Couples Card Games: 10 Card Games for Two to Play Together

A deck of cards is the cheapest game night there is, and plenty of the best card games are made for exactly two people. This page lists card games for couples that need only a standard 52-card deck, with short rules for each and a pick for the kind of evening you want. Everything here is friendly and suits all ages. If you want full rules for any game, the longer 2 player card games guide has them.

UNO is a trademark of Mattel. This page is an independent guide and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mattel.

Which card game for which night?

Night	Game	Learning time
First card game together	Crazy Eights or Go Fish	2 minutes
Easy chat while you play	Gin rummy	10 minutes
A long-term favourite	Cribbage	30 minutes
Quick and silly	Speed or War	2 minutes
A little strategy	Hearts or Spades for two	15 minutes
No real deck	Rummy Multiplayer or UNO Game online	5 minutes

1. Gin rummy

The classic card game for two. Deal 10 cards each. On your turn you draw a card (from the stock or the discard pile) and discard one. You are building sets (3 or 4 cards of the same rank) and runs (3 or more cards in order in the same suit, ace low). When the cards left over, your deadwood, add up to 10 points or less, you can knock and end the hand. If you have no deadwood at all, that is gin, and it earns a bonus. The first player to 100 points wins.

Turns are quick, so you can talk while you play, and a rematch takes five minutes.

2. Cribbage

Cribbage uses a small board with pegs to keep score, and the first player to reach 121 points wins. Each player gets six cards and puts two in the crib, an extra hand that belongs to the dealer. Then you take turns laying cards and calling out the running total, which must not go over 31. You score for making 15 or 31, for pairs and for runs. After that, you count your hand: 2 points for each combination that makes 15, 2 for each pair, and points for runs and flushes.

There is enough to learn that it stays interesting for years. Play best of three.

3. Crazy Eights

Deal seven cards each for two players. Turn one card up to start the discard pile. On your turn, play a card that matches the top card by suit or rank, or play an eight. An eight can go on anything, and you name the suit the next player has to follow. If you cannot play, draw a card. The first to empty their hand wins.

It is easy to teach, so it suits a first game with someone new to cards.

4. Go Fish

Deal seven cards each. On your turn, ask the other player for a rank you hold, such as "Do you have any sevens?" If they have any, they hand them all over. If not, they say "Go fish" and you draw. Collect four of a kind to make a book. The most books wins. Our guide to how to play Go Fish has the details.

5. Hearts for two

Hearts is a trick-taking game where you try to avoid taking hearts and the queen of spades. It is usually played with three or four players, so a two-player version needs adjustments. Our guide to how to play Hearts with 2 players explains them.

6. Spades for two

Another trick-taking game. You bid how many tricks you will win and score points for hitting your bid. See how to play Spades with 2 players.

7. Kings in the Corner

Each player gets seven cards, and four cards go face up around the deck to start four piles. You draw one card, then play cards onto the piles in descending order, alternating colours. The first to play all their cards wins. It is relaxed and takes 10 to 15 minutes.

8. Speed

A fast game for two, played at the same time with no turns, so it suits a pair who like to compete. See our 2 player card games guide for the rules. A round takes two to five minutes.

9. War

No decisions, only luck. Each player flips the top card, and the higher card wins both. Use it when you are too tired to think. Read how to play War.

10. Rummy

A simpler cousin of gin rummy. With two players each gets 10 cards, and you form sets and runs. See how to play rummy with 2 players.

Card games online for couples

If you do not have a deck, a browser version works.

• Rummy Multiplayer. On this device you pick 2, 3 or 4 players. Each player gets 10 cards, and the game plays to 100 points. In a two-player game one hand is shown face up at the bottom, the other face down at the top, as if you sit on opposite sides of a tablet. There is a globe button for online play.
• UNO Game. The listing supports two, three or four people. You play a card that matches the top card by colour or number, and the last card needs an announcement.
• Dirty Seven. A shedding card game for two. Each player starts with seven cards and sees only their own. You discard cards that match the top of the waste pile by rank or suit, and draw if you cannot. The first to empty their hand wins.

For more things to play together, try couple games and online games for couples.

Tips for a good card night

• Agree on house rules first. Many card games have variations, and arguing about them is the main way a game night goes wrong.
• Play a short series. Best of three or five keeps scores meaningful.
• Take turns dealing.
• Keep a score sheet on paper if the game is cribbage or gin rummy.