Card Games For 2 People

Are you alone with a friend and a deck of cards? Want to learn a few fun card games for two players? Well, you’ve come to the right place.

Sep 21, 2017 Recap: Fun Drinking Card Games for 2 Players. There are plenty of drinking card games for two people that’ll help turn an otherwise quiet night into a party for two. The next time you’re planning a night at home with a friend or significant other, bring a deck of cards to spice things up.

Jun 11, 2018 Rummy is an enjoyable and well-known option if you like card games for two people. It can be considered as a family game and is most popular in the United States. When two people play, the winner of each hand deals the next. When more than two people are involved, the deal passes to next the player on the left. May 17, 2019 When you think of the best card games for two people, traditional 52 card deck games, like Rummy and Go Fish, probably come to mind. But there's a whole wide world of original, fun. Apr 06, 2020 Of course, you can always pull out two-person classics like checkers or chess for fail-safe, two-player game options, but you should try out a few of these choices when you're looking to add a little variety to two-person game night. These games range from the fast-paced to more strategic games that will take longer to play.

You can basically play any card game with only two players. So in case you want to play one of the more classic card games, check out these:

But if you came here to learn some games that ware created especially for two, keep reading…

Schnapsen rules

Schnapsen is a fun game for 2 players played with a 20 card deck(some variations have 24 card decks). The cards used are A, K, Q, J, T, (9).
It’s not a particularly social game, since it involves quite a lot of thinking and a solid memory, but for all of you out there that are looking for something challenging, or just looking for something to outplay your friends in, it’s perfect.

So learn the rules to Schnapsen!

The Bidding War

The Bidding War is a simple card game for two players. It’s similar to the children’s card game War, but it involves a little more skill. That means that, if you play better than your opponent, you can gain an edge on him and beat him more often than not.

Learn the rules of the Bidding War!

Tarok for two

Tarok is a fun card game played with a deck of tarot playing cards. These are the rules to the two player version…

…two player Tarock rules!

Spit

spit card game

Spit is a classic shedding game; that is, the ultimate goal for the players is to be the first to get rid of all their cards. This is a fast-paced, simple and highly entertaining card game for two people. It’s an ideal game for when you and a friend just want to have a relaxing, good time without too many headscratchers or boring steps getting in the way of it.

Materials

Two Player Card Games For Kids

All you need to play Spit are two decks of standard playing cards and your preferred method of keeping score. No additional resources or expensive decks or boards are at all required to get going and have some fun. Just a small part of what makes this game such a simple and comfortable time!

Dealing

In Spit, each player gets one of the playing decks. Each player then takes the four top cards from their deck and places it in front of them in a row, face up. The deck ranking is straight-forward and logically descending in numerical order from the face cards down: A (high or low), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Gameplay

The rules and mechanics are simple. When both people are ready to play, one of them says “spit” (after all, that charmingly strange name needed to come in to play somehow!) and each player removes the top card from their deck and places it in the center of the table; the two cards will form rows and will be the focus of the action for the rest of the game.

There are no turns in Spit and each player makes their moves simultaneously. The players take the cards from their row and place them on top of the center piles. However, a card can only be played if it is one higher or one lower than the card it is played on top of. The suit of the card does not matter.

Once a card is played, it can then be replaced in the player’s row by the top card of their deck. Note: Each player can have a maximum of only four cards in their row.

Cards can only be played one at a time. If the two players both try to play a card on the same pile, whichever player reached the pile first gets to be the one to play their card. This is probably going to be important to remember; because the game is played simultaneously, the two players are probably going to try to make identical plays fairly frequently.

If both players get stuck and can’t play a card, one of them says “spit” again and they place their top deck cards on the piles and the game continues. Whoever gets rid of all their cards (in both their deck and their row) wins the game. If both players exhaust their deck and neither one can win the game, whoever has the fewest cards left in their row wins.

Have fun!

Piquet

Piquet is a two player card game that has been around for over 400 years. It is a trick-taking game and is notable for its distinct Western European flavor and terminology, as well as its unusual deck structure for the cards.

This is definitely apparent the minute you start playing: Seemingly every important term has a non-English name! The game is particularly original in that it consists of six deals, which is referred to as a partie.

Materials

Piquet is unique in that it requires a 32 card deck to play. However, this can be easily achieved with a slight modification of a standard 52 card playing deck. All you need to do is remove all of the 2-6 cards before you start and you’re ready to play! Absolutely no need to go to a store or online to search for an elusive and probably expensive 32 card deck.

