Big Two
Empty your hand. Twos are high.
The fast shedding game played across Asia, where the 2s are the highest cards in the deck. Get rid of your cards before anybody else does, and beat each play with a better one. Here is everything you need to know before you sit down.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
Join a Game Room
Big TwoGot a room code?
- Players
- 4
- You need
- A standard deck
- Style
- Shed your cards
- Goal
- Lowest score
What is Big Two?
Get rid of every card.
Big Two is a card game for four players, each dealt 13 cards. The aim is to be the first to play them all. You play a single card, a pair, three of a kind, or a five-card hand, and each player after you must beat it or pass.
The 2s are the highest cards, then Aces, down to the 3s. Suits break ties: spades are highest, then hearts, clubs and diamonds. When nobody can beat your play, you start a new one.
The practice table
Try itLearn it with the cards in your hand.
Play against three bots with our Classic rules. Tap the cards you want to play, press Play, and the coach shows the play it would make and why.
- Easy, Normal, or Sharp bots. Sharp bots stop a player who is nearly out.
- Quick game plays 3 hands. Full game plays 7.
- No account, no host, nothing saved.
Scoring chart
| At the end of a hand | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Out of cards first | 0 |
| Each card left, up to 9 | 1 each |
| Ten to twelve cards left | 2 each |
| All thirteen cards left | 3 each |
A little history
From Hong Kong to everywhere.
Big Two, also called Deuces or Pusoy Dos, grew up in southern China and the Philippines and spread across Asia and the world. It is a family of climbing games, in the same spirit as Tien Len and President.
Like most table classics, it travels with house rules: which straights count, how suits rank, how to score. These are our Classic rules.
Fun facts
- The 2s are the highest cards, then Aces, down to the 3s.
- Suits break ties: spades are highest, then hearts, clubs and diamonds.
- Each of the four players is dealt 13 cards, the whole deck, and the first to play them all wins.
- Everyone except the winner pays for the cards left in their hand.
Why people love it
Quick hands. Big swings.
Every hand is a puzzle.
You have thirteen cards and a dozen ways to play them. Finding the best order is the whole game.
Pairs and runs matter.
Playing low cards together sheds them faster, and keeps your strong cards for later.
Control is everything.
Play something nobody can beat and you get to lead again.
Know when to pass.
Sometimes the strongest play is to let a trick go, and hold your 2s for later.
How to play
Deal. Play. Go out first.
Setup
- Players: four: you and three bots, each playing for yourself.
- Cards: a standard 52-card deck, 13 cards each.
- Rank: from low to high: 3, 4 … King, Ace, 2. Suits: diamonds, clubs, hearts, spades.
- First play: the holder of the 3 of Diamonds leads, and the play must include it.
Winning
After the last hand, the lowest penalty total wins. Our Quick game plays 3 hands and the Full game plays 7.
- 1
Lead a play
Play one card, a pair, three of a kind, or a five-card hand: a straight, flush, full house, four of a kind plus a card, or a straight flush.
- 2
Beat it
The next player must play the same number of cards, and a higher hand. Or pass.
- 3
Five-card hands
A straight beats nothing but a lower straight. A flush beats any straight, a full house any flush, four of a kind any full house, and a straight flush beats everything.
- 4
Take control
When everybody else passes, the last player to play leads anything they like.
- 5
Go out
The first player to play their last card wins the hand.
- 6
Pay for your cards
Everyone else scores a penalty point for each card they still hold.
These are our Classic rules, and they'll be shown in every room before the game starts. Printable rules card →
Lessons
Learn it in a few minutes.
6 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
The highest cards
In Big Two the 2s are the highest cards, above the Ace. Which of these is highest?
Your hand
Scoring
Every card costs you.
Only the player who goes out scores nothing. Everyone else pays for the cards they are left with, so a big hand stuck in your hand is costly.
| At the end of a hand | Penalty | |
|---|---|---|
| Out of cards first | 0 | |
| Each card left, up to 9 | 1 each | |
| Ten to twelve cards left | 2 each | |
| All thirteen cards left | 3 each |
Our Classic rules: suits break ties, straights run 3 up to 2 without going round the corner, and the lowest total wins. Some tables score by pointing money, or let a straight go round the corner; those are house rules.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Shed your low cards in sets.
Pairs, triples and straights of low cards go in one turn. Lone low cards cost a turn each.
Tip 2
Hold your 2s.
A 2 can win control when you need it. Don’t spend one to beat a 5.
Tip 3
Beat a play cheaply.
Use the lowest card that does the job, and don’t break a pair to beat a single if you can help it.
Tip 4
Stop the player nearly out.
When someone has one or two cards left, play your highest to keep them from going out.
Tip 5
Pass on a poor trade.
If beating a play costs you a 2 or a pair, and the hand is long, let it go.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Big Two puzzle every day, the same for everyone. Solve it, then send it to the group chat and see who gets it right.
Want more? See today's puzzles for every game →
Your path to game night
Learn it here. Play it with friends.
Finish the lessons or win a practice game and you're ready to sit down at a real Big Two table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Big Two? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- Big Two
- The 2, the highest card in the game. Also the name of the game.
- Pair
- Two cards of the same number.
- Straight
- Five cards in a row, in any suits, from 3 up to 2.
- Flush
- Five cards of one suit.
- Full house
- Three of one number and two of another.
- Control
- The right to lead anything, after everyone else passes.
- Pass
- Declining to play. You can pass any time there is a play to beat.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules: which straights count, how the suits rank, how to score. We'll show you what Big Two can do when it's ready.
In the Card Games pack
Big Two is on the ballot.
Backers vote on which card games join the Card Games pack. Owning the pack means every one that joins is yours too.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Big Two is on the ballot
Save me a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens so you can vote Big Two into the Card Games pack, and when you can host it with friends.