The best card games to play with just 2 people
This list will have you and your roomie, pal or date reaching for a deck!
One of the great things about card games is that there are variations for any number of players, from one person to a big group. And those numbers might actually be more flexible than you think. Some well-known group games have versions for just two players.
So if you're looking for a new date night activity or you and a buddy are bored this weekend — or anytime you have only one other person to play cards with — the games that follow are the best of the lot.
The best duets
My favourite card games, worthy of their place on this list of the best overall, also happen to be two-player games. You can play cribbage or 500 rummy with three or more people, but for the best experience, two is plenty.
Cribbage
Cribbage is a delightful game with its own jargon and quirks. The iconic board used to keep score and "peg" points is part of the fun, but isn't actually required for play. If you don't have a board, use a tally sheet or the notes app on your phone — whatever works for you is fine.
You can play to 61 points, but I recommend playing to 121 (a full game). You score points by grouping cards together by rank, forming runs and combining cards to add up to 15.
Cribbage is played in phases. First, the dealer distributes six cards to each player, starting with their opponent, then both players discard two cards. These go into the "crib," which the dealer can use to score points.
Next is the cut. The non-dealer cuts the rest of the deck, and the dealer turns up a card, which both players can combine with their hands later to score points. If it's a jack, however, the dealer immediately scores two points "for his heels."
Following that is "the show," where players reveal their hands by playing their cards and keep a running total. You can score points during this phase by pairing your cards with your opponent's; by creating a run of three or more cards; by playing a card that brings the total to 15; by reaching exactly 31; or when your opponent can't play without exceeding 31.
The non-dealer counts their points first, then the dealer. The dealer then counts the points in their crib. The players take turns dealing, and if you both have enough points to win, the round goes to the non-dealer.
Part of the fun of cribbage is gambling on the communal card that turns up, hoping it'll go well with your hand — but there's lots of strategy after that. When you're the dealer and entitled to the crib, you can save some good cards for later. When the dealer is your opponent, you don't want to discard anything that could be easily combined to score points. During the show phase, you can lead with smaller cards to prevent your opponent from bringing the total to 15 or you can save the smaller cards for later in the phase when you can use them to get close to 31.
500 rummy
I've written before about my love for this game and I'll do it again. This is a longer game from the rummy family, and the goal is to collect cards in runs and sets and to be the first player to score 500 points.
You score points by playing three or four cards of the same rank or by playing at least three cards in a run of the same suit. Numbered cards are worth five points; 10s and face cards are worth 10 points; and aces can be either five or 15 points — or only one if they're combined with a two or three of the same suit.
Be careful though — the round ends when either player gets rid of all of their cards or the stockpile runs out. If you have cards left in your hand, you must subtract the point value of those cards from your score for that round. Scores are counted at the end of each round.
When I was a child, I liked to try and collect groups of three aces because that was an easy 45 points. In retrospect, my parents might have been letting me win. But it's something you could attempt if you don't mind getting caught with two aces and having to deduct 30 points.
Lesser-known gems
These games might not have the glamour of poker or the quirks of cribbage, but they are hidden gems nonetheless. Introduce your friend to one of these or impress a date. I don't know about you, but anyone who can teach me a new card game gets points from me — exactly how many depends on what we're playing.
German whist
Though bridge unseated whist in the 19th century as the most popular tournament card game in the Western world, whist remains popular in my home country of the U.K. This variant of the trick-taking game is especially good, but I haven't run into many people who play it this side of the pond.
There are two phases of play. In Phase 1, the players try to win good cards from the stockpile. In German whist, you're playing to win the card on top of the stockpile.
Both players are dealt 13 cards, and the rest of the deck forms the stockpile. The dealer turns over the top card from the stockpile, and that card's suit is trump for that round.
The winner of the trick takes it, and the loser takes the next card from the stockpile, without revealing it, so both players always have 13 cards in their hands. The next card in the pile is turned over — but the trump remains the same — and players continue turning over the top card and playing until no cards are left.
