2 Player Card Games: 9 of the Best Card Games for Two

All you need for most of these games is one standard 52-card deck and one other person. Some take a minute to learn and are pure fun; others reward you for years of practice. Below are nine card games that genuinely work well with two players (not four-player games squeezed down to two), with the basic rules for each so you can start playing tonight.

Quick pick

Game	Best for	Difficulty	One round
War	Young kids, zero thinking	Very easy	Can go on and on
Go Fish	Kids learning card games	Very easy	10 minutes
Crazy Eights	A fast, casual game	Easy	5–10 minutes
Egyptian Ratscrew	Fast reflexes and noise	Easy	10–20 minutes
Speed	Two competitive people	Easy	2–5 minutes
Kings in the Corner	Relaxed family play	Easy	10–15 minutes
Gin Rummy	The classic two-player game	Medium	5–10 minutes per hand
German Whist	Learning trick-taking games	Medium	15 minutes
Cribbage	Couples and long-term rivals	Harder	30–45 minutes

Times are rough and depend on how fast you both play.

War

You need: one deck. Goal: win all 52 cards.

1. Shuffle and split the deck into two face-down piles, one for each player.
2. Both players flip their top card at the same time. The higher card wins both cards (aces are high).
3. If the cards tie, it's a war: each player puts three cards face down and one face up. The higher face-up card takes the whole pile. If they tie again, repeat.
4. Won cards go to the bottom of your pile. You lose when you run out of cards.

Why it works for two: there are no decisions, so it's perfect for small kids. The catch is that a game can last a very long time. Agree on a time limit and count cards at the end.

Go Fish

You need: one deck. Goal: collect the most books (all four cards of one rank).

1. Deal 7 cards to each player. Put the rest face down as the pond.
2. On your turn, ask your opponent for a rank you already hold ("Do you have any 9s?").
3. If they have any, they must give you all of them and you ask again. If not, they say "Go fish" and you draw one card from the pond.
4. Put down each complete book of four. When all 13 books are made, the player with more books wins.

Why it works for two: kids practise matching and remembering what the other player asked for.

Crazy Eights

You need: one deck. Goal: be the first to play all your cards.

1. Deal 7 cards each. Turn the top card of the stock face up to start the discard pile.
2. On your turn, play one card that matches the top discard by suit or rank.
3. Eights are wild: you can play an 8 at any time and name the suit that must be played next.
4. If you can't play, draw from the stock until you can (a common house rule is to draw just one card and pass).
5. The first player to empty their hand wins the round.

Why it works for two: it's quick, easy to teach, and has just enough strategy in when to use your eights. If this sounds familiar, it's the traditional game that many commercial shedding card games are based on.

Egyptian Ratscrew

You need: one deck. Goal: win every card.

1. Deal out the whole deck face down, so each player has a pile. Don't look at your cards.
2. Take turns flipping your top card face up onto a shared centre pile.
3. When someone plays a face card or ace, the other player must play another face card or ace within a set number of tries (jack: 1, queen: 2, king: 3, ace: 4). If they fail, the person who played the face card takes the pile.
4. Anyone can slap the pile when there is a double (two cards of the same rank in a row) or a sandwich (same rank with one card between them). The first hand on the pile takes it.
5. Slap by mistake and you give one card to the bottom of the pile as a penalty.

Why it works for two: it's loud, fast and surprisingly fair: a quick hand beats a lucky deal.

Speed

You need: one deck. Goal: get rid of all your cards before your opponent.

1. Each player gets a 20-card stock pile and draws a 5-card hand from it.
2. Place two piles of 5 cards face down at the sides, and two single cards face down in the middle.
3. Both players say "speed" and flip the two middle cards face up at the same time.
4. There are no turns. As fast as you can, play a card from your hand onto either middle pile if it is one higher or one lower (suit doesn't matter, and aces can go on kings or twos). Refill your hand to 5 from your stock.
5. When neither player can move, both flip a new card from the side piles onto the middle piles and keep going.
6. The first player to run out of cards slaps the smaller middle pile and wins.

