Pairs

Designed by: James Ernest,Paul Peterson

Pairs is a simple card game where players are trying to avoid getting a pair of the same card.

The deck is made up of 55 cards and they are numbered 1-10. There are ten tens, nine nines, eight eights and so on, right down to a single one. Players are dealt one card each at the start of the game (face up) and play proceeds through a simple stick-or-twist choice on each players turn – you can choose to twist, and as long as you get a different card, you’re safe. If you get a matching card you now have a pair and the round immediately ends – you keep one of your cards as penalty points. Alternatively you can choose to stick, in which case you immediately end the round but you take the lowest showing card on the table as your penalty points.

As soon as one player hits a predetermined set of points – 21, for instance – the game ends and the player with the fewest points wins.

You can also play variations such as players trying to score the most points in a round, and flipping a matching card knocks that particular player out of the round. Then score points (which are good, in this version) for player position when everyone has either bust or stuck.

Sam says

A great push-your-luck game for pretty much any age, this can be introduced at the pub, dinner party, or to a bunch of kids. Better with more players though.

The guru's verdict

GNG Favourite
  • Take That!

    Take That!

    None. It's the game itself that busts you.

  • Fidget Factor!

    Fidget Factor!

    Next to none - Pairs moves very fast.

  • Brain Burn!

    Brain Burn!

    The only decision is stick or twist.

  • Again Again!

    Again Again!

    Pairs is a fast-moving game and due to the randomness of the cards, hard to predict.