Dealing

Piquet has quite an original process for dealing. It begins with either player shuffling the deck, and then cutting the deck for the high card. Whoever has the high card is the winner and chooses who deals first.

From there, the cards are reshuffled and twelve are dealt to each player. Eight cards are left over as a talon and placed face-down at the center of the table.

The player who does not deal is the elder hand, while the player who deals is the younger hand. This is just a fun term and does not at all need to correspond to the player’s actual ages!

If a player is dealt a hand with no face cards, they can immediately call a carte blanche and be given 10 points. The player (and their opponent) then discard their hand face-up and the game goes back to where it was before the carte blanche.

Gameplay

The scoring system for Piquet can seem quite intimidating at first, but it’s actually fairly intuitive once you manage to get the hang of it. Basically, each time a player scores points, they’ll announce their running total score for that hand to the other player. Once a hand is completed, the players record their totals and add it to the score for the whole party.

The winner is whoever has the highest score at the end of the party. If there is a tie, two more hands are played. If both hands were ties, then the party is called as a draw. The game will also automatically end if a player reaches 100 points; in that case, the player who scored 100 points is declared the winner. The players may want to play another party, in which case, the scores are reset back to 0.

Once the game begins, the first step is the exchange. The elder hand goes first in the exchange process. The elder hand discards 1 to 5 cards from their hand (face down) and then draws an equal number of cards from the talon. Then the younger hand exchanges.

The younger hand can only exchange between 1 and the number of cards left in the talon, however. Either player must announce if they are discarding less than the maximum. The discarded cards are kept in a pile beside the player who discarded them. If the elder hand discards less than five cards, they can look through the talon while exchanging and the younger hand can then repeat that process.

Now, there are basically three ways to score points in Piquet: Points, Sequences, and Sets. Don’t fret: These are all very easy to get down! Here’s a quick overview of them:

1. Points: The largest number of cards in a single suit. The player announces the number of cards in that suit and that number is added to the player’s total score.

2. Sequences: When the cards come in a sequence. In order of ascending point count, the sequences are: Tierce (3 cards and 3 points), Quart (4 cards and 4 points), Quint (5 cards and 15 points), Sixième (6 cards and 16 points), Septième (7 cards and 17 points), Huitième (8 cards and 18 points).

3. Sets: Multiple cards of identical rank. There are two types of sets: Quatorze (four of a kind of Aces, any face card, or 10’s; worth 14 points) and Trio (three of a kind of Aces, any face card, or 10’s; worth 3 points). Sets of 7, 8, or 9 are not worth any points.

The elder hand will say their best combination in the hand for each category. After each announcement by the elder, the younger can respond either “good” (the younger hand does not have a combination that beats the elder’s), “bad” (the younger hand does have a combination that beats the elder’s), or “equal” (the younger hand has a combination of equal value). In the latter case, neither player will score their combination.

In the case of a tie of sequences, the cards can be compared by value and then the player with the higher value will get to score those points. This applies equally well to the other two categories of combinations.

Bonus points can also be awarded in two specific scenarios: Repique and pique. The former consists of 60 bonus points awarded if a player scores 30 or more points during declarations before the other player has scored any. The latter consists of 30 bonus points awarded if a player scores 30 or more points during both declarations and play before the other player has scored any.

And that’s it for the gameplay of Pique! It might sound complex at first, but after a few hands you will almost certainly get a good grasp of the mechanics and general gameplay. Remember to have fun and try to pick up some neat foreign words in the process!

Egyptian Rat Screw

Card Games For 2 People Online

Egyptian Rat Screw is a game based on matching cards and is loosely based on the older card game, Beggar-Thy-Neighbor. One unique aspect that distinguishes it from similar games is that players slap the cards when they form special combinations. It might be important to keep in mind caution while playing; try not to hurt each other (or at least too badly, anyway)!

Materials

All that is needed to play Egyptian Rat Screw is a standard 52-card playing deck. Again, another refreshing example of the simplicity that often comes with two-player card games.

Dealing

The cards are dealt face down, one at a time, to each player. Then, when the dealer is finished, each player puts their cards into a neat pile in front of them without looking at any of the cards. Either or both players can participate in the shuffling and dealing of the cards; it makes no difference at all.

