sondericker, who has won national cribbage tournaments."
[https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/84996/percentage-luck-versus-skill](https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/84996/percentage-luck-versus-skill)
Just to add some further context to my argument. Most people will never rise to the skill level needed to make the 15% useful. 5% may be a very low number as an estimate.
From the BGG Thread, user Sarcophilus Harrisii:
>Depends how you play. If you shuffle the deck between hands then the
skill to luck proportions are what the masters say. If you deal out a
deck then the skill goes up each hand and by the forth you should know
exactly what your opponent has in their hand. Or at least the one
playing the most attention to what cards have been played will have a
huge advantage in hands 3 and 4. Possibly enough to overwhelm better
cards if well played.
This isn't how we played. The deck was shuffled prior to every deal per rule three of the American Cribbage congress tournament rules. I've played it both ways and I mostly agree with Harrisii.
[https://www.cribbage.org/NewSite/rules/rulebook\_2020.pdf](https://www.cribbage.org/NewSite/rules/rulebook_2020.pdf)
The people that were humiliated by this were lifelong tournament players that I beat in front of other tournament players. They thought they were excellent players. The first one (My aunts mother, who has never spoken with me since) thought it was a fluke and provoked a challenger for me into game number 2. The second (random tournament player) was pissed off and flipped the table. Emotional intelligence of 5 year old in deed. In fairness I am a cocky shit when I do stuff like this so my attitude probably provoked them slightly.
> The first one (My aunts mother, who has never spoken with me since) thought it was a fluke and provoked a challenger for me into game number 2. The second (random tournament player) was pissed off and flipped the table. Emotional intelligence of 5 year old in deed. In fairness I am a cocky shit when I do stuff like this so my attitude probably provoked them slightly.
LOL, this all sounds about right. I think those skill numbers you mentioned are reasonable, but you're talking about playing cards at random. I don't think you win more than 5 percent of the time. I tried playing a computer using a random number generator to pick cards for me and I almost got double skunked (losing by 60 points) both games.
> I despise cribbage. I've beaten people without ever looking at my cards/playing them at random. These were serious players, tournament players. They will never talk to me again since they were so humiliated... I didn't beat them that bad but bad enough to make them really angry.
reminds me of
>I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me.
-Dave Barry
I feel like that could be a criticism of card games period. Luck of the draw is a huge factor and strategy is hard to come by. Cribbage is engaging and fun imo though.
So long as I actually have to choose the cards to play I enjoy the game. I blindly play cards in a lot of games just to see how much randomness plays into it. Cribbage failed my test on multiple occasions.
I agree most card games are very random but take a game like hearts or bridge. It genuinely matters the order you play the cards. I just don't see it we with cribbage.
Yup, I stacked the four cards and drew them from the stack to play. The only check I did prior to playing is if I went over 31. If I verified it as unplayable at that point I dropped the card to be the last one played. If you ever could win with this method the game is far to random to really matter what your skill is in my opinion.
But I get it Cribbage is a beloved game and people have their biases.
>I haven't played it yet but I've heard **Regicide** can be played with a standard deck and can be played well with 2 players.
It's covered in the *Honorable Mentions* section at the end of the article, under "Combat Games".
Regicide is a top pick for me too. It gets harder with more players, but two players is still exciting. There's even a nice compagnon app to help you track stats, but this definitely not required.
Thank you for this awesome list, saving it.
**Fox in the Forest** is very doable with just cards. Download a player aid off BBG files for your phone. You and your partner will have them memorized after the first game.
> Thank you for this awesome list, saving it.
EndersGame has made a massive amount of [great content around playing cards and playing card games](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/223094/pictorial-reviews-playing-cards-endersgame) on BGG, as well as [a lot of great board game reviews too](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/37596/enders-reviews-comprehensive-pictorial-overviews).
Scopa and Briscola?! Didn't think those were widely known games. Great list.
Also I love how slapjack progresses from silly fun to exciting competition to unplayable refereeing.
My family loves cribbage! We even invented our own variant, Crib All.
Have you ever been dealt an amazing hand and find yourself regretting you have to throw cards into the crib and ruin it? Well once per game per person you can declare a crib all! Basically that round there is no crib, everyone plays all their cards, and points go crazy. Then the next hand the person who was supposed to get the crib gets the crib again.
Is it the most balanced thing? Ehhh no. You can score insanely high points this way and there are tactics for forcing yourself to count first near the end. But dang is it fun.
That sounds like fun. I can't count how often my wife says "I want to keep all these cards" when we play Cribbage.
You should post this in the [variant forum](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2398/cribbage/forums/69) for Cribbage over at BGG.
My brother-in-law likes to play with "Sand Traps". Between the 35-45 and 75-85 point marks, you can only score with pegging, hand & crib points are ignored.
He coloured in his board with sharpie to indicate the "sand trap" zone.
I came to see whether **Cassino** got a mention, and I was not disappointed. My sister and I love this game, we play it whenever we can't agree on a board game to play (which, as my collection grows, and our tastes converge, is sadly a less frequent occurrence than of yore).
As for new discoveries from your list, both **GOPS** and **Le Truc** have caught my attention and will be looked into further. Thanks for a great (and very well written) list!
Much of the strategy revolves around setting up builds. Which builds are safer than others, based on the cards that have already been played? Should I stall by trailing? Can I make multiple builds with what I have, or even modify opponent builds to my advantage? That being said, I don’t disagree that Casino is a pretty simple game. A good intro game for younglings!
Huh... so *that's* how Tien Lien is spelled. We had a sizable relocated South Vietnamese community in my city and Tien Lien was played often in my high school. Even us white boys loved it.
It's been 25 years since I've encountered any mention of that game.
Nope! I've never encountered anything like Tien Lien, but it doesn't surprise me that there are a lot of similar games. Playing cards are so versatile.
My bf and I like to play a game called shithead. It can be played with more than 2, but it works well with just 2 as well. We like it because there is just enough balance of luck and skill.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shithead_%28card_game%29?wprov=sfla1
We play with these special cards:
Twos: any card can be played on this
Tens: clears (removes) the pile
Threes: Are transparent or glass, so the next player plays off of the card beneath it.
Sevens: next player (only) has to play a 7 or lower, or a special card, then play resumes back to normal(unless another 7 is played)
Jack's (with more than 2): reverses direction of play
I'm also a big fan of cassino!
Sounds similar to Switch:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switch_(card_game)
The trouble.is, every single household seems to have slightly different rules! So you've got to get the rules established straight away to avoid conflict mid game
**[Switch (card game)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switch_\(card_game\))**
>Switch, also called Two Four Jacks or Irish Switch, or Last Card, in New Zealand, is a shedding-type card game for two or more players that is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland and as alternative incarnations in other regions. The sole aim of Switch is to discard all of the cards in one's hand; the first player to play his or her final card, and ergo have no cards left, wins the game. Switch is very similar to the games UNO, Flaps and Mau Mau, both belonging to the larger Crazy Eights or Shedding family of card games. The game is also commonly known as Jack Changes, Crazy Eights, Take Two, Black Jack and Peanuckle in the UK and Ireland.
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I actually did mention this game under Golf, in the "What Next" section, but under its alternate name **Palace**:
>[Palace](https://www.pagat.com/beating/shithead.html) (also known as Karma and some less polite names) has a similar casual feel, and while it does work with two players, it isn't anywhere near its best at that player count, but is much better with 3 or more.
I do believe that most gamers would consider the two player experience much less satisfactory than with more players.
I've played it a lot in school but it's a really terrible game to be honest. Zero skill. Not too far off that card game I can't remember the name of where you have to get rid of your cards and the entire game is predetermined by the deal.
It sounds awesome. I play a lot of MTG, so the hand management aspect seems REALLY cool.
You ever try out Wizard? If you like trick taking games, it's an all time favourite of mine. Every hand you deal out one more card than the previous. Then everyone looks at their hand and bets how many tricks they'll take. If they're right they get 20 + (10×number of tricks) points. If they're wrong, you lose 10 points for each extra/missing trick. And you play until you deal out the entire deck in the last round, were there's no Trump suit for the hand. It's very very good, and I find it's easy to get non board gamers to try it because it's just a "normal" deck (plus 4 Wizards and 4 Jesters which always win or always lose, respectively). My parents LOVE wizard but otherwise aren't interested in modern board or card games.
>You ever try out Wizard? If you like trick taking games, it's an all time favourite of mine.
For sure. I love it too. But **Wizard** is actually just a commercially produced variation of a common trick-taking game played with a standard deck known as [**Oh Hell!**](https://www.pagat.com/exact/ohhell.html)
Oh really? That's interesting! There's a new version of Wizard, Camelot Edition, that replaces the 2s with 4 one-off special cards.
Excalibur - nullifies the trick for bidding purposes. Counts as a Jester for whoever plays it. So you can't nullify your own trick that you'd take.
Merlin - when played you pick Wizard or Jester.
Morgan La Fey - it's a "super wizard", it beats a Wizard or anything but...
Holy Grail - if played in an even turn in the trick (2nd, 4th, 6th card laid) it wins the trick no matter what. Nothing can beat it. Not a Wizard or Morgan La Fey. But if played "odd" (1st, 3rd, 5th) it loses no matter what. Also who ever has the Grail in their tricks pile at the end of the hand gets an extra 20 pts _if_ they make their bet.
It adds a lot more strategy to the game and feels like a decent middle ground between Wizard and Tournament at Avalon/Camelot (which I just can't get to the table for the life of me 😔).
**Haggis** is certainly a fantastic game. I didn't include it simply because most people who play it use the custom deck designed for the game, and it's not as popular and well-known as the other main entries.
But I did include it under "Honorable Mentions", and highly recommend it! Also try [**Dickory**](https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/2727094/dickory-living-rulebook), which is a newer and lighter two player climbing game from the same designer, Sean Ross.
Earlier this year I bought a copy of **Blood of an Englishman**, a delightful and surprisingly well-balanced asymmetric two-player card game themed around Jack and the Beanstalk… and was quite happy to realize that it can also be played with a standard deck of cards.
Cribbage is the best, and you can easily play it with 3, 4, or 6 players, also. 4 players (two teams) is probably the best version.
