Beggar My Neighbour rules.
Turn. Pay. Collect.

How do you deal Beggar My Neighbour?

Shuffle a standard 52-card pack without jokers. For two players, deal 26 cards to each, face down. Each player keeps a stack with a fixed order and plays only its top card. Leave space for one shared face-up centre pile.

1. Agree who turns the first card. You start at our table.
2. Keep your pack face down; do not inspect or reorder it.
3. Turn top cards into the shared centre pile.
4. The aim is to leave the opponent unable to play a card.

How do ordinary turns work?

Begin by alternating single top cards into the centre. The numbers two to ten are ordinary cards. After one of these, the other player normally takes the next turn.

Keep the centre pile in the order played. You do not compare numerical values as in War, match suits or slap pairs as in Egyptian Ratscrew. Only a jack, queen, king or ace starts a payment challenge.

What do the pay cards mean?

A jack, queen, king or ace asks the other player to turn a set number of cards in succession. Each ordinary card uses one attempt. If the whole payment consists of ordinary cards, the player who laid the pay card earns the centre pile.

The same rate applies to every suit. A queen of hearts and a queen of spades both ask for two cards. Aces are pay cards here, not ordinary ones.

What happens when you pay with a pay card?

Stop the old payment immediately. The new pay card sets a fresh number, and the other player now has to pay. Do not finish the old allowance or add the two allowances together.

Who takes the centre pile?

After a payment ends without a new pay card, the player who set that challenge takes the entire centre pile. Place it face down beneath their remaining pack, then that player leads the next card.

Our implementation puts the oldest centre card first beneath the existing pack, retaining the order of play. It does not shuffle, reverse or choose among the captured cards. Different physical collection methods can change a game’s length, so agree an order before starting.

How do you win Beggar My Neighbour?

A player loses when it is their required turn to play and their face-down pack is empty. Their opponent receives the remaining centre pile and wins the pack.

A last-card pay card can still rescue an empty hand: if the other player completes that payment, collect the centre and continue. If a player runs out during a payment before satisfying it, they cannot meet their next required turn and lose.

Not every deal finishes quickly, and some can cycle indefinitely. The browser recognises a repeat only when both pack orders, the centre pile, the next player and the challenge match exactly. Otherwise it stops after 4,000 card flips as a practice limit. Neither condition awards a win.

The four lessons use short prepared positions. A full game always uses a shuffled 52-card pack. Robin uses only its next top card. Choose a slower pace, pause at any point, or watch both players. Switching away from the tab pauses automatic turns. Games reset when you reload or leave.

Rule reference: Pagat’s Beggar My Neighbour guide. Original descriptions and teaching examples; the empty-pack timing and collection order used here are stated explicitly. Reviewed 26 October 2026.