Card Games

Do you have one or two decks of cards at home?  Did you play any card games with your family when you were growing up? 

Young players:

• Matching games - can you find another card that looks like this?
• Organizing cards - by number, by suit, placing cards in order
• Pairs - all cards spread out face down.  Each player takes their turn turning two cards face-up so everyone can see them.  If they match, that player gets to keep the pair.  If they don't match, replace them face-down where they were before.
• Go Fish! - each player holds 5 cards.  Each player gets to ask one other player if they have a specific number, to match a card the player already has in their hand.  If the other player has it, they hand it over so the asking player has a pair.  (Get a new card from the cards spread face-down on the table to make a "pond".)  If not, the player who was asked says, "Go Fish!", and the asking player takes a card from the "pond".

Elementary/Primary School-aged children

• Rummy
• Crazy Eights
• War
• Mystery number - player one picks up a card without looking at it, and holds that card against their forehead so the other player can see it. Player 2 takes a card from the top of the deck and turns it over.  Addition version - Player 2 announces the total of both cards, and player one must say the number that must be on their forehead.  If correct, they keep both cards.  If not, they return it to the discard pile.  Multiplication version - announce the product of the two numbers.  

Middle-School,  High School, and Adults

• Solitaire
• Double Solitaire
• Canasta
• Mystery Number - Older children can find creative ways to practice bigger numbers; turn two cards over at a time to make 2-digit numbers?

Whatever games you know how to play, consider teaching your children and playing together.  Interested in learning new games?  There are lots of websites to help you learn!