Card Games
How to play Speed
Race simultaneously to play your hand and personal stock onto either center pile, one rank higher or lower. Colors and suits do not restrict a move.
What you need
A 52-card deck, no jokers, with two players opposite each other
Set up the game
- Deal ten-card face-down reserve piles at each end of the center row, with two single face-down cards between. Give each player fifteen cards; draw five of those into hand, leaving ten as personal stock. Turn both central singles face up together.
Playing Speed
- Without turns, play a card one rank above or below either central top card. Aces connect kings and twos. Play one card at a time.
- Replenish your hand from your personal stock up to five, keeping faces hidden from your opponent.
- When neither can play with replenished hands, simultaneously turn one card from each end reserve onto the central piles.
- If reserves expire, recycle center cards other than the two exposed tops. First to empty personal stock and hand wins the deal.
A short sequence wins space
The center tops are six and queen. Your hand contains five, four, king, eight and eight. Five goes on six, then four on five; king goes on queen. Neither eight currently plays. Refill as you release cards, then inspect the changed tops rather than following a plan that is already obsolete.
Settle simultaneous plays clearly
If both reach the same center pile, inspect the first card touching it. The second must fit the new top. Practicing slowly for a few cards helps distinguish a legal intention from a completed legal play.
Beginner decisions
- Look for a chain across both piles before committing. Changing one top card may unlock another card in hand.
- Keep your replenishing hand separate from the playing area so the opponent can see which card actually arrived first.
Common rule mix-ups
- Winning merely because the personal stock is empty while hand cards remain.
- Combining this layout with Spit’s five exposed personal columns.
Questions about this game
Can I play the same rank?
Not in this stated variant; matching ranks are a house option.
Is a single deal a complete game?
You can agree that. Pagat also scores a deal by cards left to the opponent, to an agreed match target.
Sources and edition notes
Five-card-hand Speed documented by Pagat: 15-card personal allocations and ten-card center reserves; not five-tableau Spit.
Sources and stated format checked October 14, 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.
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