Gameplay

The gameplay for Egyptian Rat Screw is very straightforward. To start, each player takes the top card of their pile and puts it face-up in the middle of the table. If the card that’s played is a number card, the other player puts down a card as well. This will continue until either a face card or an ace is played.

Once the initial face card or ace is played, the other player might play a face card or ace, in which case the match will continue. However, if they play a number card, then the first player wins the match and gets all the cards that have been played so far. Then the next match is initiated by the winner of the last one and the same rules regarding the face cards, aces, number cards goes into effect.

A face card or ace can be beaten, however, by the slap rule. If a combination that the slap rule applies to is in effect, then whoever slaps the center pile of cards first gets them all.

Try it Yourself »
Here are the possible combinations for the slap rule:

• Double: When two cards of identical value are played one after the other (e.g., a 2 after a 2)
• Sandwich: When two cards of identical value are played with one card of a different value between them (e.g., a 4, then a 7, then a 4 again)
• Top Bottom: When the same card as the first card of the match is laid down (e.g., if a 7 starts the match and one of the players then plays a 7)
• Tens: When two cards player on after the other add up to ten (e.g., a 6 and a 4); in this case, an Ace is counted as one
• Jokers: Any time a Joker is laid down (the two players should decide before the game begins if they’d like to include Jokers in the deck; some choose not to and that’s perfectly fine!)
• Four in a row: When four cards with values in ascending or descending order are laid down one after the other (e.g., 4, 5, 6, 7)
• Marriage: When a King or a Queen are played one after the other (this applies to a King played before a Queen or vise-versa; there is no distinction in scoring made between the two.)

Good luck and happy slapping!

So have fun with your friend, spouse, partner or kid and enjoy your card game for two!

Most good drinking games usually require several people or a slightly larger group. Here are great drinking games that you can play with two people.

Drinking Games for 2 People - Overview

Here is our list of the best drinking games for two that you can play right now. Just choose one of the games below to view the rules and guidelines.

Most Popular Drinking Games for Two

👉 We sorted the list by popularity.

Never have I ever… 🤭

The drinking game “Never have I ever” definitely belongs at the top of the list. It’s perfect if you want to get to know each other (like on the first date), but it’s also perfect to play with your best buddy and learn one or two dirty secrets of each other. Either way, it’s a great game to get to level up your night.

Warning! ⚠️

One round of Never have I ever… could go dirty extremely quick! 😏

So if you find yourself in a kind of awkward and boring first date, try to break the ice with a game of Never have I ever…

Rules for: Never have I ever

For two players usually, the older one goes first and begins with the statement: “Never have I ever…“

Example:
Never have I ever had sex on the first date.

Never have I ever - Online Version

Play “Never have I ever” online in your browser:

Now in this example, if one of you two already had sex on the first date, drink. To overcome an embarrassing silence, simply hold the drinking glass close at hand.

If none of you can agree with this statement, nobody has to drink. Then it continues clockwise, starting with “Never have I ever…”
Info: This rule is slightly different if you play it with only two people. If you’re in a big round, you only make statements that you already have done.

Bonus: 800+ Never have I ever - Statements

Here is our list of the most bizarre and dirtiest statements for the drinking game Never have I ever:
👉 800+ Never have I ever - Questions

“Never have I ever” - App

If you want to have it even easier, we have an App for “Never have I ever”. There you get random statements and questions. (Warning: Those questions are super dirty!)

UNO as a Drinking Game

As one of the most popular card games in the world, there is, of course, also a drinking game variation of UNO for 2 people.

UNO Drinking Game Rules

As with the normal version of UNO, the rules are simple: shuffle the cards and you’re ready to go. The youngest player always starts. Then continue clockwise. Here are the rules that makes UNO a drinking game:

You have to drink when…

• You draw the same color as the player in front of you.
• You draw the same number as the player in front of you.
• If you draw a suspension card, you may choose a player to drink.

• With a return card, the direction is changed just like with the normal Uno.
• In a draw-two card, the player who next draws a card must drink. (If your Draw Two card is the same color as the previous card, you must drink as well.)
• For a plus-four-card, everybody has to drink.

It is played until all cards have been drawn once. Various additional rules listed below can be executed. These increase the intensity of the drinking game.

Additional Rules for UNO as a Drinking Game

We have written down additional rules for UNO that make the drinking game even more intense:👉 Additional Rules for UNO

Blow the Cards

All you need is a deck of playing cards and something to drink.

