Pairs

Hit or fold, but do not draw a pair, in a tiny push-your-luck card game for up to eight.

Designers: James Ernest, Heinrich Glumpler, Paul Peterson
Published by: Cheapass Games
Editions by: Hobby World, AMIGO, Origames, テンデイズゲームズ (TendaysGames), Primigenio, Truant Spiele, Breaking Games, Superlude Éditions, Digital Eel

Pairs is a push-your-luck card game built around one simple idea: do not get a pair. The deck holds one 1, two 2s, three 3s and so on up to ten 10s, and five cards are removed unseen at the start. Everyone gets one card face up, and the active player decides: take another card or fold. Draw a card that does not match one of yours and play passes on. Draw a match and the round ends, and you keep one of the cards as a penalty. Fold, and you take the lowest card on the table as your penalty instead. It plays in about fifteen minutes with up to eight, so it fits in a pocket and a pause.

Deck with a growing number of copies per valueHit or fold each turnPenalty cards decide the loser

Who it's for

You want a tiny card game for a waiting room or a pub table, with a push-your-luck core that works with two or eight.

Not for you if…

You want a game with long-term plans or variety. It is a short round of odds and nerves.

Vibe's take

Quick and twitchy. Each decision is a small bet on the cards left, and counting what has already gone by makes you feel clever.