CARD GAMES
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Old Maid:
Memory
CRAZY 8s
For 2 players - deal 7 cards each.
For 3 or 4 players, deal 5 cards each.
Place the rest of the cards face down in the middle of the circle and turn one card over to start a discard pile.
Player 1 (player to the dealer's left) must discard a card from their hand that matches the card in the discard pile in number or suit.
If the player cannot match the card in the discard pile in number or suit, they can play an 8 as a wild card. If that player doesn't have an 8, they must draw from the draw pile until they draw a match or an 8.
The first player to run out of cards wins!
For 2 players - deal 7 cards each.
For 3 or 4 players, deal 5 cards each.
Place the rest of the cards face down in the middle of the circle and turn one card over to start a discard pile.
Player 1 (player to the dealer's left) must discard a card from their hand that matches the card in the discard pile in number or suit.
If the player cannot match the card in the discard pile in number or suit, they can play an 8 as a wild card. If that player doesn't have an 8, they must draw from the draw pile until they draw a match or an 8.
The first player to run out of cards wins!
Slap Jack
GO FISH!
Deal 7 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards face down in a pile.
Player 1 begins by asking any player for a specific card. (The person asking for the card must already have in their hand the card they are requesting.) For example: "Dad, do you have any 4s?"
If that player does have any of the requested cards they must give all of that card to player 1. Player 1 then gets to go again.
If the person asked has no requested cards, they say, "Go fish."
When a person is told to "Go Fish" they draw the top card from the draw pile. If the requested card is drawn, player 1 shows it to the other players and gets to go again. If not, the card from the draw pile is added to their hand. Now it's the next player's turn.
Continue around the circle.
When you collect a set of four matching cards, show them to the other players and place the four cards face down in front of yourself. That is a "match".
When all the cards have been matched, or when the draw pile runs out, the person with the most matches wins!
For younger children you can make 2 cards a match instead of 4.
Deal 7 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards face down in a pile.
Player 1 begins by asking any player for a specific card. (The person asking for the card must already have in their hand the card they are requesting.) For example: "Dad, do you have any 4s?"
If that player does have any of the requested cards they must give all of that card to player 1. Player 1 then gets to go again.
If the person asked has no requested cards, they say, "Go fish."
When a person is told to "Go Fish" they draw the top card from the draw pile. If the requested card is drawn, player 1 shows it to the other players and gets to go again. If not, the card from the draw pile is added to their hand. Now it's the next player's turn.
Continue around the circle.
When you collect a set of four matching cards, show them to the other players and place the four cards face down in front of yourself. That is a "match".
When all the cards have been matched, or when the draw pile runs out, the person with the most matches wins!
For younger children you can make 2 cards a match instead of 4.
MEMORY
Why buy a specialty memory game when you have a deck of cards? Lay the cards face down in a grid. (This is a great chance for your kids to practice their math skills, making grids of different lengths and widths.) Players take turns turning over two cards, trying to make a match. If a player makes a match, he or she picks up the cards and goes again. If the numbers do not match, they are turned back over. Players take turns turning over two cards, attempting to make a match. Play continues until all the cards have been matched.
The player with the most matches wins!
Why buy a specialty memory game when you have a deck of cards? Lay the cards face down in a grid. (This is a great chance for your kids to practice their math skills, making grids of different lengths and widths.) Players take turns turning over two cards, trying to make a match. If a player makes a match, he or she picks up the cards and goes again. If the numbers do not match, they are turned back over. Players take turns turning over two cards, attempting to make a match. Play continues until all the cards have been matched.
The player with the most matches wins!
OLD MAID
Before you begin, remove one queen from the deck and set aside. Do not deal out that queen and do not use that queen for the game. Then shuffle and deal all the cards to the players. Players do not need to have an equal amount of cards.
How to play: Each player looks at their cards and matches up as many of the cards as they can in pairs. If a player has 3-of-a-kind, they should only lay down 2 of the 3 and keep the other card in their hand.
After all players have laid down all their matches, the dealer spreads out all their cards, face down and turns to the player on their left. This player picks one card and tries to make a match with any of the cards left in their hand. If no matches can be made the player adds it to their own cards and then offers his/her own hand to the player on their left. That player takes one card and tries to match it to the cards in their hand. Play continues until all cards have been matched up and only one remains - the queen that doesn't have a match (because you hid the match before you dealt out the cards)! The player left holding the "Old Maid" is out of luck!
Before you begin, remove one queen from the deck and set aside. Do not deal out that queen and do not use that queen for the game. Then shuffle and deal all the cards to the players. Players do not need to have an equal amount of cards.
How to play: Each player looks at their cards and matches up as many of the cards as they can in pairs. If a player has 3-of-a-kind, they should only lay down 2 of the 3 and keep the other card in their hand.
