President — known in different circles as Scum, Asshole or Daihinmin — is a fast, cut-throat card-shedding game, and this free online version pits you head-to-head against an AI opponent in your browser. The deck is split between the two of you, and the race is on to empty your hand before the computer empties its own.
Cards rank from 3 (lowest) up through the picture cards to Ace, with the 2 sitting on top as the most powerful card of all. Whoever holds the 3♣ leads first. You must beat the previous play with a higher card or set of the same shape — a single answers a single, a pair answers a pair — or pass and surrender the lead. Win the hand and you become President; lose and you are the Scum.
A staple of student lounges and family game nights, President is prized for its blend of luck, bluff and tactical hand management. This free online version streamlines the classic into a snappy one-on-one duel against an AI that adapts to the rules of each difficulty. Clean cards and instant browser play make it easy to drop in for a quick match against the computer.
President descends from Japan's Daifugō and the wider Chinese family of climbing games such as Zheng Shangyou, in which the winner of each hand gains rank and the loser pays tribute. In full multiplayer versions the Scum must hand their best cards to the President before the next deal — one of the few card games that openly models a social ladder, which is precisely why student houses everywhere adopted it. This head-to-head version distils that ladder into a pure two-player race to shed cards.
Be the first to play out every card in your hand. Get rid of your last card before the AI does.
Tap cards in your hand to select them — selected cards lift up — then press Play selected. The Play button only lights up when your selection legally beats the last play. Press Pass when you cannot or choose not to beat it, handing the lead to the AI.
There is no points tally — it is win or lose each round. Difficulty sets the legal combinations: Easy is singles only; Medium adds pairs and triples; Hard adds straight runs and four-of-a-kind bombs that can smash any non-bomb play.
Dump your low cards early while you still control the lead, and hoard 2s and bombs to seize tricks late. In free online President, passing on purpose to save a big card for the next lead is often smarter than winning a trick you do not need.
What beats what in President?
A play can only be beaten by the same shape at higher rank — a stronger single on a single, a stronger pair on a pair. Cards climb from 3 up to Ace with 2 on top, and on Hard a four-of-a-kind bomb smashes any non-bomb play.
When should I pass in President?
Pass whenever beating the current play would burn a card you need later. Deliberately conceding a trick to keep a 2 or a bomb for the endgame is often the winning move.
Who leads the first trick?
Whoever holds the 3 of clubs opens the round. After that, the winner of each trick leads the next, choosing any shape their hand allows.
More classic games: Crazy Eights, Cheat, Durak, Hearts, War, and all 100 free games.