The best two player card games that are easy enough to pick up immediately

The games room in a 17th-century Cotswold house by Emma Burns with calm, textured interiors

Mark Anthony Fox

There are thousands of ways to stay entertained with a simple deck of cards. The traditional 52-card deck has been a staple of coffee tables and living rooms for generations for good reason. Below, we whittle down our favourite card games down to five time-tested classics that only need two people.

The best two player card games

This variation of snap is one of the easiest to pick up.

The object of the game:

To get rid of all of the cards in your hand.

How to play:

1. Each player has half a pack.
2. You then count from 1-10 then 'Jack, Queen, King' and as you count you alternately put down a card face up in the middle. If the number you say corresponds with the number on the card you slap the pack and whoever gets there first gets the discarded card pile. You also slap on any fives and if the last two cards are the same (i.e. a jack on top of a jack).
3. When a player has used all of their cards, they win.

Extra rules: If you want to add another layer to the game, you can add variations like:

• If a player flinches or accidentally slaps the pile at the wrong moment, they pick up all the cards in the centre.
• Numbers aren’t spoken – the players must keep track in their heads.
• Turn it into a drinking game; if you pick up the pile you drink.

Gin Rummy became a Hollywood craze in the 1940s-1950s. Here, actress Joan Fontaine plays co-star Louis Jourdan between scenes in “Letter From An Unknown Woman”

Bettmann

Gin Rummy is basically Rummy, but with a few twists.

The object of the game:

Gin Rummy is a numbers game with each card worth various points. Figure cards are worth 10 points, number cards are worth their numbers and ace is worth one point. The player who gets more than 100 points by combining three or more card combinations wins the game.

How to play:

1. Remove all jokers from the pack. Both players then get ten cards each. The remaining cards go into one pile with the top card removed – this starts the ‘discard pile’.
2. The player who did not deal the cards goes first and can either take the upturned card in the discard pile or pick up a new card from the stock deck. You can only have ten cards in your hand at a time so once you pick a new card then another from your hand goes into the discard pile – this is called ‘deadwood’. The discarded ‘deadwood’ card is then available for the other player to pick up if they want it.
3. The game goes on as players try and group their 10 cards into combinations of three or more cards of the same rank (i.e. three 9s) or a series in the same suit (i.e. 5,6 & 7 of hearts).
4. Unlike Rummy, players don't lay down their combined cards until someone goes ‘Knock’. A player can say ‘Knock’ when the value of their deadwood is 10 or less. Though players don't have to say Knock until they want to. The best hand is placing down all ten cards combined – this is a ‘Gin’.
5. Now that the combined cards are exposed in the middle, they are fair game for all players to add to. For example, if there are three jacks already laying in the middle and another player has a fourth jack, they can place their deadwood jack with the three jacks to complete the set.
6. When a player announces Gin they win the partial game, whereas if a player Knocks, either that player or the opposing player can win it. The player wins if the value of their unmatched cards is less than the value of the opponent’s unmatched cards and the opponent wins if the value of their unmatched cards is equal to or less than that of the one that Knocked.
7. The game ends when one player gets to 100 or more points over enough partial games. If a player makes ‘gin’ they score 20 points plus the value of the opponent’s deadwood cards.

The object of the game:

To get rid of all of the cards in your hand.

How to play:

1. Both players get seven cards each. The remaining cards go facedown in the centre to form the stockpile. The top card is then turned up to start the discard pile.
2. Each player then plays a card face-up on the discard pile that matches the top card by rank or suit. All eights are wild cards that can be played at any time. Whoever plays an eight can then name any suit for the next player to follow.
3. The winner is whoever plays their last card first.

The backgammon table is a prized possession and family heirloom in Amanda Brook's home. The table turns over and has a chess and chequers on the other side.

Owen Gale

The object of the game:

To get rid of all of the cards in your hand.

How to play:

1. Split the deck evenly so each player gets 26 cards. Each player then creates five stacks of one to five cards from left to right. So, the first column will have one card, the second column two cards, the third three, the fourth four and the fifth five. Then flip over the top card from each of the five stockpiles so they're face up. The remaining cards go into a pile, face down, next to you to form your ‘spit cards’.
2. The game begins when both players say ‘spit’ and flip the top card from their piles into the centre of the table, with the cards face up. These form two separate ‘spit piles’.
3. Using only one hand and moving one card at a time, both players play simultaneously. Using the face-up cards on top of their columns, players can move face-up cards to either spit piles as long as the card's rank is one higher or one lower from the card at the top of the pile. Suit and colour do not matter.
4. When a column's top card is face down, flip it over. If a column is empty, you can move one of the face-up cards from another column in its place.
5. If no player can make a play then both say ‘spit’ and flip one card from their spit cards face up onto the pile and play continues.
6. When one player has used up all their cards from their columns, they need to slap one of the piles (ideally the smaller pile). The slapping player collects the cards they slapped and adds them to their spit cards while their opponent adds the other pile to theirs.
7. Both players shuffle their cards and deal them out like before.
8. Once one player has less than 15 cards, that player won't have enough for a full set. They then deal out their columns as far as they can go. But then they can no longer spit - meaning there'll only be one spit pile.
9. Once that pile is slapped, the other player will take that card. The first player to run out of their cards is the winner.

The object of the game:

To get all of the cards.

How to play:

1. Divide the deck evenly, one card at a time face down, so each player has 26 cards.
2. Each player flips over a card at the same time. The player with the higher card takes both cards and puts them face down at the bottom of their pile.
3. If the cards are the same rank, it's war. Both players play the next card in their deck face down and then another face-up. Whoever has the higher of the new face-up cards wins the 'war' and collects all the cards.
4. The game then continues until one player has all of the cards.

Read More

Simple dinner party games for adults to memorise