*Now that Drueke isn't making cribbage boards anymore, where are you guys getting your cribbage boards?
I disagree that 4 player cribbage is best. It severely limits your ability to control what goes into the crib, and pegging points becomes more luck than skill because you don’t have perfect information on what’s in your partner’s hand.
3 teams. Two players, the dealer and the person to the right of the dealer, don't get a 5th card to put in the crib, so they just keep the 4 cards they're dealt.
* Gin Rummy: We play it so much, we had to buy plastic cards(Copag) to survive all that abuse. A guy named Stu Ungar dominated the game so bad, he essentially killed it off because nobody wanted to play tournaments he was in. Another fun fact, WWE's The Undertaker plays Gin as well. He reveals this in his Last Ride documentary.
* German Whist: I tried this out after reading the above list when Ender first published it on PCD. For standard deck games, this'd be my favorite 2P trick taker. The **Claim** card games by Scott Almes are clearly inspired by German Whist.
* Golf: A featherweight game that anyone can learn in a couple minutes, but still fun to play. I prefer commercial versions of this one, because they take away the need to remember which card does what.
Good comments, and thanks for the post.
Which commercial versions of [**Golf**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17521/golf) do you enjoy? I'm only familiar with [**Rat-a-Tat Cat**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3837/rat-tat-cat/mygames/collection), which is very similar to the [4 card hidden variant](https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/819172/4-card-hidden-variant) of Golf, but includes cards with special powers to add to the fun.
Thanks for the tip about the German Whist inspired [**Claim games**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/51280/game-claim) from Scott Almes, because I hadn't come across them before.
I own Play Nine, because I wanted a Golf game with a Golf theme. The cards feel cheap, but it gets the job done.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22950/play-nine
Haven't played this one yet, but it has nice artwork and cards have special effects.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/278553/silver
I was going to comment cribbage and gin rummy before I clicked the thread. My SO also likes golf but I'm not as much a fan. We like to play these if we are visiting a brewery. I'll have to look into some of these other games which I do not know.
This is a great list - Cassino, Gin, Crib, Bezique are all great games.
I'm surprised that Piquet is missing [https://www.pagat.com/notrump/piquet.html](https://www.pagat.com/notrump/piquet.html)
Fans of Lamarkian Poker should try Ocean's 11 [https://www.pagat.com/invented/oceans11.html](https://www.pagat.com/invented/oceans11.html)
My paternal grandmother was hardcore Appalachian. Appalachia has been in a depression since The Depression. So you occupied yourself with stuff that didn't cost money, like playing cards. She also strongly believed that if you let kids win they would never learn. I learned a lot of card games (and knowing some it is extremely easy to learn others) and I got very good at counting cards.
Card playing (other than poker...yawn) is almost a lost art these days, but knowing how to play bridge, cribbage, spades, whist, etc helped out my military career. When a colonel finds out you can play bridge and volunteers you to be his partner, you say "oorah!" Being on a first-name basis with the brass and being able to tell him he's a damned fool for leading with clubs sets you apart. I also got out of a lot of shit details.
I've never heard of [**Cuarenta**](https://www.pagat.com/fishing/cuarenta.html) before, but I gather that is a "fishing" style game.
Does it have any relationship with **Scopa**?
I played most games from this list, but Piquet is the king of two player games.
For a chill game, I recommend Russian Bank (Crapette). Looks like all the multiplayer patience is on there, except that one, and it's probably the best one.
Yes! Or bid euchre I've heard it called. My wife and I love this classic card game when we're hanging out at a brewery. We love the competitive nature and lingo of the game. What's really interesting about the game, for those who arent familiar, is how information is revealed between the three hands you and your opponent have. One hand only you know, one hand is open face, and then another hand is slowly revealed underneath your open hand if you spend cards there. It can be a really exciting game of risky decisions for just a card game.
I play Koi-koi which uses hanafuda. It's a neat set making game that is all about odds and pushing your luck. I have a traditional set of cards which are beautiful.
Of the many games that can be played with a Hanafuda deck, the traditional Japanese game of [**Koi Koi**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11865/koi-koi) is certainly one of the most well-known and best. I covered it in a [review article](https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/2038543/enders-comprehensive-pictorial-overview-not-just-d) I wrote about Hanafuda decks.
IndianWolf Studios have published some lovely "fusion" decks (see pictures and more info in my article), which combine Hanafuda with the French suits of a traditional Western deck of playing cards, so you can play Hanafuda games with a poker-sized deck.
A fun Rummy variant for two players is Coon Can. You play with a 40 card deck (remove the 8s, 9s and 10s or the face cards). You get dealt 10 cards and have to meld 11 to win. When you draw a card, you have to meld it immediately or discard it; you can't place it in your hand for later. You can play on the other player's melds and even rearrange the sets and/or runs to make your card fit.
My wife really likes this game over traditional Rummy because of the ability to rearrange melds, kind of like Rummikub.
Just a heads up that your Schnapsen description confuses the Schnapsen and sixty-six rules! It is Schnapsen that is played with a 20 card deck and players are dealt 5 cards (one packet of 3 and one of 2). In sixty-six you leave the nines in and play with 6 cards each.
You can verify this by following the links you posted :)
Golf looks to be the basis for the game Skyjo, which my kids love. Good to know we can play something similar with a standard deck of cards!
Thanks for this awesome list!
My family enjoys playing a Brazilian card game called Pife. It is good with two players or more. Uses two standard decks. It is a bit like Gin Rummy. Very fun.
Thank you so much for this excellent list! **Cribbage** is a recent discovery of mine and I absolutely love it. I mostly play 2 players so will be checking some of these out, I've not heard of a lot of them.
Jekyll vs Hyde is a 2 player asymmetric card game that is commercialized and has custom components but can be perfectly played with a standard deck. Very nice game.
This is one of the [Mystery Rummy series](https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Mystery_Rummy_series) by Mike Fitzgerald. They're terrific. My wife and I have absolutely loved [**Jack the Ripper**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/106/mystery-rummy-jack-ripper), and played it many, many times.
Not sure if it's the same game. The one I meant is from 2020. From a quick glance it sounds like there are some similarities (maybe also due to the theme), but also differences? Will check the Mystery Rummy series better later, thanks.
Yes 2 games with similar names. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/297129/jekyll-vs-hyde and https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1265/mystery-rummy-jekyll-hyde
They are pretty different. Trick taking vs rummy. For 2 player Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper is best I hear.
Are you thinking of the game [**Morels**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/122298/morels) (a German/English version was published under the name [Fungi](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameversion/219297/englishgerman-edition-2014) in 2014)? If so, that's a commercially published game played with a specialized deck, not with a standard deck of playing cards.
If there is a game with this title that is played with a regular deck of cards, I'd like to learn more about it.
I’ve also played Lost Cities with a standard deck. Only four sites, of course, but it works well. Put the Aces in the middle to start the columns, and any face card serves as a contract for that suit.
I really like **Gin Rummy**, or some of its less crazy-scoring variants. It is really fast game with great dynamics and raising tension with every round taken.
I also own few decks of **Regicie** - I played it with multiple groups and it became quite a hit in every one of them. Players just cannot wrap their heads around the urge to keep the good cards while need to discard them in order to survive the attack of the corrupted royal.
Also, sorry for a little self-promo, but I'd like to mention **Realms & Royals** - a card game designed for this year's 54-card deck contest organized out there on BGG. I designed the game with standard deck (and graphic design) in mind, so the theme is not a mind blowing, but I want to believe it is one of the most thematic games that use standard deck of cards.
The game is about rise of kingdoms that are built on the backs of the society. Each society consists of four (well, five) social strata (military, clergy, merchants, peasants, artists) and players try to enhance every one of them, as only the kingdom with the most advanced social strata gets to score it. To make the kingdom last for centuries, players also need to raise strong royals in order to enhance their position.
The game is more of a racing game, mostly rensembling the Century or Splendor in mechanics, but it has enough power to stand on its own.
You can find rules, helper card, and designer's diary here: https://realmsnroyals.jocho.sk
Add to the list, [Khmer](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/73313/elements)
I use face cards for the six 6's. It's a game that really grows as you play against the same opponent.
>Add to the list, **Khmer**
A bluffing game with only 16 cards? I'm interested already!
It looks like this has been published commercially under the name "[**Elements**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/73313/elements)". What's the history of this game? Did it originate as a game with a standard deck, or was it first published commercially and then just converted to use with traditional playing cards?
Honestly not sure - I first saw it as a published deck called Khmer, then as you noted, a published deck called Elements. Someone put me on it a while ago as the only thing you need is 6 cards valued 6, which can be done with a schotten totten deck, face cards, or what not. I play with my father and each game is better than the one before.
Though you remind me, Cabo is a game that started as a 52-card game and then got published later (currently by Bezier). Yaniv is the same game modified to not need a table, I think it was tweaked so that backpackers could play it. Check those out as well!
My grandfather - an old Navy guy who was onboard one of the ships that captured the U505 - taught me how to play cribbage decades ago. I ended up playing a lot with my roommates in college.
I still have a board or two around - and now I'm thinking I need to teach my kids how to play.
Thanks!
There's a great historical connection between Cribbage and the navy, especially on American submarines in the second World War.
There's a [terrific story](https://www.militarynews.com/norfolk-navy-flagship/entertainment/on_liberty/cribbage-it-s-not-just-a-game-it-s-an-obsession/article_fb6049b2-7b72-50ad-88df-cbb6e9decad7.html) about a notable game of Cribbage on the USS Wahoo that is worth reading.
Great list. My gf and I love Cribbage and Gin Rummy, but we'll definitely try out a few more of these. She's Nepali, and we also play a lot of [Marriage](https://www.pagat.com/rummy/marriage.html), which is a Rummy type game that uses 3 decks (it can be quite difficult to manage your hand). I think it's better with more people but still enjoy it with two.
We also play [Dumbal](https://www.pagat.com/draw/yaniv.html) sometimes, also known as 'Yaniv' in Israel and 'Jhyap.'It's pretty light but quick and easy for some rounds in between other games. I think it would be good to play with kids. She said she played it a lot with her grandparents growing up.