Once the stock is empty, Phase 2 begins. The winner of the 13th trick goes first, and you take turns until both players run out of cards. Whoever wins most of the 13 tricks wins the round.
The tricks you win in the first phase don't count toward your score. The point is to collect good cards to help you win the tricks that are tallied in the second phase. So be discerning about the ones you try to take in Phase 1 as some of the cards that turn up will be less useful than the cards already in your hand.
The game plays quickly, and the deck-building is satisfying. You'll do well if you can keep track of which cards have already been played.
Bunty
I couldn't find much evidence online for the two-player game bunty, which I first came across in a booklet in the Observer.
Bunty is very silly, quite frankly, and a good icebreaker. As in the game Speed, being quick is the name of this game. Two 52-card decks are recommended, but the game can be played with one. The objective is to get rid of all your cards.
Basically, you deal all of the cards to the two players, and each player has a row of four cards in front of them, a discard pile in the centre, and a stockpile in one of their hands. You shift cards to your discard pile until the top cards in both piles are the same rank, then you call out "bunty!"
If you say "bunty" before your opponent, they have to pick up both discard piles and vice versa. If you both say it at the same time, the cards are left as they are.
There's very little strategy — you just need good reflexes and coordination. There's no time for math when you're about to drop your stockpile.
Variations on popular games
Though you might think you need a full house for these games, there are ways to play your old favourites with only one opponent. Here are a couple, modified for two players, which you might not have heard of.
Heads-up poker
Did you know you can play two-handed poker? Well, you can. With only two players, the famous betting game is known as "heads-up" poker and it's a popular tournament game in its own right. (There was a national heads-up championship in Las Vegas, which was televised for eight years, and you can play in online poker rooms.) Try it out when there's only two of you at the table or at the end of a larger game when only one other player remains.
Any type of poker can be played with two people, but the rules are slightly different when it comes to games like Texas hold 'em and Omaha, with community cards and blinds.
In heads-up poker, the players take turns being the dealer. Before the players see their cards (pre-flop), the dealer places the first mandatory bet (the small blind), and the other player posts the next mandatory bet (the big blind, usually double the small blind).
Then the dealer acts first before the flop and last after the flop. For the next round, the players switch positions.
For me, the real fun is that you can play more aggressively with only one player to beat — bluffing with one person is much easier than with an entire table, when you're sure someone has a better hand than you.
12-card euchre
Twelve-card euchre — one of the two-handed versions of the game — is a younger sibling to the more common four-handed version. As with many card games, there are a few versions of two-player euchre, including the one I grew up playing (more on that below).
In this version, the objective is to be the first player to score 10 points by taking tricks. As in the four-player version, this game uses the nine through ace in all four suits, with the jack of the trump suit becoming the highest card, followed by the jack of the other suit of the same colour. But in the two-player game, each player is dealt 12 cards: four face-down; four face-up on top of the face-down row; and four in the hand, hidden from your opponent.
The non-dealing player considers their hand and declares the number of tricks they think they can take — a bid. They must bid a minimum of seven to get the majority of the tricks. The dealer can bid higher or pass — but the highest bidder chooses the trump suit and the non-dealer takes the first turn.
You can play any card from your hand or from your face-up cards. Once you play a face-up card, the card underneath it is turned up and can be played starting with the next trick. You score points beginning with the number of tricks you take: one point for seven tricks, two points for eight tricks, all the way up to six points for all 12 tricks. Only the player who called trump can score points that round. They score the points if they succeed, and score none if they fail. Another version is less forgiving and deducts points equivalent to the bid made. The first player to reach 10 points wins the game.
In the version I played as a child, there was no bidding, and both players could score points. If you called trump and won, you scored a single point, but if you called trump and lost, your opponent scored two. If you called trump and you each took six tricks, your opponent scored a point. If you called trump and won all 12 tricks, you scored two points. We played to 11 points, but had to win by two.
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