Speed Card Game

Speed is a two-player race with no turns at all. You and the computer play at the same time, slapping cards onto two centre piles as fast as you can. Any card one rank higher or lower fits, so a 7 goes on a 6 or an 8. The first player to get rid of every card wins.

How to play Speed Card Game

• The deal: one 52-card deck. Each player gets 20 cards: a hand of 5 and a face-down draw pile of 15. Two side piles of 5 cards go face down at the sides, and two single cards go face down in the middle.
• Start: both middle cards are turned over at the same moment. They start the two centre piles, and the race is on.
• Playing: play any card from your hand onto either centre pile if it is exactly one rank higher or lower than the top card. Suits and colours do not matter. A 9 goes on an 8 or a 10; a queen goes on a jack or a king.
• Ace and king: in the standard game the ranks wrap around, so an ace can go on a king or a two, and a king on a queen or an ace. Switch this off in the toolbar if your family plays without the wrap.
• Refill: you never hold more than five cards. Here your hand refills from your own draw pile automatically after every play.
• Stuck: when neither player can play, both side piles turn one card onto the centre piles at the same time, and play carries on. When the side piles run out, the centre piles (except their top cards) are shuffled to make new side piles.
• Winning: the first player to play out their whole hand and draw pile wins. In the rare case that nobody can ever play again, the player with fewer cards left wins.

Controls

• Tap a highlighted card in your hand to play it. If it fits both centre piles, tap the pile you want (or tap the card again for the left pile).
• Tap a centre pile to play the first card in your hand that fits it.
• Keyboard: 1–5 pick a hand card, ←/→ choose the pile when both fit, F or Space flips when nobody can play, P pauses, Enter starts. Cards are also reachable with Tab.
• Pick the computer's speed (Easy, Normal or Hard) from the toolbar. The game pauses by itself when you switch tabs.

Tips

• Look for chains before you play: holding 5, 6 and 7 means one pile can take all three in a row (7 on 8, then 6, then 5, or the other way up).
• Watch both piles at once. The computer often covers the card you were about to use, so play the card that only fits one pile first.
• When a card fits both piles, put it where it blocks the computer's next play and keeps your own chain alive.
• Do not wait for a flip if you have any legal play. Every card out of your hand pulls a new one off your draw pile.

Speed vs Spit: what is the difference?

Spit is the closest relative of Speed and many people use the two names for the same game, but the classic setups differ. In Spit each player deals their half of the deck into a row of five stockpiles (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 cards, top cards face up) and keeps the rest as a spit pile. On "Spit!" both players turn a card from their spit piles onto the centre and then play from their stockpiles, still one rank up or down. Each round ends when someone runs out of stockpile cards and slaps the smaller centre pile; the deck sizes change from round to round until one player has no cards left.

Speed keeps the same core move but streamlines it into one hand of five, a draw pile and shared side piles, so a game takes a couple of minutes. If you know Spit, the play on this page will feel familiar. For another real-time race with more piles, try Nertz; for the same build-in-order idea at a calmer, turn-based pace, try Spite and Malice.

House rules you may meet

• No wrap: some players do not let ace and king connect. Choose "No wrap" in the toolbar.
• Drawing by hand: in table play you must pick up cards yourself and may never hold more than five; the game here refills for you.
• Side pile size: some deals use 6-card side piles with only 15 cards each for the players' piles, or take the starters from the side piles.
• Slap to finish: in some families the round ends with a slap on the smaller centre pile, and the player who slaps first takes it and plays more rounds. This version ends the game when one player plays out.

FAQ

How do you play the Speed card game?

Each player has five cards in hand and a draw pile. At the same time, both players play cards onto two centre piles, one rank higher or lower than the top card, refilling to five from their own draw pile. When nobody can play, a card from each side pile is turned onto the centre. The first to run out of cards wins.

Is Speed the same as Spit?

They are close relatives with the same move (one rank up or down, as fast as you can). Spit uses five stockpiles per player and is played over several rounds; Speed uses a hand of five and a draw pile and usually lasts one quick game. The section above explains the details.

Can you play an ace on a king in Speed?

In the standard rules, yes: the ranks wrap around, so ace sits next to both king and two. Some families play without the wrap, which you can choose in the toolbar.

Do suits matter in Speed?

No. Only the rank counts. A red 4 can go on a black 5 or a heart 3; colour and suit never matter.

What happens when no one can play?

Both players turn the top card of a side pile onto the centre piles at the same time. Here that happens automatically after a short pause, or straight away when you press Flip. Empty side piles are rebuilt from the centre piles.

Is there a two-player Speed game against a person?

This page is you against the computer, with three speeds. Speed is a great game to play face to face with a real deck, and the rules above are the ones the game uses.