Speed Slap

What is Speed?

Speed is a two-player card game with no turns at all. Both players play at the same time, as fast as they can, and the first to get rid of every card wins. It's close cousins with Spit (sometimes called Slam), and kids have been knocking over drinks playing it at kitchen tables for a very long time.

Speed Slap is our take on it. You race one of three animal rivals, each faster than the last, and we've added a twin slap and a combo system on top of the classic rules. It's free, runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and there's no download.

How to play Speed

The deal

A standard 52-card deck is split up like this, which matches the usual way Speed is dealt:

• Each player gets 5 cards in hand and a face-down stack of 15.
• Two side stacks of 5 sit to the left and right of the play area.
• The last two cards start the two center piles. After a 3, 2, 1 countdown they flip face up and the race begins.

Playing cards

You can play any card from your hand onto either center pile if it's one higher or one lower than the top card. Suits don't matter. On a 7 you can play a 6 or an 8. Ranks wrap around, so King and Ace connect: you can play an Ace on a King or a King on an Ace.

Whenever you play a card, the next card from your stack fills that spot in your hand automatically, so you always hold five until your stack runs out. Then your hand shrinks as you go.

When nobody can move

If neither player has a legal card, there's a short pause and one new card flips from each side stack onto the center piles. If the side stacks run out, the buried center cards are shuffled into new side stacks. In the rare case that there's nothing left to flip at all, whoever is holding fewer cards takes the round.

Winning

The first player to empty both their hand and their stack wins the round. A normal match is best of 3.

What our version adds

Twin slaps

When the two center piles show the same rank, a SLAP! button lights up. Whoever hits it first sends 2 cards from their own stack over to their rival's stack. It's a swing of four cards in one tap, so it's often worth more than playing two cards.

Fumbles

Tap a card that doesn't fit either pile and you fumble: your hand freezes for a split second and your combo resets. In real Speed you'd just get a dirty look. Here it costs you time, so look before you slap.

Combos

Play cards quickly, within about a second of each other, and you build a combo. A 3x combo or better shows up on screen, and your best combo in a round adds points to your score.

Controls (phone and computer)

On a phone or tablet, tap a card to play it on the best pile automatically, or drag it onto the pile you want. Cards that can be played glow. Tap SLAP! when the piles match. On a computer you can do the same with the mouse, or use the keyboard:

When you tap without choosing a pile, the game picks the pile that leaves you the most follow-up plays from the cards still in your hand. It's usually right, but dragging gives you full control.

Rivals and modes

Play starts a best of 3 match against the rival you've picked. Win, and the game offers you the next one up. Blitz plays and slaps noticeably faster than you'd expect, so beating Blitz is the real goal.

Daily Deal is a single round against Ferris with the same deal for everyone that day. Play it daily to grow a day streak and compare scores on the leaderboard (signed-in players can post scores).

Scoring

Points are added up each round and totaled for the match.

The round total is then multiplied by your rival's level, so the same round is worth twice as much against Blitz as against Dot.

Trophies, trails and card backs

Every card you slap counts toward new slap trails, the burst of color that flies off the pile when you play. They're Sparks, Bubbles (150 cards), Confetti (400), Lava (800), Starlight (1,500) and Rainbow (2,500). Pick one from the Trophy Shelf.

You also earn card backs, shared with every card game on our site, for your first match win, your first win over Blitz, your tenth match win and your first combo of 8 or more.

Tips and strategy

• Scan for chains, not single cards. If you're holding 4, 5 and 6 and a pile shows 3, you can fire all three in a row. That's a combo and three cards gone in about a second.
• Choose the pile on purpose. If a card fits both piles, put it where it keeps your other cards playable. If you hold a 9 and both piles accept an 8, play onto the pile that won't block you.
• Keep one eye on the twin. Any time you play a card, glance at the other pile. If they match, slap immediately. Your rival will.
• Make your own twins. If one pile is a Jack and you can turn the other pile into a Jack, do it and slap. You know it's coming, so you get a head start on the slap.
• Don't spam taps. A fumble resets your combo and freezes your hand. One clean play beats two panicked ones.
• Remember the wrap. King to Ace and Ace to King are legal. Players forget this and sit on an Ace while the pile shows a King.
• Late in a round, slaps matter more. With your stack nearly gone, a slap sends your last stack cards to your rival. Use it to finish faster.

Want more quick card games? Try Hi-Lo Rocket or the classic Crazy Eights.

Questions