Two-Player Solitaire: Double Solitaire, Nerts & How to Play Them
Solitaire is famously a game for one — but four of its variations are built for two. Here are the full rules for Double Solitaire, Nerts, Russian Bank and Spit.
Yes — Solitaire can absolutely 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 — sorting, sequencing, building Ace to King — but now someone else is reaching for the same spots you are. 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 — 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.
1
Set up two tableausEach player deals their own standard Klondike layout from their own deck: seven columns, the first with one card and the seventh with seven, only the top card of each column face-up. The rest of each deck becomes that player's stock.
2
Leave the centre emptyThe space between the two tableaus is for the shared foundations. There are eight in total — one per suit, per deck — but they are built and claimed by whoever gets there first.
3
Start an Ace to open a foundationAny Ace can be moved to the centre to start a foundation. From then on, either player may build on it in ascending order and matching suit.
4
Play simultaneously — or take turnsThe fast version has both players playing at once, with speed deciding contested cards. The civil version alternates turns, each turn ending when you cannot or choose not to move. Agree which you are playing before you start.
5
Build your own tableau normallyWithin your own tableau, standard Klondike rules apply: descending order, alternating colours, Kings into empty columns. You may never move cards into your opponent's tableau.
6
Score the roundPlay ends when neither player can move. Each player scores one point per card they personally placed on a foundation. The higher score wins — so the winner is not necessarily whoever emptied more of their tableau.
Strategy shifts in an interesting way. In single-player Klondike, rushing cards to the foundation is usually a mistake — 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.
1
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.
2
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.
3
Go — no turnsEveryone plays at once. There is no turn order, no waiting, and contested cards go to whoever physically gets there first.
4
Build shared foundations from AcesAny Ace goes to the centre 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.
5
Build work piles downwardYour four work piles build down in alternating colours, 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 the Nerts pile shrinks.
6
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.
7
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 making your work piles beautiful is time your opponent spends taking foundation slots.
Watch the centre, 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.
1
Set up both sidesEach player takes a deck with a distinguishable back. Deal 12 cards face-down as your reserve with the top card face-up, then four cards face-up in a column toward the centre. The remaining 36 cards are your stock, face-down.
2
Form the centreThe 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.
3
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 stock to your waste pile.
4
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.
5
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.
6
Win by emptying everythingThe first player to get rid of their entire reserve, stock 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 centre piles, and it feels unmistakably like two people playing Solitaire at each other.
1
Split the deckDeal 26 cards to each player.
2
Lay out five stock pilesEach player lays five piles of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 cards, with only the top card of each face-up. That uses 15 cards; the remaining 11 form your spit pile.
3
Spit to beginBoth players simultaneously flip the top card of their spit pile into the centre, creating two centre piles.
4
Play up or down, any suitPlay any face-up card from your stock piles onto either centre pile if it is exactly one rank above or below the top card. Aces wrap to Kings. There are no turns and no suit restrictions — pure speed.
5
Spit again when both stallIf neither player can move, both spit a new card onto the centre piles and play resumes.
6
Win the roundThe first player to empty all five stock piles slaps the smaller centre pile and takes it. Fewer cards means an easier next round, and you win outright when you run out entirely.
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.
If your household plays cards regularly, it is also worth knowing the non-Solitaire options — our guide to 20 fun 2-player card games covers Cribbage, Gin Rummy, Piquet and more. And when there is nobody around to play against, TriPeaks Solitaire and FreeCell are both free to play right here.
