Best for two
Duels for exactly two players – from ten-minute reflex races to classics that can carry you through a lifetime of evenings.
- #1 Cribbage Count to fifteen, peg your way round the board and race your opponent to 121 – with an extra hand, the crib, for the dealer. The pegging board, the crib and the count of fifteens turn every hand into a brisk mental duel.
- #2 Gin Rummy Build sets and runs, keep your leftover points low and knock before your opponent does. Every discard tells your opponent something – do you knock early or hold out for gin?
- #3 Schnapsen Austria's duel for two – race to 66, announce your marriages and know when to close the stock. Twenty cards, a race to 66 and the big question of every hand: when do you close the stock?
- #4 Cuttle Race to 21 points while your opponent blows up, steals and scuttles your cards – every card is a weapon. Plays like a modern combat card game: blow up, steal and scuttle your way to 21 points.
- #5 German Whist Whist for two – win the card on the stock in the first half, then outplay an opponent whose hand you can work out exactly. Fight for the face-up card in the first half, then outplay an opponent whose hand you can work out exactly.
- #6 Piquet The grand old game for two – swap cards from the stock, outdeclare your rival and chase the 60-point repique. The grand old game for two: swap from the stock, outdeclare your rival and chase the 60-point repique.
- #7 Klaberjass The two-hander where the Jack and Nine of trumps rule – take trumps if you dare, but fall short and your opponent scores everything. Jack and Nine of trumps rule – take trumps if you dare, but fall short and your opponent scores everything.
- #8 Speed No turns, no waiting – slap your cards onto the centre one higher or one lower, faster than your opponent. No turns, no waiting: both of you slap cards onto the centre at once – ten minutes of pure reflexes.
- #9 Russian Bank Patience for two – race your rival to the empty table, share the foundations and load your spare cards onto their piles. Patience for two with shared foundations – and you can load your spare cards onto your rival's piles.
- #10 Goofspiel (GOPS) Both players hold the same thirteen cards – outguess your opponent and win the diamonds with a bid just one higher. You both hold the same thirteen cards and bid blind for each diamond – pure mind-reading.