After all players have laid down all their matches, the dealer spreads out all their cards, face down and turns to the player on their left. This player picks one card and tries to make a match with any of the cards left in their hand. If no matches can be made the player adds it to their own cards and then offers his/her own hand to the player on their left. That player takes one card and tries to match it to the cards in their hand. Play continues until all cards have been matched up and only one remains - the queen that doesn't have a match (because you hid the match before you dealt out the cards)! The player left holding the "Old Maid" is out of luck!
RUMMY (GIN RUMMY)
Deal each player 7 cards. Place the remaining cards face down in a pile and turn over the top card to start a discard pile.
The goal of the game is to get one set of 3 matching cards AND one set of 4 matching cards.
The player to the left of the dealer starts by either picking up the face up card, or taking a card from the draw pile with the goal of trying match the cards in their hand.
After choosing a card, the player must discard one card in the face up, discard pile.
Play continues around the circle until someone yells "Rummy" and wins. If you reach the end of the draw stack before someone yells "Rummy" turn over the discarded cards and keep going.
A player can declare "Rummy" when they have a set of 3 matching cards AND a set of 4 matching cards.
Deal each player 7 cards. Place the remaining cards face down in a pile and turn over the top card to start a discard pile.
The goal of the game is to get one set of 3 matching cards AND one set of 4 matching cards.
The player to the left of the dealer starts by either picking up the face up card, or taking a card from the draw pile with the goal of trying match the cards in their hand.
After choosing a card, the player must discard one card in the face up, discard pile.
Play continues around the circle until someone yells "Rummy" and wins. If you reach the end of the draw stack before someone yells "Rummy" turn over the discarded cards and keep going.
A player can declare "Rummy" when they have a set of 3 matching cards AND a set of 4 matching cards.
SLAP JACK
Deal out all the cards face down. Without looking, each player holds the stack of cards, face down, in their hand.
Starting on the dealer’s left, each player lays down one card from the top of their pile, face up, in the center of the table. When the card played to the center pile is a jack, the first player to slap their hand down wins the pile! That player then takes all the cards in the stack, adds the stack to their own pile of cards and shuffles it. If someone slaps the deck of cards when a jack has not been played, that person must give a card, face down, to the person who played the card. When a player runs out of cards they can remain in the game until the next jack is played in an attempt to win more cards. If they fail to win more cards when the next jack is played, they are out of the game. The game continues until someone wins all the cards.
Deal out all the cards face down. Without looking, each player holds the stack of cards, face down, in their hand.
Starting on the dealer’s left, each player lays down one card from the top of their pile, face up, in the center of the table. When the card played to the center pile is a jack, the first player to slap their hand down wins the pile! That player then takes all the cards in the stack, adds the stack to their own pile of cards and shuffles it. If someone slaps the deck of cards when a jack has not been played, that person must give a card, face down, to the person who played the card. When a player runs out of cards they can remain in the game until the next jack is played in an attempt to win more cards. If they fail to win more cards when the next jack is played, they are out of the game. The game continues until someone wins all the cards.
WAR
Deal all the cards out to all players equally. Hold your cards face-down in a stack in your hand. No peeking!
To begin, each player in the circle takes one card from the of their pile and places it face up on the table (everyone does this at the same time). The person who laid down the highest card wins all the cards. Aces are the highest card, 2s are the lowest. The winner of the hand collects all the cards and adds them face down to the bottom of their pile.
The person who collects all the cards in the deck wins!
What happens if 2 players play the same card? It becomes a WAR!
To break the tie and win the war, each player who played a matching card places one card down on their original card then places another card face up. The person who laid down the the higher card in the tie breaker then wins all the originally played cards and the cards played during the tie-breaker. If the cards played during the tie breaker are again the same the players repeat the tie breaking process of laying one card face down and another card face up until one of the players plays a different, higher card. The winner of the tie breaking WAR takes ALL the cards.
If a player runs out of cards in the middle of a war, the other player wins.
The game is over when one person wins all the cards.
Deal all the cards out to all players equally. Hold your cards face-down in a stack in your hand. No peeking!
To begin, each player in the circle takes one card from the of their pile and places it face up on the table (everyone does this at the same time). The person who laid down the highest card wins all the cards. Aces are the highest card, 2s are the lowest. The winner of the hand collects all the cards and adds them face down to the bottom of their pile.
The person who collects all the cards in the deck wins!
What happens if 2 players play the same card? It becomes a WAR!
To break the tie and win the war, each player who played a matching card places one card down on their original card then places another card face up. The person who laid down the the higher card in the tie breaker then wins all the originally played cards and the cards played during the tie-breaker. If the cards played during the tie breaker are again the same the players repeat the tie breaking process of laying one card face down and another card face up until one of the players plays a different, higher card. The winner of the tie breaking WAR takes ALL the cards.
If a player runs out of cards in the middle of a war, the other player wins.
The game is over when one person wins all the cards.