How to Play Speed

Objective

Empty your hand and your draw pile before your opponent does. Both players play at the same time onto the same two center piles, so every card you play also changes what your opponent can play. Quick eyes matter more than luck, and a round rarely lasts more than a few minutes.

Setup

Sit across from each other. In the middle of the table, place two cards face down side by side, about a hand’s width apart. These start the two center piles.

Deal five cards face down to the left of the center cards and five to the right. These are the side stacks, and they are used only when both players are stuck.

Deal the other 40 cards evenly, so each player has 20 face down. Each player picks up the top five as a hand and keeps the other 15 face down in front of them as a draw pile.

How to play

When you are both ready, call “Go!” and flip the two center cards face up at the same moment. From then on there are no turns.

Play any card from your hand onto either center pile if it is one rank higher or one rank lower than the card on top. Suits do not matter. The ranks wrap around, so an ace can go on a king or a two, and a king can go on an ace. A seven can go on a six or an eight, but never on another seven.

Whenever you hold fewer than five cards, draw from your own draw pile to fill your hand back up to five. You may never hold more than five. Once your draw pile is gone, keep playing from your hand.

When neither player can play, both of you take the top card of the side stack nearest you and flip it onto the center pile beside it, at the same moment. Play starts again at once. If the side stacks run out and you are both stuck again, pick up each center pile, shuffle it, and set it face down as a new side stack, then flip to restart.

1. 1Flip the two center cards together
2. 2Play cards one rank up or down, suits ignored
3. 3Draw back up to five from your own pile
4. 4When both are stuck, flip from the side stacks
5. 5Play your last card and call “Speed!”

Winning

There are no points in the basic game. The first player to get rid of every card, with an empty hand and an empty draw pile, slaps the table and calls “Speed!” to win the round.

Because a round is so short, most players play a match: best two out of three, or the first to win five rounds. Shuffle the whole deck and deal again between rounds. If you want a running score, some families count the cards the loser has left and play until one player reaches a total like 50, with low score winning.

Variations

Matching ranks: some home games allow a card of the same rank as the top card, so a seven can go on a seven. It speeds the game up and cuts down on stuck moments.

No wraparound: some tables play the ace low only, so it connects to the two but not to the king. Agree before the first flip.

California Speed: a different race with the same name. Each player gets 26 cards and lays four face up in a row. Whenever two or more of the eight cards on the table share a rank, either player can cover them with cards from their own pile, and the first player out of cards wins.

Tips from the table

Look for chains. If a five is showing and you hold a six, seven and eight, play them in a run onto the same pile before your opponent can break it.

Keep your hand at five. Every gap in your hand is a missed chance, so draw as soon as you play, not when you run out.

Watch your opponent’s eyes and hands. If they reach for one pile, play your card on the other, so your move is not blocked.

Near the end, count what you have left. With two or three cards to go, hold the card that fits both piles until you need it.

Frequently asked