#7. Go Fish

Another childhood favourite of mine! The goal is to collect the most sets of 4 cards.
You can play Go Fish with 2-4 Players and a standard 52 card deck.

How to Play: Shuffle the cards and if 2 of you are playing, 7 cards are dealt to start with. If more than 2, deal 5 cards to each player to start wiht. The rest of the cards are placed face down in the middle.

The player to the left of the dealer starts and asks another player for a card that they need e.g. “Susie, do you have any 4s?”. If the player has any of the card requested, they must hand them over to the player. If you get a requested card you get another turn. If the player you have asked doesn’t have a card, they say “Go Fish” and you have to pick one from the middle pile.

If you collect 4 of a kind, you can put them down on the table.

The game continues until all the cards are finished, the winner is the person with the most sets of 4.

https://youtu.be/GbwMIA1VBQ0

#8. Cheat

Also known as Liar Liar or I Doubt It, Cheat is a really fun family game. You will need a standard pack of 52 cards and at least 2 players, you can play with up to 10 players.

How to Play: Deal all the cards out to the players. The object is to get rid of all your cards. Select at random who should go first and continue clockwise.

On the table is a discard pile, which starts empty. Each player takes their turn and discards one or more cards face down on the pile, calling out the cards they have played. (One variation of the game is that you start by discarding or at least pretending to discard Aces, the next player Twos and so on)

Since the cards are discarded face down, you do not in fact have to play the rank you are calling. So for example, you could discard a mix of cards saying “Three 7s”.

If someone suspects you of cheating they shout “Cheat”. If they were wrong they have to pick up the discard pile. If they are right, the cheater has to pick up the discard pile.

#9. 21 or Pontoon

We played Pontoon every night on a recent family holiday, it’s such a quick and easy game to set up and play. You will need a standard deck of cards, and at least 2 players. For a large number of players, say 8 or more, two 52 packs can be mixed together.

The cards have values: ace is worth 1 or 11 at the holder’s choice, kings, queens, jacks and tens are worth ten, and the remaining cards are worth their pip value. Each player’s basic aim is to form a hand whose total value is as near as possible to 21, without going above 21.

One player is designated as the dealer. The dealer has an advantage, so the first dealer is chosen at random (whoever cuts the highest card). In each hand, each of the other players aims to have a better hand than the dealer.

The dealer starts by dealing each player 2 cards, then himself 2 cards last. He asks each player if they want to Stick or Twist. Stick means stay with the cards you have, Twist means get another card. If you go over 21 you are bust and out of the round.
Once each player has stuck or gone bust, then the dealer decides on stick or twist. Once he shows his hand, everyone else still in shows their hand, and the best one wins.

• The best hand of all is a Pontoon, which is 21 points in two cards – this can only consist of ace plus a picture card or ten.
• Next best after a Pontoon is a Five Card Trick, which is a hand of five cards totaling 21 or less.
• A hand of three or four cards worth 21 points beats everything else except a Pontoon or Five Card Trick.
• Hands with 20 or fewer points and fewer than five cards rank in order of their point value – the nearer to 21 the better.
• Hands with more than 21 points are bust and are worthless.
• If the dealer and a player have equal valued hands, then the dealer wins.

#10. Snap

Snap is a great card game for all ages, and a great starter card game for preschoolers. Use one standard deck of cards and you’ll need at least 2 players. The goal is to win all the cards.

How to play: The player to the left of the dealer goes first. Play then moves clockwise. On his turn, each player turns over the top card from his face-down pile.

When someone turns over a card that matches a card already face up on another player’s pile, players race to be the first to call “Snap!”. The player who calls “Snap!” first wins both piles and adds them to the bottom of his face-down pile.

When moving a card from his face-down pile to his face-up pile, each player should do so by turning the card away from himself. This ensures that the player does not see the card before his opponents have a chance to do the same. (The player should also turn the card quickly, so that he’s not giving himself a disadvantage.)

If two players call “Snap!” at the same time, the two piles are placed in the center of the table and combined into a face-up pile with one of the two matching cards on top. Play then continues where it left off.

When someone turns over a card that matches the card on top of the pile, players race to be the first to call “Snap!”. The player who calls “Snap!” first wins the pile and the matching pile. If there’s another tie, the matching pile is added to the first pile and so on.

#11. War

This is one of the first fun card games I remember being taught as a child. War is another good starter card game for younger kids. You’ll need a standard pack of cards and 2 players. The goal is to be the first player to win all 52 cards.

Start by dividing the deck evenly, each player receiving 26 cards, dealt one at a time, face down. Each player places his stack of cards face down, in front of him.

Both players turn up a card at the same time and the player with the higher card takes both cards and puts them, face down, on the bottom of their pile.

If the cards are the same rank, it is War. Each player turns up one card face down and one card face up. The player with the higher cards takes both piles (six cards). If the turned-up cards are again the same rank, each player places another card face down and turns another card face up. The player with the higher card takes all 10 cards, and so on.

The game ends when one player has won all the cards.

#12. 31

31 is a fast and easy card game to play with kids. This game requires basic addition, as they will need to be able to count up to 31. You will need at least 2 players and a standard deck of cards.

The object of the game is to have a sum of 31 in your hand before the other players do.

To start, deal three cards face down to each player. Once dealt, the players look at their cards and they then take a turn picking up a card from the pile in the middle and discarding a card.

The card face value is used for counting so 1 – 10 are worth their face value and face cards Jack, Queen, King are worth 11, and Aces can be used as either 1 or 11.

Over to you now. What’s your family’s favourite fun card game? Tell us in the comments below.