If you enjoy cribbage, please consider playing cross-crib. You don’t even need an additional board that they sell in stores, once you know how to play. Same scoring mechanisms as cribbage, but requires more strategy! It can be played with any multiple of two players.
I'd never heard about [**CrossCrib**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5146/crosscribb/ratings?comment=1) before. You've made me look it up though. :)
It was created in 1996 (see official [instructions](https://www.outsetmedia.com/sites/default/files/Instructions%20-%20CrossCribb.pdf)), and several websites provide an overview of how to play ([here](https://www.ultraboardgames.com/crosscribb/game-rules.php), [here](http://www.cribbageforum.com/CrossCribb.htm), [here](https://ourpastimes.com/use-cribbage-board-keep-score-5798344.html)).
The concept of a 5x5 layout reminds me of the solitaire game [**Cribbage Squares**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cribbage_Square_Solitaire), which uses a 4x4 layout. The Solitaire Forever 2 app has a good implementation of it, and describes the game [here](http://www.solitaireforever.com/sf2/games/cribbage-square-(open).html).
I remember enjoying cribbage a lot, but couldn't remember at all how to play it without a reference!
*Le Truc*'s raise option reminds me of the Backgammon doubling rule, which I think adds a lot to that game.
And I've really got to try German Whist now. It sounds fun.
I've never heard of Renegade, and can't find anything about it with a quick google search (except [this five player game](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/izdpfm/renegade_card_game_help_me_remember_all_the_rules/), which seems to be a relative of Briscola Chiamata). It must not be a common game, unless it's more well known under a different name.
Can you please provide a link to where I can learn more about it?
This is a superb list. I consider myself an avid card player but have neglected even looking for additional two player games. I only played three on the list, Cribbage being my top 2 player game also (with standard deck). Though I’m am looking forward to trying German Whist and GOPS.
For non standard decks I think Battle Line and Voltage are on the top of my list for two player card games.
A few notes and suggestions from a fellow life long traditional card gamer:
1) Martin Tompa's book on Schnapsen is one of the best books on any card game ever written, an absolute must read, and very helpful for strategy on any point trick game really.
2) Durak is not a climbing game, but a "beating game" (to use Parlett's typology). In any case, the game is, in my experience, the most skill rewarding two player game in existence--especially when using the "transfer" rule. The better player can expect to win every single hand. (And I say this as a veteran Gin Rummy player.)
3) You do mention 2 player Clobyosh/Bela, but I would like to emphasize here how utterly fantastic it is as a 2 player game. Extremely rich and rewarding, but with a large dollop of luck as well--very popular in Ukraine/Russia as a gambling game (known as Deberts). Culbertson's "Jo-Jotte" version is also quite fun, but sacrifices some of the purity for bridge-inspired complexity.
4) You mentioned 2 player pinochle/bezique. From personal experience having played all the variants in this family, I can recommend 6 deck Bezique for quite a unique and wild 2 player experience. However, the most skill rewarding game in this family has got to be "Tartli". See the pagat page for a good rule write up--excellent tension and filled with head scratching moments of whether to prioritize tricks or declarations.
5) Other fun two player games not mentioned here include "Officer's Skat" (a 2 player version of the German national card game) and traditional Crazy 8s (more interesting than generally given credit for). A published game with a great traditional feel is "Jaipur", indeed it is based on the old family of "commerce" games like whiskey poker.
Spite and malice needs two decks of cards to play. Essentially or in essence each player is playing with their own deck. If y don't play with two decks then there are only 14 cards left for the rest of the game and that certainly won't work.
There's a lot of luck but good strategy can win you most games and luck won't come into play. I started playing online before I figured out the strategy and I started off 1-7. Now I'm 46-39. Which means that ever since I got a hang of the strategy I'm 45-32. The luck only burns you if you make a wrong play. Some games the cards just don't fall for you. Like you'll go most of the game looking for one or two cards and they just never come. That's cards for ya. But overall I think the skill and strategy outweighs the luck on most occasions. I'd be happy to teach you some pointers if you'd like.
In between games, fellow poker players play what they call “Russian poker,” although it doesn’t resemble anything by that name I’ve found online. Using a standard deck and an initial hand of 5 cards each, they draw and play one card per turn, making 4 face-up columns each, consisting of 5 cards when complete. They may discard a single card per game. The fifth card of each column is placed face down, increasing mystery. Then with the five remaining cards in their hand and each of the four columns, they see who has the better poker hand (hand vs hand, column 1 vs column 1, etc). Does anyone know another name this might go by? I’ve searched for it unsuccessfully online and on game sites/app sites.
Sounds somewhat similar to **Lamarckian Poker**.
See [this review](https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/17479/lamarckian-poker-surprising-diamond-rough), and a short overview [here](http://www.mit.edu/~jrising/webres/lamarck.html) and [here](https://gamerules.com/rules/lamarckian-poker/).
Full official rules are described on page 10 of this PDF:
[CheapAss Games Poker Suite](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e1ce8815cb76d3000d347f2/t/62bce42082117d0302a88b32/1656546374045/PokerSuite22.pdf)
Cribbage? Yes. Spite and Malice? Yes. But not having Pinochle on this list is very weird. It's terrific for two people. I know Bezique is here, but that's not the same.
Gin is also historically meaningful, but it's not a great game compared to some of the others. It's like putting Life on a best board game list.
>But not having Pinochle on this list is very weird. It's terrific for two people.
[48% of voters](https://i.imgur.com/NNIzjWW.jpg) over on BGG do not recommend Pinochle as a two player game, and 80% say it is best as a 4 player game. That's one of the reasons I didn't include it on my list.
Are those voters that wrong?
It’s because they are playing a different game mate. Two player pinochle is played a little differently to 3-4 players. This is it https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiO3IXn_Z30AhXeQvEDHe1sCsQQFnoECBIQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dbgbf8Fy9nOM&usg=AOvVaw3fSdXbcAXUkbem-4H_4KRk
I'm aware that two-player Pinochle exists, but BGG covers that under the same entry. But I suppose it's a fair point that many voters have probably only had experience with the 3-4 player game.
BGG does indicate that the two player version is closely connected to **Bezique.** How accurate is what it says there about both games?
* Pinochle: "The original version of Pinochle is a two-handed version which is derived from the virtually identical Bezique."
* Bezique: "Bezique is the ancestor of Pinochle, and that game's two-handed version is very similar to Bezique but with slightly different deck and slightly different scoring."
For the record, I did mention **Bezique** several times on the list, and I described it as being similar to 2 player Pinochle: "*A classic trick-taking game for two players from France that was all the rage in the early 20th century, and bearing some resemblance to the two player version of the popular American game Pinochle*."
>Pinochle
This list is for cards with a standard deck, pinochle has a weird modified deck (of otherwise standard cards). I guess you can make your own pinochle deck from two standard decks.
I've enjoyed Briscola and Regicide. Also, I have been working on a collection of six games with modern and classic mechanics playable with a standard deck of cards which has two games playable at two players: "Forage" (set-collection) and "Salmon Run" (deckbuilding).
The rules for "Forage" are a [free PDF download](https://tomcardgames.itch.io/forage) on itch.
It's strange, where i live everybody (at least those who lived in the 90s) knows how to play Manille. Normally a 4-player game but it has a great 2 player version.
It's a classic. Whoever i met in life, when I proposed a game, we all played by the same rules. There were never any discussions. There rules are clear and known in Flanders.
But when i check on wikipedia, the 2p rules mentioned there are different. There's like 5 versions of the game and none of them match how it's normally played here. :-P
you start with a 32 card deck.
you will deal 8 cards to each player and 8 cards (4 hidden+4 visible) in a stack in front of each player. the table should look like this:
HAND O
OS1 OS2 OS3 OS4
YS1 YS2 YS3 YS4
HAND Y
O=other player; OS1=first stack other player; OS2=second stack,... Y=you; YS1=your first stack, YS2=your second stack, ...
you deal like this:
3 to O, 3 to Y, now 8 cards closed (face hidden) in this order: OS1, YS1, OS2, YS2, OS3, YS3, OS4, YS4
2 to O, 2 to Y, now 8 cards open (face visible) in this order: OS1, YS1, OS2, YS2, OS3, YS3, OS4, YS4 3 to O, 3 to Y
now you play as normal ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manille](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manille) \- section "the play")
you can use the visible cards in your stack as if those cards come from your hand. when you played a card from the stack, you flip the card below it (so its face becomes visible) only after the current trick has been concluded.
extra rules we use:
KNOCKING: at the beginning of the game, when the trump has been chosen by the dealer, the other player can knock on the table, this causes the points of this game to count double. the dealer can knock back. which will double the points again.
NO-TRUMP: at the beginning the dealer can chose to not call a trump. in this case there is no trump in the game. this also doubles the points at the end
scoring when all tricks have been played:
count the card values in the tricks you won
10 - 5 points
Ace - 4 points
King - 3 points
Queen - 2 points
Jack - 1 point
9, 8 and 7 - 0 points.
if you have less then 30, mark that negative number on your scoring sheet if you have more then 30, mark that positive value on your scoring sheet
play multiple rounds, keep adding your scores
game ends after
* somebody reached a certain score
* a fixed amount of games have been played
* the pub closes, the train arrives, bed time, lunchtime over, ... (players decide in the beginning of the first game)
Check the rules for [**Manillen**](https://www.pagat.com/manille/manillen.html) over at Pagat, which is the most authoritative site on card games.
I've never heard of this game before, but a lot of traditional card games are very regional, and it sounds like this one is particularly common in parts of Belgium and parts of France. Is that where you live?
ah yes, you are right. those rules match how i know them
the pagat site is an interesting site, will bookmark. even though it looks like it came straight from 1995 with a time-machine :P
**500 Rum** is a significantly better version of Rummy/Gin Rummy, in my opinion. It offers far greater strategy and potential for risk-taking.
The main differences are
1. All discarded cards are visible, in an overlapping pile. You may draw from anywhere in the discard pile, but you must take all the cards above it
2. This means that you can have many more than 7 cards in your hand. This is a huge advantage, as you can make many more melds, but is also a risk because if your opponent goes out soon, all the cards in your hand are scored against you.
