📰 Blog9 min readUpdated October 30, 2026

Two-Player Solitaire: Double Solitaire, Nerts & How to Play Them

Q: Can you play Solitaire with 2 players?

Yes. Double Solitaire, Nerts, Russian Bank and Spit are all designed for two people. Double Solitaire and Nerts share foundation piles in the center of the table, so both players build onto the same Ace-to-King stacks while managing their own tableau.

Q: How do you play Double Solitaire with 2 players?

Each player deals their own standard Klondike tableau from their own deck. The foundation piles in the middle are shared: any Ace starts one, and either player may build on any foundation in ascending suit order. You score one point per card you personally played to a foundation, and the higher score wins.

Q: How many decks do you need for two-player Solitaire?

Two decks for Double Solitaire, Nerts and Russian Bank, and they should have different back designs so you can tell whose cards are whose when scoring. Spit is the exception: it uses a single deck split 26 cards each.

Q: What is the difference between Nerts and Double Solitaire?

Double Solitaire is two full Klondike games racing onto shared foundations, and can be played in turns. Nerts is always simultaneous, replaces the Klondike tableau with a 13-card Nerts pile plus four work piles, and ends the instant one player empties their Nerts pile and calls it. Nerts is considerably faster and more chaotic.

Q: How do you score Nerts?

Score one point for every card you placed on the shared center foundations, then subtract two points for every card left in your Nerts pile. Negative round scores are common. Games are usually played to 100 points across several rounds.

Q: Is two-player Solitaire the same as regular Solitaire?

The card-handling is the same, since you are still building sequences and foundations, but the shared center changes the strategy completely. In single-player Solitaire you hold cards back to keep the tableau flexible. In two-player Solitaire, a card you hold back is usually a point your opponent takes instead.

Solitaire is famously a game for one, but four of its variations are built for two. Here is how Double Solitaire, Nerts, Russian Bank and Spit work, with full rules for Nerts and Russian Bank.

By Brightpoint Studios

Yes, Solitaire can be played with two people. The four best-known two-player Solitaire games are Double Solitaire (two Klondike tableaus racing onto shared foundations), Nerts (a chaotic simultaneous race, also spelled Nertz), Russian Bank (a strict turn-based duel where you can actively obstruct your opponent) and Spit (a pure speed game). All four need two standard 52-card decks, except Spit, which splits a single deck between the players.

What makes these genuinely Solitaire games rather than ordinary card games is the shared foundation piles in the middle of the table. You are still doing the familiar work of sorting, sequencing and building Ace to King, but now someone else is reaching for the same spots. If you have only ever played alone, the first round of Nerts is a shock.

The Four Games Compared

Two-player Solitaire games at a glance. "Simultaneous" means both players act at once with no turns, so expect noise.
Game	Cards needed	Turns	Round length	Best for
Double Solitaire	2 decks	Simultaneous or alternating	10–20 min	Klondike players wanting a first taste of competition
Nerts	2 decks (different backs)	Simultaneous	5 min per round	Fast, loud, genuinely competitive play
Russian Bank	2 decks (different backs)	Strictly alternating	20–40 min	Players who want deep strategy and blocking
Spit	1 deck, split 26/26	Simultaneous	2–5 min	Quick, rules-light bursts with kids or beginners

1. Double Solitaire (Competitive Klondike)

Double Solitaire is the easiest entry point, because if you can play Classic Klondike Solitaire you already know almost all of it. Each player sets up their own complete Klondike tableau with their own deck. The only structural change is that the foundation piles in the middle belong to both of you.

Each player deals a normal Klondike layout from a deck with its own back design, and the eight foundations in the middle are shared, so either of you can build on any of them in suit from the Ace. Play is usually simultaneous, and when neither of you can move, you score a point for every card you put on a foundation. The step-by-step setup and the full rules are in Double Solitaire, part of our 20 best card games for 2 players.

Strategy shifts in an interesting way. In single-player Klondike, rushing cards to the foundation is usually a mistake, because you strand cards you needed in the tableau, as our guide to winning Solitaire in fewer moves explains. In Double Solitaire the opposite is often true: a low card you hold back is a point your opponent takes. Speed genuinely beats elegance here.

2. Nerts (Nertz, Pounce, Racing Demon)

Nerts is the two-player Solitaire game people become properly addicted to. It is played simultaneously, at speed, with no turns at all, and it scales happily to four or more players if each brings a deck. In Britain it is usually called Racing Demon; in parts of the US, Pounce or Peanuts.