Setup of Blow the Cards

At the start of the game, you place a glass filled with any drink in the middle of the table. Then all the cards are put together in a stack and placed on the glass. For Blow the Cards it does not matter which cards you use and how many. But we recommend waterproof playing cards because the cards are very close to your drink.

Gameplay of Blow the Cards

The youngest of you start the drinking game. Then one of you now tries to blow at least one card from the deck of cards. Any number of cards may be blown from the glass. The goal is, of course, to “remove” the cards so that the next player clears all cards and must drink.

Jenga as a Drinking Game

Of course, as you know, Jenga is perfect for two. With a few extra rules, the Wooden Tower game becomes one of the best drinking games of all time. The Jenga rules remain the same, but individual stones are labeled. If you drag one of these labeled stones, you must perform the action associated with the label. The stones can be labeled arbitrarily. Ideas for potential labels:

In one go

Drink your drink in one go.

Dwarf

The smallest player has to drink three times and then may appoint someone who also has to drink three times.

Tequila

Drink a tequila shot.

80s bands

Name three bands from the eighties or drink three times.

70s bands

Name three bands from the seventies or drink three times.

Titanic

The ship goes down, everyone has to drink his drink.

More Jenga Drinking Game labeling ideas

For Jenga as a drinking game, there are still countless lettering ideas. If you need inspiration, have a look at our list:👉 Jenga Drinking Game labeling ideas

“I’m Going on a Picnic…”

This is a memory game, which can be super hard if you already had one or two drinks.

Rules for “I’m Going on a Picnic…”

Go through the alphabet naming things you’d bring on a picnic, adding one more item per turn.

“I’m Going on a Picnic…” Example

• Person A: I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing Apples.
• Person B: I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing Apples and Bananas.
• Person A: I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing Apples, Bananas, and Carrots.
• And so on…

Drink every time someone makes a mistake. This game gets more hilarious both the drunker and the farther down the alphabet you get. Very likely you’ll get sidetracked by arguments about why anyone would need to bring a xylophone to a picnic.

Caps Drinking Game

This one can be played with either two or four people.

Rules for Caps

Each player sits facing the other at opposite ends of a table. Next to each player is a cup full of beer. Each player takes turns trying to throw a bottle cap into the other player’s cup. If one makes a hit, then the player that was scored on has to chug the cup of beer. What else are you going to do with those old bottle caps?

Quarters Drinking Game

For the drinking game Quarters you only need quarters and cups.

Quarters Rules and Gameplay:

One player tries to bounce a quarter off the table into a cup or shot glass.

If the shooter makes it, the other player must drink and the shooter gets another turn. If the shooter misses, it’s the other players turn to shoot.

This is probably the best drinking game for 2 people because it’s a skill game, and you definitely want to practice one-on-one before playing it at a party.

More Drinking Games for 2 People

Death Pong Drinking Game:

Beer pong with beer but one cup has a shot of liquor in it. The other team doesn’t know where you put the shot.

Tic-Tac-Toe Drinking Game:

Play tic-tac-toe with shots instead of x’s and o’s.

True American Drinking Game:

Set up tables, chairs, and cushions in a room so players can move around to escape from the “molten lava” on the floor. At the center is a castle made of a bottle containing a strong drink and many beers. As players traverse the game area, they remove beers and drink them. Once all of the beers have been removed, the first player to reach the bottle with the strong drink, finishes their beer, and takes a swig from the bottle, wins the game.

Conan the Barbarian Drinking Game:

Play Conan the Barbarian movie on DVD or stream it with the commentary turned on. Any time Arnold says the words, “right”, “exactly”, or a combination of the two, take a drink.

Red/Black Drinking Game:

You’ll need a deck of cards and beer. The dealer flips a card and other person guesses whether it’s red or black. If they’re right, nobody drinks. If they’re wrong, the guesser drinks. Three correct in a row you can make a rule, such as can’t say drink, drank, or drunk. If a rule is broken, the rule breaker must drink. Once the deck is completely gone through, reshuffle and start over.

Of course, there are many more drinking games that are suitable for two people. Search our list with all drinking games, maybe you like one or the other game better than one of this list.

👉 All Drinking Games

We hope you’re having a great time! 🎉

And don’t forget: Take care of yourself and don’t drink and drive afterward!

✍️ April 17, 2020