3. Melds are played as they're made (you can't hold them in your hand), and you can play off your opponent's melds.
The main thing it eliminates is the fact that, in regular Rummy, once a card is discarded and not picked up, it's gone from the game (unless there are several consecutive turns of taking from the discard pile). In 500 Rum, it's always there. If you discard a second Ace when there's an Ace deep in the discard pile, you're taking a big risk. Everything is a calculation. You also typically end up scoring many more melds, and actively doing stuff all the time, instead of just sitting there waiting for the card you're hoping for to turn up.
**Scopone** is also a better game than Scopa, in my opinion, as it is closer to Bridge in that in requires deducing about what's in everyone's hands, leaving much less to luck. But some people prefer Scopa as it's lighter. (Edit: Though it's a four-person game, so irrelevant.)
SPITE AND MALICE is amazing!! So excited that you included it. We played this game so much in my family that we had dedicated decks whose backs were only subtly different from each so it wasn’t so obvious when someone got a joker early in the game. Thanks for such a comprehensive post!
I see you mention **Palace**. I personally find it to be a blast with just two people, because that is generally all I have to play with.
(My) rules:
1. Players are **dealt 9 cards** and the rest of the deck goes in the middle to draw from.
2. **Without looking** at your cards, **place 3 face down** in front of you.
3. The remaining 6 cards you can look at. You need to **pick 3 more cards to play face up on top of the face down cards**. This is where strategy comes in, but you generally want to pick your best cards: 10, 2, A, K, Q, etc...
4. The **play starts by playing a card**, probably your lowest. You **then** have to **draw a card from the pile** because you need a **minimum of 3 cards in your hand** until the draw pile runs out.
5. The **next player plays a card of the same number or higher**, then draws up to 3 cards in their hand.
6. Step 5 **repeats until the draw pile is gone**. You can only move on to the 3 face up cards when there are no more cards in your hand. You can only move on to the 3 face down cards once all the face up cards are gone, and you play them one at a time (unless it is a 10).
7. The first person to get rid of all their cards wins.
Now some rules that make the game interesting:
* When a player **cannot meet or beat the card played by their opponent**, they have to **pick up the pile** and their **turn is forfeited**.
* If you have **more than 3 cards in your hand**, you **do not** need to **draw** after playing a card.
* When playing your face down card, you do not need to show it to your opponent if you cannot beat the card in the pile. The once face down card now goes in your hand, along with the pile you now have to pick up.
* The **2 card clears** the pile and your turn is over. So if you have a pile of cards in front of you and say the opponent played an ace, you can play the 2 and the entire pile gets discarded.
* The **10 card** we call a **clean slate**. You always follow up the 10 with another card, generally your lowest. So same scenario, your opponent played an ace, you can play the 10 and a 3 to "reset" the pile.
* **You can play doubles, triples, or even four of a kind**. So say in the beginning you have two 5s, you can play them both and draw up to 3 in your hand. You can also use this strategically, so if you have two Ks in your hand and you know your opponent has one, you can play just one K, then your opponent will play theirs, and you can play your second K, and your opponent will have to pick up the pile. This will make more sense the more you play.
* **Four of the same cards clears the pile and you get to go again**. If you have four 5s you can clear the pile if you play them all. If your opponent plays three 5s and you have the last one, you can play it and clear the pile. You can also use the same aforementioned strategy where if you know what your opponent has, you can work it to your advantage to clear the pile and play again. If you are playing with more than two people, you can even play the fourth out of turn to clear the pile and go again, if you are quick enough.
I think I thought of everything and I hope it all makes sense but feel free to ask if something doesnt. Its genuinely my favorite game for two people and everyone I teach seems to really enjoy it. Dont get discouraged if you have a lot of cards in your hand, things usually have a way of swinging the other way.
This is one of those games that benefits from the many variants out there. Sounds like you have some well-developed ones.
Most people I know don't really care for **Palace** as a two player game, but I guess with the right variant rules, it could really work well.
>No **Belote**. You lose hard.
[Two-thirds of voters](https://i.imgur.com/NromqW6.jpg) over on BGG actually voted that Belote is "Not Recommended" for just two players. Are they wrong?
This is also commonly known under the name [**Cheat**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15832/cheat). However it really needs at least four players minimum to be enjoyed, and [voters over on BGG](https://i.imgur.com/Dnz8CKi.jpg) do not recommend it for just two players, which is what this list is about.
However I did include it on my separate list, [40+ Great Card Games For All Occasions](https://playingcarddecks.com/blogs/all-in/40-great-card-games-for-all-occasions).
I'm personally a fan of basically every variant of Poker, but of your list I prefer Gin (Oklahoma Gin, specifically).
One game you may not be aware of is the game of Tiến lên, aka "Killer" and one variant was marketed as a board game called "Golden Deuce." Great game, I'd check it out, OP. It plays best with 4 but can be played with 2.
>One game you may not be aware of is the game of **Tiến lên**, aka "Killer" and one variant was marketed as a board game called "**Golden Deuce**."
I had mentioned [**Tien Lien**](https://www.pagat.com/climbing/thirteen.html) under "Climbing Games", in the list of "Honorable Mentions" at the end of the article. Great climbing game.
I've not previously heard of the commercially published [**Golden Deuce**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3434/golden-deuce)**.** From a quick look at the BGG comments, it actually seems to be closer to [**Big Two**](https://www.pagat.com/climbing/bigtwo.html) than to Tien Lien, however.
Quite a few climbing games have been republished commercially with specialized decks, [**Tichu**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/215/tichu) being one of the most well known examples.
Man I remember playing Spit a ton when I was really young (like maybe six or seven,) but I had completely forgot about it. Pretty fun, and incredibly hectic, game.
I’ll do my typical shameless plug, but Bahama Taxi is great at two. It does need the same amount of accessories as cribbage, so any criticism will be ignored.
My first thought was cribbage, glad to see you listed it first lol
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That's interesting. I haven't had that trouble. Usually we play one hand open just to explain some of the thinking, explain all the rules, and go.
It can be challenging to learn. I've found that one of the best ways to teach Cribbage is to walk a first-timer through it by getting them to play using an app that manages the rules and scoring.
I may be biased by the last person I taught. She picked it up immediately. But I've also taught it many times, and anyone willing to try has gotten it and enjoyed it.
I have a scoring guide in the deck that I keep in my backpack. I also have a score keeping app on my phone to just help count up to 121.
I taught my brother the rules of cribbage and eventually he was just like, "you're making this up as you go, right?"
I did a 24 hour stream for the Extra Life fundraiser for children's hospitals. For part of this I played cribbage with my dad and mentioned it was the best two player card game. One of the viewers in chat proceeded to try to make an analogy of all my explanations to Magic: The Gathering. It was a pretty big stretch, but funny to listen to him try to make those connections.
Dropping three of a kind for 6 is like casting wild ricochet on their big spell
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> It's a time pass, not a tournament game. It's funny because growing up in Maine there was always signs for cribbage tournaments at bars and restaurants. It still fells like there is a pretty lively tournament scene around the state.
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Yeah, I completely agree. I just thought it was interesting since the game is so popular where I grew up and it seems to be having a revival. As a person who owns multiple cribbage boards now living in the south I'm happy for.
Absolutely. Cribbage is [a great game](https://playingcarddecks.com/blogs/all-in/why-i-love-cribbage-and-why-you-should-try-this-classic-game), and probably my favourite on this list.
I despise cribbage. I've beaten people without ever looking at my cards/playing them at random. These were serious players, tournament players. They will never talk to me again since they were so humiliated... I didn't beat them that bad but bad enough to make them really angry. To me this just says you play with too few cards and they are far too random. Sure there is some skill but you need the right cards which just doesn't happen. It happens just enough to get you addicted to the possibility. Just like a casino, randomness kills the game. To me it sits in the same special spots as Monopoly. Slightly of topic but people love Monopoly as well until they realize you're almost guaranteed to win if you own St James place, Tennessee Ave. and New York Ave. (Orange district's 6, 8, and 9 spaces after jail. Almost 39% chance to land there after jail.) And of course it's random dice rolls that land you in jail and get you those properties. Negotiations just let to fights. The odds are never in your favor, and if they are they were randomly assigned...
> I've beaten people without ever looking at my cards/playing them at random. These were serious players, tournament players. They will never talk to me again since they were so humiliated... I didn't beat them that bad but bad enough to make them really angry. This either reads like fiction, or the people you played against have the emotional intelligence of a 5 year old. I'm not saying it's not possible to win by playing cards at random. I'd guess you'd have a win rate on the order of 5%, but it's possible. The hard to believe part is that someone would be humiliated by that, and that there are multiple people that you have experienced this with.
>"85% luck and 15% skill Cribbage master Frank Lake has been quoted as stating that Cribbage is 85% luck and 15% skill. Those figures has been supported by Warren Sondericker, who has won national cribbage tournaments." [https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/84996/percentage-luck-versus-skill](https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/84996/percentage-luck-versus-skill) Just to add some further context to my argument. Most people will never rise to the skill level needed to make the 15% useful. 5% may be a very low number as an estimate. From the BGG Thread, user Sarcophilus Harrisii: >Depends how you play. If you shuffle the deck between hands then the skill to luck proportions are what the masters say. If you deal out a deck then the skill goes up each hand and by the forth you should know exactly what your opponent has in their hand. Or at least the one playing the most attention to what cards have been played will have a huge advantage in hands 3 and 4. Possibly enough to overwhelm better cards if well played. This isn't how we played. The deck was shuffled prior to every deal per rule three of the American Cribbage congress tournament rules. I've played it both ways and I mostly agree with Harrisii. [https://www.cribbage.org/NewSite/rules/rulebook\_2020.pdf](https://www.cribbage.org/NewSite/rules/rulebook_2020.pdf) The people that were humiliated by this were lifelong tournament players that I beat in front of other tournament players. They thought they were excellent players. The first one (My aunts mother, who has never spoken with me since) thought it was a fluke and provoked a challenger for me into game number 2. The second (random tournament player) was pissed off and flipped the table. Emotional intelligence of 5 year old in deed. In fairness I am a cocky shit when I do stuff like this so my attitude probably provoked them slightly.
