Alley Cat is a 2 player trick-taking game played with a modified traditional deck. There is no trump suit and suits do not matter. At the beginning of the game, six cards are dealt to each player. On their turn, players play a single card to the table from their hand. After both players have played their single card, the "trick" is resolved. The highest card always takes the trick. The loser of the trick draws a card from the deck and adds it to their hand. Tricks score points equal to the difference between values of the two cards in the trick. The alley cat (5 of diamonds) is a special card that causes negative points to a player's overall score for a round. The game is over when one player reaches 44 or more points, thus winning the game.