2 players
2-player card games
The best card games for two players — date nights, road trips and rivalries. Fast duels, deep strategy and everything between.
Full guides
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- Coming soonCasino & vying
Blackjack
aka Twenty-One, Vingt-et-un
Draw cards to get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. Learn to hit, stand, double and split.
- Players
- 2–8
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Easy
- Coming soonTrick-taking
Brisca
aka Briscola
A fast trick-taking game where Aces and Threes are worth the most. Partners often signal with winks and faces.
- Players
- 2–6
- Deck
- Spanish 40
- Level
- Easy
- Coming soonRummy
Canasta
Partners build melds of seven cards called canastas, using 2s and Jokers as wild cards.
- Players
- 2–6
- Deck
- 52 + Jokers
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonFishing & capturing
Casino
aka Cassino
Capture cards from the table by matching ranks or building sums. Big and Little Casino are worth bonus points.
- Players
- 2–4
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonRummy
Chinchón
Draw and discard to form sets and runs, then close the round with a low hand — or a perfect Chinchón.
- Players
- 2–8
- Deck
- Spanish 48
- Level
- Easy
- Coming soonRummy
Conquián
A two-player draw-and-meld game from Mexico where you lay out sets and runs to go out with eleven cards.
- Players
- 2
- Deck
- Spanish 40
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonCounting & adding
Cribbage
Score combinations in play and in hand, pegging your way around the board to 121.
- Players
- 2–4
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonFishing & capturing
Cuarenta
Capture cards by matching and adding, race to 40 points and watch for the instant-win caída.
- Players
- 2–4
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonShedding
Durak
Attack and defend with trumps; the last player holding cards is the durak — the fool.
- Players
- 2–6
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonSpeed & slapJ
Egyptian Ratscrew
aka ERS, Slap
Take turns flipping cards to a central pile. Slap it on doubles and sandwiches to win the whole stack.
- Players
- 2–6
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Easy
- Coming soonFishing & capturing
Escoba
aka Escoba de 15
Capture table cards that add up to 15 with a card from your hand. Clear the whole table for an escoba.
- Players
- 2–4
- Deck
- Spanish 40
- Level
- Easy
- Coming soonRummy
Gin Rummy
Form sets and runs, reduce your deadwood and knock — or go gin for a big bonus.
- Players
- 2
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonFamily & kidsQ
Go Fish
Ask other players for ranks to collect books of four. The player with the most books wins.
- Players
- 2–6
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Easy
- Coming soonFamily & kidsQ
Golf
aka Six-Card Golf
Swap cards into your face-down grid to build the lowest-scoring layout over nine rounds.
- Players
- 2–6
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Easy
- Coming soonSpeed & slapJ
Nertz
aka Pounce
Everyone plays solitaire simultaneously onto shared foundations, racing to empty their Nertz pile.
- Players
- 2–8
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonFamily & kidsQ
Old Maid
Pair off your cards and draw from your neighbor — whoever is left holding the unpaired Queen loses.
- Players
- 2–8
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Easy
- Coming soonRummy
Rummy 500
aka 500 Rum
Meld sets and runs, lay off on anyone's melds and take whole runs of the discard pile — first to 500 wins.
- Players
- 2–8
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonCasino & vying
Siete y Media
A banking game like Blackjack: draw cards to reach 7½ without going over. Court cards count half a point.
- Players
- 2–8
- Deck
- Spanish 40
- Level
- Easy
- Coming soonSpeed & slapJ
Speed
aka Spit (US)
Race to play cards one rank above or below the center piles. First to empty their cards wins.
- Players
- 2
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Easy
- Coming soonSpeed & slapJ
Spit
aka Slam, Slam!
Each player builds from their own solitaire-style layout onto shared spit piles. Slap the smaller pile to win the round.
- Players
- 2
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Easy
- Coming soonCasino & vying
Texas Hold'em
aka Hold'em, Poker
Make the best five-card poker hand using two hole cards and five community cards across four betting rounds.
- Players
- 2–10
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonShedding
Tiến Lên
aka Thirteen, Vietnamese Cards
Beat the previous play with a higher single, pair, triple or run. 2s are high — and bombs can beat them.
- Players
- 2–4
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonTrick-taking
Truco
A trick-taking and bluffing game played in teams across Argentina, Uruguay and beyond, with Envido and Flor bets.
- Players
- 2–6
- Deck
- Spanish 40
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonTrick-taking
Tute
Win tricks and declare King-and-Knight pairs (cantes). Collect all four Kings or Knights for an instant win.
- Players
- 2–4
- Deck
- Spanish 40
- Level
- Medium
- Coming soonFamily & kidsQ
War
Both players flip a card; the higher card takes both. Ties trigger a war. Win every card to win the game.
- Players
- 2
- Deck
- Standard 52
- Level
- Easy