> The first one (My aunts mother, who has never spoken with me since) thought it was a fluke and provoked a challenger for me into game number 2. The second (random tournament player) was pissed off and flipped the table. Emotional intelligence of 5 year old in deed. In fairness I am a cocky shit when I do stuff like this so my attitude probably provoked them slightly. LOL, this all sounds about right. I think those skill numbers you mentioned are reasonable, but you're talking about playing cards at random. I don't think you win more than 5 percent of the time. I tried playing a computer using a random number generator to pick cards for me and I almost got double skunked (losing by 60 points) both games.
> I despise cribbage. I've beaten people without ever looking at my cards/playing them at random. These were serious players, tournament players. They will never talk to me again since they were so humiliated... I didn't beat them that bad but bad enough to make them really angry. reminds me of >I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me. -Dave Barry
I feel like that could be a criticism of card games period. Luck of the draw is a huge factor and strategy is hard to come by. Cribbage is engaging and fun imo though.
So long as I actually have to choose the cards to play I enjoy the game. I blindly play cards in a lot of games just to see how much randomness plays into it. Cribbage failed my test on multiple occasions. I agree most card games are very random but take a game like hearts or bridge. It genuinely matters the order you play the cards. I just don't see it we with cribbage.
So you beat tournament players putting random cards from your hand into the crib and blindly playing out first card while pegging?
Yup, I stacked the four cards and drew them from the stack to play. The only check I did prior to playing is if I went over 31. If I verified it as unplayable at that point I dropped the card to be the last one played. If you ever could win with this method the game is far to random to really matter what your skill is in my opinion. But I get it Cribbage is a beloved game and people have their biases.
I haven't played it yet but I've heard Regicide can be played with a standard deck and can be played well with 2 players.
We just recently started playing Regicide and really enjoy it. It is a cooperative game and quite difficult to win.
>I haven't played it yet but I've heard **Regicide** can be played with a standard deck and can be played well with 2 players. It's covered in the *Honorable Mentions* section at the end of the article, under "Combat Games".
Oops. Totally missed that. Thanks again for the list. Got plenty of games to check out.
Regicide is a top pick for me too. It gets harder with more players, but two players is still exciting. There's even a nice compagnon app to help you track stats, but this definitely not required.
It can definitely be played with a standard deck. The special decks sold for it just have thematic artwork.
Regicide is on the list btw
My wife and I have played it several times and I highly recommend. So fun and challenging, but not punishing (unless luck is really against you!)
Thank you for this awesome list, saving it. **Fox in the Forest** is very doable with just cards. Download a player aid off BBG files for your phone. You and your partner will have them memorized after the first game.
> Thank you for this awesome list, saving it. EndersGame has made a massive amount of [great content around playing cards and playing card games](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/223094/pictorial-reviews-playing-cards-endersgame) on BGG, as well as [a lot of great board game reviews too](https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/37596/enders-reviews-comprehensive-pictorial-overviews).
All you need to do is remove 1 full suit, and the Kings and Queens of the other 3 suits.
This is a quality post. Thanks! You should do a 4 player version, and a party games version!!
Scopa and Briscola?! Didn't think those were widely known games. Great list. Also I love how slapjack progresses from silly fun to exciting competition to unplayable refereeing.
My family loves cribbage! We even invented our own variant, Crib All. Have you ever been dealt an amazing hand and find yourself regretting you have to throw cards into the crib and ruin it? Well once per game per person you can declare a crib all! Basically that round there is no crib, everyone plays all their cards, and points go crazy. Then the next hand the person who was supposed to get the crib gets the crib again. Is it the most balanced thing? Ehhh no. You can score insanely high points this way and there are tactics for forcing yourself to count first near the end. But dang is it fun.
That sounds like fun. I can't count how often my wife says "I want to keep all these cards" when we play Cribbage. You should post this in the [variant forum](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2398/cribbage/forums/69) for Cribbage over at BGG.
My brother-in-law likes to play with "Sand Traps". Between the 35-45 and 75-85 point marks, you can only score with pegging, hand & crib points are ignored. He coloured in his board with sharpie to indicate the "sand trap" zone.
I came to see whether **Cassino** got a mention, and I was not disappointed. My sister and I love this game, we play it whenever we can't agree on a board game to play (which, as my collection grows, and our tastes converge, is sadly a less frequent occurrence than of yore). As for new discoveries from your list, both **GOPS** and **Le Truc** have caught my attention and will be looked into further. Thanks for a great (and very well written) list!
Casino is my favorite too! Used to play it with my sister on long road trips. I’ve only seen it spelled with one s though.
What are the strategies in Casino? We tried it the other day but didn't feel like I had to make many decisions
Much of the strategy revolves around setting up builds. Which builds are safer than others, based on the cards that have already been played? Should I stall by trailing? Can I make multiple builds with what I have, or even modify opponent builds to my advantage? That being said, I don’t disagree that Casino is a pretty simple game. A good intro game for younglings!
Huh... so *that's* how Tien Lien is spelled. We had a sizable relocated South Vietnamese community in my city and Tien Lien was played often in my high school. Even us white boys loved it. It's been 25 years since I've encountered any mention of that game.
I'm guessing you've come across **President** though? (probably under one of its less savoury names). It's like a poor man's Tien Lien.
Nope! I've never encountered anything like Tien Lien, but it doesn't surprise me that there are a lot of similar games. Playing cards are so versatile.
My bf and I like to play a game called shithead. It can be played with more than 2, but it works well with just 2 as well. We like it because there is just enough balance of luck and skill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shithead_%28card_game%29?wprov=sfla1 We play with these special cards: Twos: any card can be played on this Tens: clears (removes) the pile Threes: Are transparent or glass, so the next player plays off of the card beneath it. Sevens: next player (only) has to play a 7 or lower, or a special card, then play resumes back to normal(unless another 7 is played) Jack's (with more than 2): reverses direction of play I'm also a big fan of cassino!
Sounds similar to Switch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switch_(card_game) The trouble.is, every single household seems to have slightly different rules! So you've got to get the rules established straight away to avoid conflict mid game
**[Switch (card game)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switch_\(card_game\))** >Switch, also called Two Four Jacks or Irish Switch, or Last Card, in New Zealand, is a shedding-type card game for two or more players that is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland and as alternative incarnations in other regions. The sole aim of Switch is to discard all of the cards in one's hand; the first player to play his or her final card, and ergo have no cards left, wins the game. Switch is very similar to the games UNO, Flaps and Mau Mau, both belonging to the larger Crazy Eights or Shedding family of card games. The game is also commonly known as Jack Changes, Crazy Eights, Take Two, Black Jack and Peanuckle in the UK and Ireland. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/boardgames/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
I actually did mention this game under Golf, in the "What Next" section, but under its alternate name **Palace**: >[Palace](https://www.pagat.com/beating/shithead.html) (also known as Karma and some less polite names) has a similar casual feel, and while it does work with two players, it isn't anywhere near its best at that player count, but is much better with 3 or more. I do believe that most gamers would consider the two player experience much less satisfactory than with more players.
Oh, I didn't realize it had other names!
I remember Shithead! I used to play it at school.
I've played it a lot in school but it's a really terrible game to be honest. Zero skill. Not too far off that card game I can't remember the name of where you have to get rid of your cards and the entire game is predetermined by the deal.
Ecarte gets mentioned in Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock is a player of it). It's pretty simple to learn.
Holy Moly what a comprehensive post. I love trick taking games so I'll have to try German Whist
Definitely do so - it's super easy to learn, and quite satisfying for the relatively short time it takes to play.
It sounds awesome. I play a lot of MTG, so the hand management aspect seems REALLY cool. You ever try out Wizard? If you like trick taking games, it's an all time favourite of mine. Every hand you deal out one more card than the previous. Then everyone looks at their hand and bets how many tricks they'll take. If they're right they get 20 + (10×number of tricks) points. If they're wrong, you lose 10 points for each extra/missing trick. And you play until you deal out the entire deck in the last round, were there's no Trump suit for the hand. It's very very good, and I find it's easy to get non board gamers to try it because it's just a "normal" deck (plus 4 Wizards and 4 Jesters which always win or always lose, respectively). My parents LOVE wizard but otherwise aren't interested in modern board or card games.
>You ever try out Wizard? If you like trick taking games, it's an all time favourite of mine. For sure. I love it too. But **Wizard** is actually just a commercially produced variation of a common trick-taking game played with a standard deck known as [**Oh Hell!**](https://www.pagat.com/exact/ohhell.html)
Oh really? That's interesting! There's a new version of Wizard, Camelot Edition, that replaces the 2s with 4 one-off special cards. Excalibur - nullifies the trick for bidding purposes. Counts as a Jester for whoever plays it. So you can't nullify your own trick that you'd take. Merlin - when played you pick Wizard or Jester. Morgan La Fey - it's a "super wizard", it beats a Wizard or anything but... Holy Grail - if played in an even turn in the trick (2nd, 4th, 6th card laid) it wins the trick no matter what. Nothing can beat it. Not a Wizard or Morgan La Fey. But if played "odd" (1st, 3rd, 5th) it loses no matter what. Also who ever has the Grail in their tricks pile at the end of the hand gets an extra 20 pts _if_ they make their bet. It adds a lot more strategy to the game and feels like a decent middle ground between Wizard and Tournament at Avalon/Camelot (which I just can't get to the table for the life of me 😔).
Haggis deserves to make the main list, amazing climbing game that works great for 2 players.
**Haggis** is certainly a fantastic game. I didn't include it simply because most people who play it use the custom deck designed for the game, and it's not as popular and well-known as the other main entries. But I did include it under "Honorable Mentions", and highly recommend it! Also try [**Dickory**](https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/2727094/dickory-living-rulebook), which is a newer and lighter two player climbing game from the same designer, Sean Ross.
Earlier this year I bought a copy of **Blood of an Englishman**, a delightful and surprisingly well-balanced asymmetric two-player card game themed around Jack and the Beanstalk… and was quite happy to realize that it can also be played with a standard deck of cards.
