In Schotten Totten 2, one player is the attacker who tries to break through the defender's walls. Players will rally their troops by playing cards on the battlefield. Each location contains 2-4 cards, the strongest formation claims the location (but not always!). The strength of a location is determined by the poker hands that players create by playing cards one at a time. The defender has three boiling oil tokens at his disposal to clear the attacker's cards.

The deck consists of cards numbered 0-11 in five suits, along with ten tactical cards.