Why it works for two: a game is over in minutes and it's pure head-to-head. Expect a rematch.

Kings in the Corner

You need: one deck. Goal: be the first to play all your cards.

1. Deal 7 cards each. Place the deck in the middle and turn four cards face up next to it, one on each side, to start four foundation piles.
2. Start your turn by drawing one card.
3. Play as many cards as you like: build down on any pile in alternating colours (a red 7 on a black 8), place kings in the empty corners diagonal to the deck, and move a whole pile onto another when it fits.
4. When a side pile is moved away, you can start a new pile in the empty space with any card.
5. The first player to empty their hand wins.

Why it works for two: it feels like solitaire you play together, so it's calm and friendly, and kids can join in once they know their numbers.

Gin Rummy

You need: one deck. Goal: form your hand into melds and leave as few unmatched points (deadwood) as possible.

1. Deal 10 cards each. Turn the next card face up to start the discard pile; the rest is the stock.
2. On your turn, draw one card (from the stock or the top of the discard pile), then discard one card.
3. Melds are sets (three or four cards of the same rank) or runs (three or more cards in a row of the same suit, with ace low).
4. Face cards count 10 points, aces 1, and number cards their value. When your deadwood is 10 or less, you can knock: lay down your hand and end the round.
5. Your opponent then lays down their melds and may add their loose cards to yours. The player with less deadwood scores the difference.
6. Knocking with zero deadwood is gin and earns a bonus. If your opponent ties or beats your count after you knock, they undercut you and take a bonus instead. Bonus amounts vary by house (25 each is common), and games usually go to 100 points.

Why it works for two: it was designed for two players and it's the classic "one more hand" game. You can play for decades and still improve.

German Whist

You need: one deck. Goal: win more of the final 13 tricks.

1. Deal 13 cards each. Turn the top card of the stock face up: its suit is trumps for the whole hand.
2. The non-dealer leads a card. The other player must follow suit if they can. The highest card of the suit led wins the trick, unless a trump was played.
3. In the first half, the winner of each trick takes the face-up stock card, the loser takes the next card face down (without showing it), and a new stock card is turned up.
4. Once the stock is empty, play the remaining 13 tricks. Only these tricks count. Whoever wins more of them wins the hand.

Why it works for two: it's one of the best introductions to trick-taking games like Spades and Bridge. The first half is about deciding which cards are worth fighting for.

Cribbage

You need: one deck and a cribbage board (or pen and paper). Goal: be the first to reach 121 points.

1. Deal 6 cards each. Both players discard 2 cards face down to form the crib, which belongs to the dealer this round.
2. Cut the deck and turn up a starter card. If it's a jack, the dealer pegs 2 points.
3. The play: take turns laying cards face up and calling the running total, which can't go over 31. You score for making exactly 15 or 31, for pairs, and for runs.
4. The show: each player then counts their own 4 cards plus the starter: 2 points for every combination that adds up to 15, 2 per pair, points for runs and flushes, and 1 for holding the jack of the starter's suit. The dealer also counts the crib.
5. Swap dealer and repeat until someone reaches 121.

Why it works for two: it has more to learn than the others on this list, but it's one of the few classic card games that is at its best with exactly two players.

Card games for two you can play online

No deck handy, or your friend is somewhere else? These card games are free to play in your browser on 2PlayerHub:

• Rummy Multiplayer: a 10-card rummy game with an offline mode for 2 to 4 players and an online mode.
• Dirty Seven: a Crazy Eights–style card game against the computer. Sevens make you draw, and jacks work as wild cards.

Prefer a board game? Try Connect 4 two player, 2 player checkers or tic tac toe for two.

How to choose

• Playing with a young child: War or Go Fish, then Crazy Eights once they can match suits.
• Want something quick and competitive: Speed or Egyptian Ratscrew.
• Want a game you'll keep playing for years: Gin Rummy or Cribbage.
• Want to learn trick-taking games: German Whist.