8 Fun Card Games for Kids
Card games are a perfect way of keeping your kids busy during holidays and rainy days. They are fun, educational, and can also help your child build great social skills and reduce screen time.
If you like paper based games then also check out some easy to play pen and paper games, word enthusiasts can check out our latest word solver that can make words out of scrambled letters.
If you’re clueless about what card games to get for your next family night, then this article highlights eight fun card games for kids that are worth buying.
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1. Go Fish
- Age: 3+
- No. of players: 2+
- Cards: 52
In Go Fish, you start by selecting a ‘dealer’ who hands out the cards. In a setting of two players, each player is handed seven cards. In case of other additional players, each is dealt five cards. The remaining cards are then placed in a pile facing downwards and are referred to as ‘the fish pond’ Each player then sorts their cards according to numbers or groups (kinds) making sure not to show the rest of the players.
The player to the left of the dealer ‘the requester’ then starts the game by asking another player for cards that will match the ones in his hand. For example, if the requester has two queens, he will ask the other player for the remaining queens.
If the player has these cards, then he is required to hand them over. The requester continues asking for cards until the other player doesn’t have them where in this situation he can tell the requester ‘go fish’. The requester then takes a card from the fish pond and the player now becomes the new requester. Any player with a complete set of cards (for example all queens or all eights) is then required to place the complete set in front of him where they stay untouched.
The first player to have no single cards left becomes the winner. In a case where two players run out of cards at the same time, then automatically the player with the most completed sets wins the game.
2. Old Maid (Donkey)
- Age: 4+
- No. of players: 3+
- Cards: 52
In this card game, one queen is removed which means a pair of queens in one color remain and another queen in another color remains (which is typically the queen of clubs) to serve as the Old Maid.
The cards are first shuffled and dealt face down. Some players might have more cards than others which is okay. Each player then sorts the cards into similar sets while hiding them from other players. Players who hold matching cards then place them down with the face up. Players with three matching cards place down one card while players with four matching cards place down two matching cards.
The player to the left side of the dealer offers his cards to the player on his left then lets him pick a random card. If the card he picks matches any of the cards he has, he can choose to either keep it or put down the pair.
This goes on until all cards have been placed down in pairs, the person left holding the ‘old maid’ loses the game because it cannot be paired.
3. Snap
- Age: 3+
- No. of players: 3+
- Cards: 52
Snap cards come in a variety of themes which is great for children because you can purchase cards that suit their interests. The aim of this game is to match the cards with the same number.
To begin, the dealer deals out the cards to the players while placing them face down. The first player to the left of the dealer then turns over the card at the top of their pile and places it in the center (starting a new pile). The next player does the same and so on. In this game, players need to pay attention because the first player who places a card that matches what’s already in the pile and yells snap wins all the cards in the pile.
If a player runs out of cards, they automatically lose.
4. Slapjack
- Ages: 4+
- Players: 2-8
- Cards: 52
Slapjack is another simple game that’s quite similar to snap. The dealer shuffles the cards and deals out all the cards to the players. The players then take turns flipping the top card in their pile creating a face up pile of their own. This goes on until a jack is flipped. The rest of the players then try to place a jack on the first jack. The first player who manages to slap the first jack with another jack yells ‘slapjack’.
They then pick all the cards in the pile, shuffle them, and add them to the bottom of their own pile. However, if a player slaps a card in the center that isn’t a jack, they must give one card to the player of the card as punishment.
The game continues with each player taking a turn. If a player is left with no cards, they have one chance to get back in when the next jack is played, or else they lose. The winner of the game is the last player left.
5. Pig
- Age: 7+
- No. of players: 2-13
- Cards: 52
In this card game, the dealer takes out four cards of the same number or suit for each player. For example, if there are four players, take four sets of matching cards such as four nines or four kings. Shuffle these cards and deal them out to each player in fours. The players should make sure they don’t expose their cards to other players.
Each player then removes one card from their hand and places it face down on the table. After each player has done this, they will simultaneously move their card to the person on the left and pick up the new card that has been passed to them. When a player collects a matching set of four, then he places his finger on his nose. If any of the other players notice this, they are then required to place their fingers on their noses regardless of whether they have a matching set or not.
The last player to place his finger on his nose gets the letter P, then I, then G. The first person to get all three letters is the loser.
6. Peanut Butter & Jelly
- Age: 4+
- No. of players: 4, 6, or 8
- Cards: 52
Peanut butter and jelly is a kid’s game that involves collecting four similar cards and signaling your partner without getting caught. To start, the dealer deals four cards to each player. The players then split into teams of two and are expected to come up with secret signals that are only familiar to them. The signs can be winking, tugging the ear, etc. These signals can only be used when one of the team members gets a hand of cards that contains a similar set of four.
The dealer then picks up the first card and can either pass it on or decide to keep it. The goal is to hold four cards of the same set/kind in your hand. When one player achieves this, they signal their teammate and when he notices this, he yells Peanut butter. If another player sees the signal before the teammate, he yells jelly and his team wins whether or not they have four cards.
7. Concentration
- Age: 3+
- No. of players: 2+
- Cards: 52
When playing concentration, make sure the deck of cards you use is made up of pairs.
To begin, the dealer deals out all the cards face down on the table. Players now take turns flipping over a pair of cards to see if they match. This can either be cards of the same color, number, or set. If the two cards match, they win and take the two cards. They also get to have another go.
This goes on until all the cards are removed from the table. The player with the most number of cards wins the game.
8. Speed
- Age: 4+
- No. of players: 2
- Cards: 52
In speed, you begin by removing both jokers from the deck. Each player is then given five cards each, then fifteen more cards to form a pile. Two single cards are placed face down on the table, with a pile of five cards on each side of the two cards all facing down.
The players then flip the single cards simultaneously and place the cards in either ascending or descending order. Each player is allowed to pick cards from their individual sets of fifteen cards but cannot hold more than five cards at any given time.
When there are no more moves on the two cards, each player flips a card from the deck of 5 and continues to play. The player who runs out of cards first yells ‘speed’ and is the winner of the round.
Conclusion
Card games are a fun and inexpensive way to help kids learn decision-making and following rules among other essential skills. There are hundreds of card games available today and this article highlights our top picks that are definitely worth checking out.