Big 2 (Big Two)
4 playersA climbing game with poker hands. Singles, pairs and five-card hands must be beaten by the same kind of play.
Also as Pusoy DosCapsa Banting
Shedding card games
In a shedding game the goal is simple: be the first to get rid of all your cards. Where the games differ is how you're allowed to get rid of them.
In climbing games (Big 2, Tiến Lên, President) each play has to beat the last one. In matching games (Crazy Eights, Uno) each card has to match the one before. In layout games (Badam Satti, Sevens) each card has to fit a row on the table. And in bluffing games (BS) you can play anything, as long as nobody catches you lying.
Shedding games you can play online
Tiến Lên (Thirteen)
4 playersVietnam's climbing game, with long straights and chops that beat a 2.
Sâm Lốc (Sâm)
4 playersA 10-card Vietnamese climbing game where suits never count and a declared Sâm wins or loses big.
Dou Dizhu (Fight the Landlord)
3 playersA climbing game with a twist: one landlord against two peasants who share the win.
President (Scum)
4 playersThe simplest climbing game (singles, pairs, triples and fours), with roles that carry into the next round. Its Japanese form, Daifugō, adds the revolution: four of a kind turns the card order upside down.
Also as Daifugō (大富豪)
BS (Cheat)
3 to 6 playersA bluffing shedding game: cards go down face-down, and the only check is someone calling BS.
Also as Cheat
Guandan (掼蛋)
4 players in two partnershipsA two-deck climbing game for two teams: wild hearts, straight flushes that beat bombs, and levels that climb from 2 to Ace.
Badam Satti (Sevens)
3 to 7 playersA layout game: the 7 of hearts starts, each suit grows from its seven down to the ace and up to the king, and a card only goes down next to a row. Play when you can, pass when you can't, and hold back the cards others are waiting for. The British Sevens (Fan Tan) starts with the 7 of diamonds and pays chips.
Also as Sevens (Fan Tan)बदाम सत्ती
More shedding games
Crazy Eights
2 to 7
The classic matching game. Play a card matching the rank or suit of the last one; eights are wild and change the suit.
Uno
2 to 10
A commercial version of Crazy Eights with its own deck of action cards: skips, reverses, draw twos and wilds.
Tichu
4 players in two partnerships
A partnership climbing game with special cards (the Dragon, Phoenix, Dog and Mah Jong), inspired by Chinese games like Zheng Fen.
Durak
2 to 6
Russia's most popular card game. You shed cards by attacking and defending, and the last player holding cards is the durak, the fool.
Frequently asked questions
What is a shedding card game?
A shedding game is any card game where the goal is to get rid of all your cards before your opponents. Crazy Eights, Uno, Big 2, President, Badam Satti (Sevens) and BS are all shedding games.
What is a climbing card game?
A climbing game is a shedding game where each play must beat the previous one, usually with the same number of cards of a higher rank. Big 2, Tiến Lên, President and Dou Dizhu are climbing games.
What card games are like Uno?
Crazy Eights is the traditional game Uno is based on. If you like the race to empty your hand, try climbing games like President or Big 2, or the bluffing game BS.