You’ve got endless games when you stick a deck of cards in your pocket. There is something for everyone in groups of two or larger teams. You can play these 10 classic card games with friends anywhere, at any time.
10. Speed
In Speed, each player gets 20 cards and creates four piles of cards, face down. Players pick five cards. Each person flips one in the middle simultaneously. Put cards down on top of the center cards that must be one number higher or lower than the card on top of the center pile. Run out of cards to win.
9. Blackjack
Blackjack is simple to learn and play. Face cards are worth 10, Aces count as 1 or 11, and all other cards count at face value. Each player is dealt two cards. The dealer is dealt one card face up and one card face down. The goal is to get a hand higher than the dealer’s without going over 21.
8. BS
The whole deck is dealt. Starting with twos, place them face down on the table. If you have none, bluff. Put down a pair and say they’re twos. Then it moves to threes, and so on. Think a player lying? Call “BS.” They must show the cards. If they were truthful, you get the stack. Run out of cards first to win.
7. Go Fish
Go Fish is usually the first card game we learn as kids because it’s simple to learn. Players are dealt out six cards, the remainder are laid face down on the table. The object is to make four-of-a-kind matches. Players ask others for the cards they need. If not, they: “Go fish.” The player with the most four-of-a-kind matches wins.
6. Spoons
Grab a spoon from the kitchen for every player, less one. Spoons are placed in the middle of the table. Each player is dealt four cards. It’s a fast-paced game. The goal is to get four of a kind. When you have one, grab a spoon. Each loss earns a letter, starting with “S.” Each player who spells “SPOONS” loses.”
5. Spades
Spades is played with four people broken up into two teams and a single deck. Players bet on the number of “tricks” they expect to take. Players must play a card of the same suit. If they can’t, they put down a different suit. Spades can only be played if you don’t have other suits in your hand.
4. Hearts
Hearts is played with four players using a single deck. The lowest score wins. Each player gets 13 cards and must play a card of the same suit on the table. The goal is to rid yourself of heart cards and Queen of Spades. They can only be played if you don’t have a card of the current suit.
3. Gin Rummy
Gin Rummy is a variation of Rummy played with two players. It uses one deck of cards with jokers removed. Each player is dealt 10 cards. The goal is to reach 100 points by forming groups of three or more cards. The groups are made out of the same rank or run of the same suit.
2. Canasta
Canasta is a card game from the Rummy family. It uses two decks, plus jokers. If there are more than three players, it’s played with two teams. Each player is dealt 11 cards. The objective is to make melds – groups of cards with the same numerical value. Play continues until a team reaches 5,000 points.
Read More: The Best Dune Tabletop Games
1. Poker
Poker is a card game played with one pack in which players wager on each hand. (Although wagering is optional). The goal is to get the best hand out of everyone at the table. There are a variety of games and rule variations. Some of the most popular poker games are Five-Card Draw, Texas Hold’em, and Seven Card Stud.