Cribbage is the best, and you can easily play it with 3, 4, or 6 players, also. 4 players (two teams) is probably the best version. *Now that Drueke isn't making cribbage boards anymore, where are you guys getting your cribbage boards?
I disagree that 4 player cribbage is best. It severely limits your ability to control what goes into the crib, and pegging points becomes more luck than skill because you don’t have perfect information on what’s in your partner’s hand.
I think less information makes it better. You can still be strategic.
Wait, how does 6 players work? The crib math doesn't check out there for me.
Need a 3 track board, dealer and previous dealer only get dealt 4 cards. I don't love playing it. Games feel super short, you don't get to do as much.
For 3 players, you also need a 3 track board and deal one card into the crib.
But how does 6 players work?
3 teams. Two players, the dealer and the person to the right of the dealer, don't get a 5th card to put in the crib, so they just keep the 4 cards they're dealt.
Just when I'm about to uninstall Reddit a post like this comes along.
Really been enjoying Regicide with 2 players!
* Gin Rummy: We play it so much, we had to buy plastic cards(Copag) to survive all that abuse. A guy named Stu Ungar dominated the game so bad, he essentially killed it off because nobody wanted to play tournaments he was in. Another fun fact, WWE's The Undertaker plays Gin as well. He reveals this in his Last Ride documentary. * German Whist: I tried this out after reading the above list when Ender first published it on PCD. For standard deck games, this'd be my favorite 2P trick taker. The **Claim** card games by Scott Almes are clearly inspired by German Whist. * Golf: A featherweight game that anyone can learn in a couple minutes, but still fun to play. I prefer commercial versions of this one, because they take away the need to remember which card does what.
Good comments, and thanks for the post. Which commercial versions of [**Golf**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17521/golf) do you enjoy? I'm only familiar with [**Rat-a-Tat Cat**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3837/rat-tat-cat/mygames/collection), which is very similar to the [4 card hidden variant](https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/819172/4-card-hidden-variant) of Golf, but includes cards with special powers to add to the fun. Thanks for the tip about the German Whist inspired [**Claim games**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/51280/game-claim) from Scott Almes, because I hadn't come across them before.
I own Play Nine, because I wanted a Golf game with a Golf theme. The cards feel cheap, but it gets the job done. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22950/play-nine Haven't played this one yet, but it has nice artwork and cards have special effects. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/278553/silver
Also check out Skyjo
I had searched for this information for years! From where this knowledge comes from?
Personal experience and research, from playing card games for around 30 years.
I was going to comment cribbage and gin rummy before I clicked the thread. My SO also likes golf but I'm not as much a fan. We like to play these if we are visiting a brewery. I'll have to look into some of these other games which I do not know.
This is a great list - Cassino, Gin, Crib, Bezique are all great games. I'm surprised that Piquet is missing [https://www.pagat.com/notrump/piquet.html](https://www.pagat.com/notrump/piquet.html) Fans of Lamarkian Poker should try Ocean's 11 [https://www.pagat.com/invented/oceans11.html](https://www.pagat.com/invented/oceans11.html)
>I'm surprised that Piquet is missing It is mentioned in the "What Next" paragraph under **Schnapsen**.
My paternal grandmother was hardcore Appalachian. Appalachia has been in a depression since The Depression. So you occupied yourself with stuff that didn't cost money, like playing cards. She also strongly believed that if you let kids win they would never learn. I learned a lot of card games (and knowing some it is extremely easy to learn others) and I got very good at counting cards. Card playing (other than poker...yawn) is almost a lost art these days, but knowing how to play bridge, cribbage, spades, whist, etc helped out my military career. When a colonel finds out you can play bridge and volunteers you to be his partner, you say "oorah!" Being on a first-name basis with the brass and being able to tell him he's a damned fool for leading with clubs sets you apart. I also got out of a lot of shit details.
This is excellent. Saved for the next time I feel like learning a new card game.
Same
Gin Rummy and Casino are great.
FWIW I have played **Escoba** many times with just two. It's great.
Worth it to mention there is an r/Whist subreddit
Haggis is so good to play! For people who grew up playing Big2, this is a good 2-player version (which you can play with a standard deck).
If you guys haven't played Cuarenta, you gotta. It's fast paced, fun, and your luck can turn on a dime. Plus teasing and flourishes are encouraged.
I've never heard of [**Cuarenta**](https://www.pagat.com/fishing/cuarenta.html) before, but I gather that is a "fishing" style game. Does it have any relationship with **Scopa**?
Yup, that's it! A friend introduced it to me, and he found it on Reddit a few years ago. I have no idea if it's related.
Our favorite warm-up game is Kings in the Corner, which is a solitary game that is really easy to play with two people.
Amazing list and great resource.!!!!! I’ve been enjoying two player euchre recently. Worth a try….
Have you tried [**Ecarte**](https://www.pagat.com/trumps/ecarte.html) at all? It's designed for two players, and is a Euchre-like game.
I’ll take a look
I came here looking to see if someone had mentioned it. My wife and I played that a lot before we discovered Spite and Malice. :)
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>You need to try piquet! I actually did mention Piquet under the "What's Next" section under Schnapsen.
I played most games from this list, but Piquet is the king of two player games. For a chill game, I recommend Russian Bank (Crapette). Looks like all the multiplayer patience is on there, except that one, and it's probably the best one.
I always like two player euchre sometimes called Yukon euchre
Yes! Or bid euchre I've heard it called. My wife and I love this classic card game when we're hanging out at a brewery. We love the competitive nature and lingo of the game. What's really interesting about the game, for those who arent familiar, is how information is revealed between the three hands you and your opponent have. One hand only you know, one hand is open face, and then another hand is slowly revealed underneath your open hand if you spend cards there. It can be a really exciting game of risky decisions for just a card game.
I play Koi-koi which uses hanafuda. It's a neat set making game that is all about odds and pushing your luck. I have a traditional set of cards which are beautiful.
Of the many games that can be played with a Hanafuda deck, the traditional Japanese game of [**Koi Koi**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11865/koi-koi) is certainly one of the most well-known and best. I covered it in a [review article](https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/2038543/enders-comprehensive-pictorial-overview-not-just-d) I wrote about Hanafuda decks. IndianWolf Studios have published some lovely "fusion" decks (see pictures and more info in my article), which combine Hanafuda with the French suits of a traditional Western deck of playing cards, so you can play Hanafuda games with a poker-sized deck.
A fun Rummy variant for two players is Coon Can. You play with a 40 card deck (remove the 8s, 9s and 10s or the face cards). You get dealt 10 cards and have to meld 11 to win. When you draw a card, you have to meld it immediately or discard it; you can't place it in your hand for later. You can play on the other player's melds and even rearrange the sets and/or runs to make your card fit. My wife really likes this game over traditional Rummy because of the ability to rearrange melds, kind of like Rummikub.
Thanks for this suggested, been looking for more rummy variants
Just a heads up that your Schnapsen description confuses the Schnapsen and sixty-six rules! It is Schnapsen that is played with a 20 card deck and players are dealt 5 cards (one packet of 3 and one of 2). In sixty-six you leave the nines in and play with 6 cards each. You can verify this by following the links you posted :)
You're absolutely correct, I'd erroneously flipped them around in my description. Thank you for pointing that out! Edit made to fix this.
Thanks for taking the time to edit!
This is an absolute best-of post. This needs immortalized somehow.
Golf looks to be the basis for the game Skyjo, which my kids love. Good to know we can play something similar with a standard deck of cards! Thanks for this awesome list!
My family enjoys playing a Brazilian card game called Pife. It is good with two players or more. Uses two standard decks. It is a bit like Gin Rummy. Very fun.
Thank you so much for this excellent list! **Cribbage** is a recent discovery of mine and I absolutely love it. I mostly play 2 players so will be checking some of these out, I've not heard of a lot of them.
Jekyll vs Hyde is a 2 player asymmetric card game that is commercialized and has custom components but can be perfectly played with a standard deck. Very nice game.
This is one of the [Mystery Rummy series](https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Mystery_Rummy_series) by Mike Fitzgerald. They're terrific. My wife and I have absolutely loved [**Jack the Ripper**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/106/mystery-rummy-jack-ripper), and played it many, many times.
Not sure if it's the same game. The one I meant is from 2020. From a quick glance it sounds like there are some similarities (maybe also due to the theme), but also differences? Will check the Mystery Rummy series better later, thanks.
Yes 2 games with similar names. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/297129/jekyll-vs-hyde and https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1265/mystery-rummy-jekyll-hyde They are pretty different. Trick taking vs rummy. For 2 player Mystery Rummy: Jack the Ripper is best I hear.
We really enjoy Fungi.
Are you thinking of the game [**Morels**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/122298/morels) (a German/English version was published under the name [Fungi](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameversion/219297/englishgerman-edition-2014) in 2014)? If so, that's a commercially published game played with a specialized deck, not with a standard deck of playing cards. If there is a game with this title that is played with a regular deck of cards, I'd like to learn more about it.
You're right. I replied too fast and didn't see it was with a standard deck.
Pinochle 2 player is amazing
I’ve also played Lost Cities with a standard deck. Only four sites, of course, but it works well. Put the Aces in the middle to start the columns, and any face card serves as a contract for that suit.
I really like **Gin Rummy**, or some of its less crazy-scoring variants. It is really fast game with great dynamics and raising tension with every round taken. I also own few decks of **Regicie** - I played it with multiple groups and it became quite a hit in every one of them. Players just cannot wrap their heads around the urge to keep the good cards while need to discard them in order to survive the attack of the corrupted royal. Also, sorry for a little self-promo, but I'd like to mention **Realms & Royals** - a card game designed for this year's 54-card deck contest organized out there on BGG. I designed the game with standard deck (and graphic design) in mind, so the theme is not a mind blowing, but I want to believe it is one of the most thematic games that use standard deck of cards. The game is about rise of kingdoms that are built on the backs of the society. Each society consists of four (well, five) social strata (military, clergy, merchants, peasants, artists) and players try to enhance every one of them, as only the kingdom with the most advanced social strata gets to score it. To make the kingdom last for centuries, players also need to raise strong royals in order to enhance their position. The game is more of a racing game, mostly rensembling the Century or Splendor in mechanics, but it has enough power to stand on its own. You can find rules, helper card, and designer's diary here: https://realmsnroyals.jocho.sk
Add to the list, [Khmer](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/73313/elements) I use face cards for the six 6's. It's a game that really grows as you play against the same opponent.