Deal your Nerts pileEach player shuffles their own deck and deals 13 cards face-down into a stack, then turns the top card face-up. This is your Nerts pile, and emptying it is how you win the round.

Deal four work pilesDeal four cards face-up in a row beside the Nerts pile. These are your tableau. The remaining 35 cards are your stock, held in hand.

Go — no turnsEveryone plays at once. There is no turn order, no waiting, and contested cards go to whoever physically gets there first.

Build shared foundations from AcesAny Ace goes to the center of the table and is fair game for everyone. Foundations build upward by suit, Ace to King, and any player may add to any foundation at any time.

Build work piles downwardYour four work piles build down in alternating colors, exactly as in Klondike. You may move a whole sequence between work piles. An empty work pile is refilled from the top of your Nerts pile, which is the main way that pile shrinks.

Flip your stock three at a timeTurn cards from your stock three at a time and play the top one wherever it fits. Cycle the stock as often as you like.

Call NertsThe instant your Nerts pile is empty, shout "Nerts!" All play stops immediately, even mid-move.

Scoring: each player scores one point per card they placed on the shared foundations, then loses two points for every card still in their Nerts pile. Negative scores are entirely normal and part of the fun. Play to 100 points over multiple rounds.

The Nerts pile beats everything. A card played from your Nerts pile is worth far more than the same card played from your stock, because it moves you toward calling Nerts and denies two penalty points.
Do not tidy your tableau. Time spent tidying your work piles is time your opponent spends taking foundation slots.
Watch the center, not your hand. Strong players keep half an attention on which foundations are one card away from accepting something they hold.

3. Russian Bank (Crapette)

Russian Bank, known as Crapette in France and Stroke in some references, is the most strategically demanding two-player Solitaire, and the only one where you can deliberately sabotage your opponent. It is strictly turn-based, which makes it the calm alternative to Nerts, but its rules are the strictest of the four.

Set up both sidesEach player takes a deck with a distinguishable back. Deal 13 cards face-down as your reserve and turn the top one face-up, then four cards face-up in a column toward the center. The remaining 35 cards are your hand, face-down.

Form the centerThe two four-card columns face each other with a gap between them. Foundations are built in that gap: eight of them, one per suit per deck, started with Aces and built up to King.

Keep playing while you legally canYour turn continues for as long as you can make a legal move. It ends the moment you cannot move, or you make an error, or you deliberately turn a card from your hand to your waste pile.

Respect the order of precedenceThis is the rule that catches everyone: if a card can go to a foundation, it must, before any tableau move. Playing out of order is an error and ends your turn immediately.

Load your opponentHere is the sabotage. On your turn you may play a card onto your opponent's reserve or waste pile if it is one rank above or below the top card there and of the same suit. Every card you load is a card they must clear before they can win.

Win by emptying everythingThe first player to get rid of their entire reserve, hand and waste wins the round.

4. Spit (Speed)

Spit is the lightest of the four and the only one that needs a single deck. Purists will point out it is a shedding game rather than true Patience, but it earns its place here: it is simultaneous, it uses center piles, and it feels unmistakably like two people playing Solitaire at each other.

Each player takes 26 cards, lays out five stock piles of one to five cards, each face-down with only its top card face-up, and keeps the other 11 as a spit pile. You both play at once onto two center piles, one rank up or down in any suit, and whoever empties their stock piles first takes the smaller center pile, until one of you runs out of cards entirely. The full rules are in Spit (Slam), part of our 20 best card games for 2 players.

Which Two-Player Solitaire Should You Play?

You both already play Klondike: Double Solitaire. Zero new rules to learn.
You want the one people get hooked on: Nerts. Loud, fast, and it scales to a whole table.
You want real strategy and do not mind a rulebook: Russian Bank.
You have one deck and five minutes: Spit.
You are planning an evening in with a partner: mix one of these with a slower game. Our list of card games for couples pairs Spit and Russian Bank with Gin Rummy, Cribbage and a cooperative pick.
You want to play alone after all: try the ten single-player Solitaire variations, or play Klondike free in your browser.

If your household plays cards regularly, it is also worth knowing the non-Solitaire options, and our guide to 20 fun 2-player card games covers Cribbage, Gin Rummy, Piquet and more. If you already own two decks, card games with two decks covers Canasta, Bezique and Spite and Malice. And when there is nobody around to play against, TriPeaks Solitaire and FreeCell are both free to play right here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you play Solitaire with 2 players?

How do you play Double Solitaire with 2 players?

How many decks do you need for two-player Solitaire?

What is the difference between Nerts and Double Solitaire?

How do you score Nerts?

Is two-player Solitaire the same as regular Solitaire?

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