Two Down - Heads'n'Tails with cards

Flipping coins for heads or tails can be seen as a two-value version of Rock Paper Scissors, and so we can bring the design logic of our Ken cards to traditional Heads'n'Tails.

While our previous games drew from Japanese cultural traditions, Two Down draws on an iconic Australian tradition, Two-Up, played with two of these coins flipped from a wooden paddle. Our version is called Two Down in tribute, but also because the card game is played by placing two cards face down at the same time.

The Kangaroo Penny the Australian penny minted from 1911 to 1964. With King George VI on the obverse and the distinctive bounding kangaroo on the reverse, these copper coins were everyday currency for generations of Australians before decimalization in 1966. People born before that year were often given a 'Roo minted in their year as a lucky charm. Some were even silver-plated and enamelled for wearing on a key-ring.

The Australian penny represents a fascinating piece of numismatic history – a coin that maintained British sovereignty on one side while asserting Australian identity on the other. This duality makes it perfect for our matching game concept.

George VI Kangaroo Penny

There are three types of cards:

No win, Heads, Tails

The Two Down deck consists of 64 cards:

• 24 Heads cards (featuring the profile of George VI)

• 24 Tails cards (featuring the bounding kangaroo)

• 12 No Winner cards (featuring an empty circle)

Unlike our ken games where all players follow the same winning conditions, Two Down assigns different roles to each player, based on the game-play for Two-Up:

• The Odds Player wins when cards do not match (one Heads, one Tails)

• The Evens Player wins when cards match (both Heads or both Tails)

This asymmetrical approach creates a fascinating dynamic where each player pursues a different objective using the same deck.

How It Works

The game-play follows the Martingale approach of the other Ken games. It is played in 5 rounds of 6 tricks:

1. Players are assigned roles as either the Odds Player or Evens Player

2. Each player is dealt 6 cards

3. Both players place their 6 cards face-down in a north-south orientation

4. Cards are revealed one pair at a time

5. The Evens Player wins tricks with matching pairs; the Odds Player wins tricks with mismatched pairs

6. No Winner cards neutralize tricks, with special handling for double-neutral situations decided before the game starts

The player who wins the most tricks wins the round

The player who wins the most rounds wins the game

Buy a set of Two Down cards printed on demand at Make Playing Cards here.

You can learn more about Two-Up at Wikipedia here.

Incidentally, you can use the pack to play Two-Up by removing the no-win cards, and having two people cut the deck sequentially.