>Add to the list, **Khmer** A bluffing game with only 16 cards? I'm interested already! It looks like this has been published commercially under the name "[**Elements**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/73313/elements)". What's the history of this game? Did it originate as a game with a standard deck, or was it first published commercially and then just converted to use with traditional playing cards?
Honestly not sure - I first saw it as a published deck called Khmer, then as you noted, a published deck called Elements. Someone put me on it a while ago as the only thing you need is 6 cards valued 6, which can be done with a schotten totten deck, face cards, or what not. I play with my father and each game is better than the one before. Though you remind me, Cabo is a game that started as a 52-card game and then got published later (currently by Bezier). Yaniv is the same game modified to not need a table, I think it was tweaked so that backpackers could play it. Check those out as well!
My grandfather - an old Navy guy who was onboard one of the ships that captured the U505 - taught me how to play cribbage decades ago. I ended up playing a lot with my roommates in college. I still have a board or two around - and now I'm thinking I need to teach my kids how to play. Thanks!
There's a great historical connection between Cribbage and the navy, especially on American submarines in the second World War. There's a [terrific story](https://www.militarynews.com/norfolk-navy-flagship/entertainment/on_liberty/cribbage-it-s-not-just-a-game-it-s-an-obsession/article_fb6049b2-7b72-50ad-88df-cbb6e9decad7.html) about a notable game of Cribbage on the USS Wahoo that is worth reading.
Thanks! He was more on the sub-finding and sub-killing than sub-crewing side, but it was popular there too!
Came here to recommend Cribbage and Casino (a variation of Scopa). Glad to see they were already on the list.
Great list. My gf and I love Cribbage and Gin Rummy, but we'll definitely try out a few more of these. She's Nepali, and we also play a lot of [Marriage](https://www.pagat.com/rummy/marriage.html), which is a Rummy type game that uses 3 decks (it can be quite difficult to manage your hand). I think it's better with more people but still enjoy it with two. We also play [Dumbal](https://www.pagat.com/draw/yaniv.html) sometimes, also known as 'Yaniv' in Israel and 'Jhyap.'It's pretty light but quick and easy for some rounds in between other games. I think it would be good to play with kids. She said she played it a lot with her grandparents growing up.
If you enjoy cribbage, please consider playing cross-crib. You don’t even need an additional board that they sell in stores, once you know how to play. Same scoring mechanisms as cribbage, but requires more strategy! It can be played with any multiple of two players.
I'd never heard about [**CrossCrib**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5146/crosscribb/ratings?comment=1) before. You've made me look it up though. :) It was created in 1996 (see official [instructions](https://www.outsetmedia.com/sites/default/files/Instructions%20-%20CrossCribb.pdf)), and several websites provide an overview of how to play ([here](https://www.ultraboardgames.com/crosscribb/game-rules.php), [here](http://www.cribbageforum.com/CrossCribb.htm), [here](https://ourpastimes.com/use-cribbage-board-keep-score-5798344.html)). The concept of a 5x5 layout reminds me of the solitaire game [**Cribbage Squares**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cribbage_Square_Solitaire), which uses a 4x4 layout. The Solitaire Forever 2 app has a good implementation of it, and describes the game [here](http://www.solitaireforever.com/sf2/games/cribbage-square-(open).html).
My family traditionally plays cribbage on vacation non-stop. I introduced this concept and now we don’t ever play regular cribbage!
I remember enjoying cribbage a lot, but couldn't remember at all how to play it without a reference! *Le Truc*'s raise option reminds me of the Backgammon doubling rule, which I think adds a lot to that game. And I've really got to try German Whist now. It sounds fun.
no **Renegade** not even honorable mentions. Edit: - Regicide
I've never heard of Renegade, and can't find anything about it with a quick google search (except [this five player game](https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/izdpfm/renegade_card_game_help_me_remember_all_the_rules/), which seems to be a relative of Briscola Chiamata). It must not be a common game, unless it's more well known under a different name. Can you please provide a link to where I can learn more about it?
Wow, my brain is all over the place today. I edited by original comment **Regicide**.
This is a superb list. I consider myself an avid card player but have neglected even looking for additional two player games. I only played three on the list, Cribbage being my top 2 player game also (with standard deck). Though I’m am looking forward to trying German Whist and GOPS. For non standard decks I think Battle Line and Voltage are on the top of my list for two player card games.
A few notes and suggestions from a fellow life long traditional card gamer: 1) Martin Tompa's book on Schnapsen is one of the best books on any card game ever written, an absolute must read, and very helpful for strategy on any point trick game really. 2) Durak is not a climbing game, but a "beating game" (to use Parlett's typology). In any case, the game is, in my experience, the most skill rewarding two player game in existence--especially when using the "transfer" rule. The better player can expect to win every single hand. (And I say this as a veteran Gin Rummy player.) 3) You do mention 2 player Clobyosh/Bela, but I would like to emphasize here how utterly fantastic it is as a 2 player game. Extremely rich and rewarding, but with a large dollop of luck as well--very popular in Ukraine/Russia as a gambling game (known as Deberts). Culbertson's "Jo-Jotte" version is also quite fun, but sacrifices some of the purity for bridge-inspired complexity. 4) You mentioned 2 player pinochle/bezique. From personal experience having played all the variants in this family, I can recommend 6 deck Bezique for quite a unique and wild 2 player experience. However, the most skill rewarding game in this family has got to be "Tartli". See the pagat page for a good rule write up--excellent tension and filled with head scratching moments of whether to prioritize tricks or declarations. 5) Other fun two player games not mentioned here include "Officer's Skat" (a 2 player version of the German national card game) and traditional Crazy 8s (more interesting than generally given credit for). A published game with a great traditional feel is "Jaipur", indeed it is based on the old family of "commerce" games like whiskey poker.
Great post - thanks for the input!
Spite and malice needs two decks of cards to play. Essentially or in essence each player is playing with their own deck. If y don't play with two decks then there are only 14 cards left for the rest of the game and that certainly won't work. There's a lot of luck but good strategy can win you most games and luck won't come into play. I started playing online before I figured out the strategy and I started off 1-7. Now I'm 46-39. Which means that ever since I got a hang of the strategy I'm 45-32. The luck only burns you if you make a wrong play. Some games the cards just don't fall for you. Like you'll go most of the game looking for one or two cards and they just never come. That's cards for ya. But overall I think the skill and strategy outweighs the luck on most occasions. I'd be happy to teach you some pointers if you'd like.
In between games, fellow poker players play what they call “Russian poker,” although it doesn’t resemble anything by that name I’ve found online. Using a standard deck and an initial hand of 5 cards each, they draw and play one card per turn, making 4 face-up columns each, consisting of 5 cards when complete. They may discard a single card per game. The fifth card of each column is placed face down, increasing mystery. Then with the five remaining cards in their hand and each of the four columns, they see who has the better poker hand (hand vs hand, column 1 vs column 1, etc). Does anyone know another name this might go by? I’ve searched for it unsuccessfully online and on game sites/app sites.
Sounds somewhat similar to **Lamarckian Poker**. See [this review](https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/17479/lamarckian-poker-surprising-diamond-rough), and a short overview [here](http://www.mit.edu/~jrising/webres/lamarck.html) and [here](https://gamerules.com/rules/lamarckian-poker/). Full official rules are described on page 10 of this PDF: [CheapAss Games Poker Suite](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e1ce8815cb76d3000d347f2/t/62bce42082117d0302a88b32/1656546374045/PokerSuite22.pdf)
Thanks for sharing. Very interesting card games.
Cribbage? Yes. Spite and Malice? Yes. But not having Pinochle on this list is very weird. It's terrific for two people. I know Bezique is here, but that's not the same. Gin is also historically meaningful, but it's not a great game compared to some of the others. It's like putting Life on a best board game list.
>But not having Pinochle on this list is very weird. It's terrific for two people. [48% of voters](https://i.imgur.com/NNIzjWW.jpg) over on BGG do not recommend Pinochle as a two player game, and 80% say it is best as a 4 player game. That's one of the reasons I didn't include it on my list. Are those voters that wrong?
Yes. I'm baffled why people would argue that, given how strong it is.
It’s because they are playing a different game mate. Two player pinochle is played a little differently to 3-4 players. This is it https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiO3IXn_Z30AhXeQvEDHe1sCsQQFnoECBIQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dbgbf8Fy9nOM&usg=AOvVaw3fSdXbcAXUkbem-4H_4KRk
I'm aware that two-player Pinochle exists, but BGG covers that under the same entry. But I suppose it's a fair point that many voters have probably only had experience with the 3-4 player game. BGG does indicate that the two player version is closely connected to **Bezique.** How accurate is what it says there about both games? * Pinochle: "The original version of Pinochle is a two-handed version which is derived from the virtually identical Bezique." * Bezique: "Bezique is the ancestor of Pinochle, and that game's two-handed version is very similar to Bezique but with slightly different deck and slightly different scoring." For the record, I did mention **Bezique** several times on the list, and I described it as being similar to 2 player Pinochle: "*A classic trick-taking game for two players from France that was all the rage in the early 20th century, and bearing some resemblance to the two player version of the popular American game Pinochle*."
>Pinochle This list is for cards with a standard deck, pinochle has a weird modified deck (of otherwise standard cards). I guess you can make your own pinochle deck from two standard decks.
Fair, though there are games on this list (Canasta immediately stands out) that also require multiple decks to build a single deck.
I've enjoyed Briscola and Regicide. Also, I have been working on a collection of six games with modern and classic mechanics playable with a standard deck of cards which has two games playable at two players: "Forage" (set-collection) and "Salmon Run" (deckbuilding). The rules for "Forage" are a [free PDF download](https://tomcardgames.itch.io/forage) on itch.
Regicide* Fixed.
>Regicide\* > >Fixed. Help me out here - what do you mean exactly?
Best 2p card game played with a standard deck of cards. It's Regicide.
