How do you play the Speed card game?
Speed is a real time card game where two players, with no turns at all, race to put down cards that are one rank higher or lower than the cards in the middle. The first player to get rid of their five card hand and their stock pile wins the round, and two round wins take the match.
The 52 card deck is split in half, 26 cards each: 5 in your hand, 15 in your stock and 6 in a side pile. On the count, each side pile flips a card into the middle to start two center piles, and from then on it is pure reflexes. If a center card is 7, throw a 6 or an 8; if it is a K, throw a Q or an A. Every time you play from your hand, the top card of your stock slides into the empty slot, so you always see five cards.
What are the exact rules?
The game runs on six rules: one rank apart, A and K wrap around, suits ignored, no turns, simultaneous flips, best of three.
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| Deal | The shuffled deck is split in half. Each player gets a 5 card hand, a 15 card stock and a 6 card side pile. |
| Legal play | A card may go on either center pile if its rank is exactly one above or below the top card. Suit and color do not matter. |
| A and K | Ranks wrap around: an A can go on a K and a K on an A, as well as a 2 on an A and a Q on a K. |
| Turns | There are none. If both players aim at the same pile, only the card that lands first counts. |
| Refill | When you play a hand card, the top card of your stock fills that slot automatically. |
| Simultaneous flip | When neither player can move, a one, two, three countdown flips one card from each side pile onto the two center piles. |
| Winning | Empty your hand and stock first to win the round. The first to win two rounds wins the match. |
What happens when nobody can play?
When neither hand has a legal card, a one, two, three countdown appears in the middle and on three both side piles flip a card at the same moment. Those two fresh cards are the most heated moment of the round, so keep your finger ready.
If the side piles run out, every center card except the two top cards is shuffled and split into new side piles, so the game never freezes. In the rare case that there is nothing left to shuffle, each player flips the top card of their own stock to keep things moving.
How fast is the computer?
There are three levels. Once the computer has a playable card it reacts in about 0.9 seconds on Easy, 0.5 seconds on Normal and 0.25 seconds on Hard. Hard also chains its plays, firing the next card even faster after each one.
| Level | Reaction | Style |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | about 0.9 s | Plays any legal card. Good for learning the rules. |
| Normal | about 0.5 s | About half the time it picks the card that keeps its next play open. |
| Hard | about 0.25 s | Always picks the card that sets up another play and fires them in quick chains. |
Can two people play on one screen?
Yes. Pick Two players on the title screen and the screen splits into top and bottom halves, with the top player's cards and labels rotated 180 degrees so they read correctly from across the table.
Lay a phone or tablet flat between you and both players can drag cards at the same time; every finger is tracked separately with multitouch. On a computer keyboard the bottom player picks cards with 1-5 and plays to the left or right pile with A and D, while the top player uses 6-0 and the arrow keys.
Tips to win faster
- Watch for lifted cards. Every playable card rises slightly with a gold outline. Throwing a lifted card is faster than doing the math yourself.
- Play the start of a run first. Holding 6, 7 and 8 with a 5 in the middle means 6 first, then 7 and 8 in a row.
- Watch both piles. Staring at one pile wastes chances on the other. Alternating between them leaves your opponent fewer openings.
- Remember the A and K link. Surprisingly few players think of an A when the center shows a K.
- Be ready on the countdown. Whoever reacts first to the fresh flip usually grabs a whole chain of plays.
Are Speed and Spit the same game?
They share the same roots. Speed and Spit are the two common English names for this family of reflex card games, where both players play cards one rank apart at the same time without turns.
Spit usually has players flip from their own cards when stuck and then slap the smaller center pile at the end of a round. This version uses the Speed style with shared side piles flipped together, and every round starts from a fresh shuffle of all 52 cards so both players begin on equal terms.
Controls
- Drag and drop: press a hand card and drag it onto a center pile. Dropping it near the middle sends it to the closer pile, and flicking it toward the middle sends it to a pile that accepts it.
- Tap: tap a card to select it, then tap a pile to play it. Tapping the selected card again sends it straight to a legal pile.
- Keyboard: 1-5 picks a card. If only one pile takes it, it goes right away; if both do, choose with ← or →. M toggles sound.
- Screen: against the computer you sit at the bottom and the computer at the top. Card size adapts to landscape and portrait screens.
Wins per level and your fastest round are saved only in this browser. The card art, the snap of each card hitting the table and the countdown sounds are all drawn and synthesized in code, so there are no extra files to download.