2 Player Card Games: Nerts

2 Player Card Games –  learn how to play Nerts with these rules, printables and a score sheet included.

There have been several requests for 2 player card games.  Up to this point, we have shared: Knock, Ripple , Chase the Ace ,Bluff and Play or Pay.  We’ve also shared Mexican Train and Tenzi. This week’s card game is meant to play with 2-4 players – is super fun and fast moving.   I learned it years ago but was recently reacquainted with it – Nerts! Have you played it before? 

Want more ideas for what to do indoors with preschoolers? Kids? Teens? 

2 player card games

To start, you will need:

• 2-4 players
• Regular decks of cards per player – with different backs

This is a super fast paced game that is like playing Solitaire with other people, while playing off of each other.

OBJECT OF THE GAME
It’s a race to see who can get rid of their cards from the “Nerts” pile first.  Play continues in rounds until reaching a pre-determined number.

SETTING UP THE GAME

Each player uses one deck of cards (all have to have different backs). S/he will deal a pile of 12 cards face down, last card will be face up on top (so 13 cards total). Next to the “Nerts” pile, each player deals four cards face-up, side by side – these are called “work” piles. The rest of the cards in the players deck are held face down. These cards, called stock cards, will be turned over three at a time onto a face up stack. This will be the discard pile. Players need to be set up across from each other so that they can have access to a common area. The common area will be explained below.

HOW TO PLAY

• Once everyone has their cards set up, someone will say – “ready, set, go.”
• All players will start playing on their own cards at the same time – similar to playing Solitaire with their work piles.
• Players must alternate red, black, red, black in their work piles.
• The main objective is to get rid of the “Nerts” pile by playing cards from that pile into his/her work pile.
• At the same time, players will move cards into the common area – starting only with an Ace and adding to any stack with the same suit. These are called “foundations.”
• Each player an only use *one* hand at a time to move cards but can hold his/her stock cards in the other hand.
• Each player is only allowed to move his/her cards – in his work piles and in the common area.
• If two+ people are trying to play at the same time, the first card played stays there while the others are returned to the player.
• When a player gets rid of all of his/her cards in the Nerts pile, he or she will yell out “Nerts” and the round is over.

WORK PILES

• There are four work piles – each player deals their 4 out at the beginning of the game.
• Each work pile goes in descending order, alternating color. 
  For example: if you start with a red 9, the next cards would be black 8, red 7, black 6, etc.
• Like Solitaire, you can move any card in one of your work piles onto another work pile if it coordinates.
• When moving cards and you have a blank space in your work piles (there should be 4 showing at all times), you will take the next card from your “Nerts” pile and flip it over into that blank space.
• To add more cards to the common area, move cards to make room for others and earn more points, each player can take cards from their work piles and add them to the common area in a foundation when it fits.
  For example: if there is a 7 of diamonds in one of the “foundations” and the player has a 6 of diamonds showing in one of their work piles, s/he can add it to that foundation.

NERTS PILES

• With the goal of getting rid of your Nerts cards first, cards from the top of that pile are to be played quickly onto an empty space in your work piles OR if they fit, they can also be played onto one of your existing work piles. Or they can be played directly onto a foundation too. 
• When you have played the top card of your Nerts pile you can turn the next card of the pile face up. 
• When your Nerts pile is gone, you can call “Nerts!” but you aren’t required to.

FOUNDATIONS

• “Foundations piles” are built in the common area.
• They always start with an Ace and go by suits only.
  For example: if you have a 3 of spades, the next card to be played would be 4 of spades. A 4 of diamonds could not be played. 
• These piles are played until King and then they can be moved aside.
• Players can start a new foundation pile if they have an Ace. S/he just adds it to the common area in the middle of all of the players.
• Players add to foundation piles from the top of their Nerts pile, lowest card from a work pile and/or the top of the card of the waste pile. 
• All players can play on any foundation.

WASTE PILES

• Players can turn over cards from your stock three at a time and put them face-up onto your waste pile.
• At the start of the game, there is no waste pile.
• The top card of the waste pile can be played into one of the work piles or a foundation pile if it fits.
• If ALL players are stuck and nobody can play any of their cards on a work pile or foundation piles, all players can stop.
• At this point, every player would take the top card from his/her “stock” pile in their hand and keeping it face down, move it to the bottom of their stack.
• This will change up the order of cards and players should be able to once again play.
• If only one player is stuck, s/he has to wait for everyone else to get stuck to do this.
• But if other players keep playing, often a play will become available.

ADDITIONAL RULES

• The person who “goes out” doesn’t have to call “Nerts” when they are done.
• They can keep playing to improve their score (more on that below).
• You are never forced to play a card if it isn’t in your best interest – you can always wait.

HOW TO SCORE

• When someone calls “Nerts!” the round is over and everyone takes down their score.
• Each player scores one point for each of their own cards that they played in the foundations of the common area. 
• This is where the back of the cards comes into play – the foundation piles have to be sorted out according to the owners of the cards. 
• All players except the one who called Nerts also subtract two points for every card left in their Nerts pile when the round ended.
• Calling Nerts does not guarantee the highest score – it depends on how many cards are played in the common area. 
• Rounds continue until a player scores a pre-determined number (ie – 100 points, 200 points, etc).
• Whoever reaches that number, wins!

I created a printable version of these rules so that you can download and refer to: 

Download this set of game rules and score sheet.  For personal use only.