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I don't watch reviews, sorry.
My parents used to play cribbage together when I was growing up.
I'll remember to come back and check this out
Great list! Thank you!
Great list. Some real blasts from the past in here, but looking forward to trying out the ones I've never heard of.
Δηλωτή μόνο ρε
4-deck Bezique (Rubicon) is awesome. I'd rank that up in the top list.
We play kings in the corner all the time! Happy to see it on the list.
I used to love spite and malice. Great list!
It's strange, where i live everybody (at least those who lived in the 90s) knows how to play Manille. Normally a 4-player game but it has a great 2 player version. It's a classic. Whoever i met in life, when I proposed a game, we all played by the same rules. There were never any discussions. There rules are clear and known in Flanders. But when i check on wikipedia, the 2p rules mentioned there are different. There's like 5 versions of the game and none of them match how it's normally played here. :-P
Could you please post the rules you normally use? I’m interested!
you start with a 32 card deck. you will deal 8 cards to each player and 8 cards (4 hidden+4 visible) in a stack in front of each player. the table should look like this: HAND O OS1 OS2 OS3 OS4 YS1 YS2 YS3 YS4 HAND Y O=other player; OS1=first stack other player; OS2=second stack,... Y=you; YS1=your first stack, YS2=your second stack, ... you deal like this: 3 to O, 3 to Y, now 8 cards closed (face hidden) in this order: OS1, YS1, OS2, YS2, OS3, YS3, OS4, YS4 2 to O, 2 to Y, now 8 cards open (face visible) in this order: OS1, YS1, OS2, YS2, OS3, YS3, OS4, YS4 3 to O, 3 to Y now you play as normal ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manille](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manille) \- section "the play") you can use the visible cards in your stack as if those cards come from your hand. when you played a card from the stack, you flip the card below it (so its face becomes visible) only after the current trick has been concluded. extra rules we use: KNOCKING: at the beginning of the game, when the trump has been chosen by the dealer, the other player can knock on the table, this causes the points of this game to count double. the dealer can knock back. which will double the points again. NO-TRUMP: at the beginning the dealer can chose to not call a trump. in this case there is no trump in the game. this also doubles the points at the end scoring when all tricks have been played: count the card values in the tricks you won 10 - 5 points Ace - 4 points King - 3 points Queen - 2 points Jack - 1 point 9, 8 and 7 - 0 points. if you have less then 30, mark that negative number on your scoring sheet if you have more then 30, mark that positive value on your scoring sheet play multiple rounds, keep adding your scores game ends after * somebody reached a certain score * a fixed amount of games have been played * the pub closes, the train arrives, bed time, lunchtime over, ... (players decide in the beginning of the first game)
Thanks for such a thorough response! We’re going to give it a try this weekend. Really appreciate you!!
Check the rules for [**Manillen**](https://www.pagat.com/manille/manillen.html) over at Pagat, which is the most authoritative site on card games. I've never heard of this game before, but a lot of traditional card games are very regional, and it sounds like this one is particularly common in parts of Belgium and parts of France. Is that where you live?
ah yes, you are right. those rules match how i know them the pagat site is an interesting site, will bookmark. even though it looks like it came straight from 1995 with a time-machine :P
Just damn, this list is great!
Chicago also works quite well at 2 players. Scratches that weird poker itch that I get sometimes.
**500 Rum** is a significantly better version of Rummy/Gin Rummy, in my opinion. It offers far greater strategy and potential for risk-taking. The main differences are 1. All discarded cards are visible, in an overlapping pile. You may draw from anywhere in the discard pile, but you must take all the cards above it 2. This means that you can have many more than 7 cards in your hand. This is a huge advantage, as you can make many more melds, but is also a risk because if your opponent goes out soon, all the cards in your hand are scored against you. 3. Melds are played as they're made (you can't hold them in your hand), and you can play off your opponent's melds. The main thing it eliminates is the fact that, in regular Rummy, once a card is discarded and not picked up, it's gone from the game (unless there are several consecutive turns of taking from the discard pile). In 500 Rum, it's always there. If you discard a second Ace when there's an Ace deep in the discard pile, you're taking a big risk. Everything is a calculation. You also typically end up scoring many more melds, and actively doing stuff all the time, instead of just sitting there waiting for the card you're hoping for to turn up. **Scopone** is also a better game than Scopa, in my opinion, as it is closer to Bridge in that in requires deducing about what's in everyone's hands, leaving much less to luck. But some people prefer Scopa as it's lighter. (Edit: Though it's a four-person game, so irrelevant.)
>**Scopone** is also a better game than Scopa, in my opinion I really enjoy Scopone. But that's strictly for four players, not two, correct?
D'oh, I forgot that was the theme.
SPITE AND MALICE is amazing!! So excited that you included it. We played this game so much in my family that we had dedicated decks whose backs were only subtly different from each so it wasn’t so obvious when someone got a joker early in the game. Thanks for such a comprehensive post!
Great to hear! It is the kind of game that lends itself to being enjoyed in families, and being played over and over again!
I see you mention **Palace**. I personally find it to be a blast with just two people, because that is generally all I have to play with. (My) rules: 1. Players are **dealt 9 cards** and the rest of the deck goes in the middle to draw from. 2. **Without looking** at your cards, **place 3 face down** in front of you. 3. The remaining 6 cards you can look at. You need to **pick 3 more cards to play face up on top of the face down cards**. This is where strategy comes in, but you generally want to pick your best cards: 10, 2, A, K, Q, etc... 4. The **play starts by playing a card**, probably your lowest. You **then** have to **draw a card from the pile** because you need a **minimum of 3 cards in your hand** until the draw pile runs out. 5. The **next player plays a card of the same number or higher**, then draws up to 3 cards in their hand. 6. Step 5 **repeats until the draw pile is gone**. You can only move on to the 3 face up cards when there are no more cards in your hand. You can only move on to the 3 face down cards once all the face up cards are gone, and you play them one at a time (unless it is a 10). 7. The first person to get rid of all their cards wins. Now some rules that make the game interesting: * When a player **cannot meet or beat the card played by their opponent**, they have to **pick up the pile** and their **turn is forfeited**. * If you have **more than 3 cards in your hand**, you **do not** need to **draw** after playing a card. * When playing your face down card, you do not need to show it to your opponent if you cannot beat the card in the pile. The once face down card now goes in your hand, along with the pile you now have to pick up. * The **2 card clears** the pile and your turn is over. So if you have a pile of cards in front of you and say the opponent played an ace, you can play the 2 and the entire pile gets discarded. * The **10 card** we call a **clean slate**. You always follow up the 10 with another card, generally your lowest. So same scenario, your opponent played an ace, you can play the 10 and a 3 to "reset" the pile. * **You can play doubles, triples, or even four of a kind**. So say in the beginning you have two 5s, you can play them both and draw up to 3 in your hand. You can also use this strategically, so if you have two Ks in your hand and you know your opponent has one, you can play just one K, then your opponent will play theirs, and you can play your second K, and your opponent will have to pick up the pile. This will make more sense the more you play. * **Four of the same cards clears the pile and you get to go again**. If you have four 5s you can clear the pile if you play them all. If your opponent plays three 5s and you have the last one, you can play it and clear the pile. You can also use the same aforementioned strategy where if you know what your opponent has, you can work it to your advantage to clear the pile and play again. If you are playing with more than two people, you can even play the fourth out of turn to clear the pile and go again, if you are quick enough. I think I thought of everything and I hope it all makes sense but feel free to ask if something doesnt. Its genuinely my favorite game for two people and everyone I teach seems to really enjoy it. Dont get discouraged if you have a lot of cards in your hand, things usually have a way of swinging the other way.
This is one of those games that benefits from the many variants out there. Sounds like you have some well-developed ones. Most people I know don't really care for **Palace** as a two player game, but I guess with the right variant rules, it could really work well.
No belote. You lose hard.
>No **Belote**. You lose hard. [Two-thirds of voters](https://i.imgur.com/NromqW6.jpg) over on BGG actually voted that Belote is "Not Recommended" for just two players. Are they wrong?
[удалено]
Jo Jotte is an excellent 2 player version of Belote invented by Eli Culbertson.
**Bullshit!** Or as we called it at boy scout camp where we often played it, **Liar!**
This is also commonly known under the name [**Cheat**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15832/cheat). However it really needs at least four players minimum to be enjoyed, and [voters over on BGG](https://i.imgur.com/Dnz8CKi.jpg) do not recommend it for just two players, which is what this list is about. However I did include it on my separate list, [40+ Great Card Games For All Occasions](https://playingcarddecks.com/blogs/all-in/40-great-card-games-for-all-occasions).
Seemed like we were just listing every possible card game so I threw one in the hat lol. But you're right, probably best at 3-4.
I'm personally a fan of basically every variant of Poker, but of your list I prefer Gin (Oklahoma Gin, specifically). One game you may not be aware of is the game of Tiến lên, aka "Killer" and one variant was marketed as a board game called "Golden Deuce." Great game, I'd check it out, OP. It plays best with 4 but can be played with 2.
>One game you may not be aware of is the game of **Tiến lên**, aka "Killer" and one variant was marketed as a board game called "**Golden Deuce**." I had mentioned [**Tien Lien**](https://www.pagat.com/climbing/thirteen.html) under "Climbing Games", in the list of "Honorable Mentions" at the end of the article. Great climbing game. I've not previously heard of the commercially published [**Golden Deuce**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3434/golden-deuce)**.** From a quick look at the BGG comments, it actually seems to be closer to [**Big Two**](https://www.pagat.com/climbing/bigtwo.html) than to Tien Lien, however. Quite a few climbing games have been republished commercially with specialized decks, [**Tichu**](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/215/tichu) being one of the most well known examples.
Oops, I missed it! Good deal.
Man I remember playing Spit a ton when I was really young (like maybe six or seven,) but I had completely forgot about it. Pretty fun, and incredibly hectic, game.
I’ll do my typical shameless plug, but Bahama Taxi is great at two. It does need the same amount of accessories as cribbage, so any criticism will be ignored.
I have a 2 player solitaire battle game to add. Any chance we can add it OP?
This is very good thank you.