Looking for a way to keep the kids entertained indoors? Why not try one of these card games for kids? They’re loads of fun and can teach your kids new skills.
1. Old Maid
Suitable for Ages: 4+
Players Needed: two to six players
How to Play: Old Maid is one of the most fun and easy card games for younger children. The goal of this card game is for players to avoid being left holding the titular ‘old maid’ (i.e., the Queen). Remove three of the Queens in a standard deck of cards (leaving a single Queen) and deal the cards to the players as evenly as possible.
The players begin by sorting their cards, eliminating all the pairs they find (for example, a player with two Jokers discards one). Then, the first player or dealer turns to the player to the left, offering their hand face down in a fan-like formation.
If the player who’s being offered the hand chooses one that matches a card they’re holding, they’ll put each card face up on the table. However, if the cards don’t match, they keep the new card they’ve drawn.
The game continues with the players repeating the steps above until all the pairs in the entire deck have been eliminated, and only one player, the game’s loser, is left with the Old Maid.
2. Crazy Eights
Suitable for Ages: 4+
Players Needed: two to five
How to Play: Deal five cards to every player and place the leftover cards in a stack in the middle of the table. Then draw the topmost card from the stack and place it face-up in a separate position on the table. This lone card will form a new starter draw pile.
Starting from the player on the dealer’s left, each player places one of their cards face-up on the card in the new pile. They can only choose a card that’s the same suit as the topmost card of the new pile. For example, if Player One puts a King of Hearts on the pile, then the next player can only place a King or a Heart when it’s their turn.
The only exception to the above rule is if the player has an eight, as players can place eights in the pile even though they aren’t the same number as the top card on the pile.
If no player can place a card on the pile, the dealer will draw from the stack, placing new cards face-up on the pile until it’s possible to continue playing (i.e., the topmost card is the same value as the cards held by the players). The player who gets rid of all their cards wins the game.
3. Go Fish
Suitable for Ages: 4+
Players Needed: two to six
How to Play: This classic card game requires a minimum of two players. For a two-player game, deal out seven cards to each player. Otherwise, give all the players five cards each. Then, place the remaining cards in a face-down pile. All the cards in this pile will represent the ‘pond’ in the game.
While it’s possible to choose the first player randomly, it’s usually the player left of the dealer that starts the game. They’ll ask the other players whether they have any playing cards with a type that matches one of the cards they’re holding.
For example, Player One may ask Player Three whether they have any Aces. If Player Three confirms they have the same card(s) Player One asked for, they’ll hand it/them over to Player One, who gets another turn. Player One can keep asking the others if they have matching cards until they collect a full set, or the Player they ask doesn’t have a card matching theirs.
Supposing Player Three doesn’t have the card Player One is asking for, Player Three will say ‘Go Fish!’, prompting Player One to select a random card from the pond. If Player One chooses a card that matches the one they asked for, their turn continues. However, Player One’s turn ends if they don’t choose a matching card from the pond.
Play continues clockwise, with the next player asking the others for cards that match theirs.
4. War
Suitable for Ages: 6+
Players Needed: Two
How to Play: War is the most unique of all the classic card games on this list. Unlike the other games, only two players can play this one.
The game begins when you deal the entire deck face-down so that each player has twenty-six cards. Both players should simultaneously turn one of their cards face-up without looking at it. The player whose card has the higher number wins both.
However, if the players flip matching pairs, then it’s ‘War’, and each has to deal three cards face-down before flipping one face-up. The player who flips the higher of the two cards gets both and all the cards dealt. One player wins the game when the other runs out of cards.
5. SlapJack
Suitable for Ages: 4+
Players Needed: two to six
How to Play: SlapJack is a fun card game where players race to win cards in a pile. The game’s players will need to be able to distinguish between cards in a deck or at least be able to identify the Jack in a deck of cards. As such, it’s suitable for slightly older children who meet the above requirement.
The game starts after the dealer has dealt cards to the players one at a time and face-down. Each player starts with a stack of cards, with the player seated to the left of the dealer being the first to take their turn.
The first person to play turns one of their cards over and places it in the middle of the table. Then, the person seated to their left does the same, and so forth, with turns being taken in an anti-clockwise direction.
If a player plays a Jack, everyone has to scramble to be the first to slap the pile of cards in the middle of the table. Whoever does so first wins them all and can add them to the bottom of their stack of cards. However, if a player runs out of cards, they have a final chance to win cards and keep playing. They’re out if they fail to win any cards.
If a player collects all the cards, they win the game.
6. I Doubt It!
Suitable for Ages: 6+
Players Needed: three to six
How to Play: I Doubt It! is a game that exercises a player’s bluffing skills. The object of the game is to be the first to get rid of your cards.
Players sit in a circle, and the dealer deals the cards between them. The player with the Ace of Spades takes their turn first by placing it in the circle’s center. Next, the player to the right of the first person to take a turn puts their 2’s in the middle of the circle face down. However, if they don’t have 2’s, they can place any cards they have to keep the game going.
The players continue to take turns in a clockwise direction, with each one placing a higher card number in the center of the circle (3’s then 4’s, etc.). If a player suspects that the one taking their turn is bluffing and isn’t placing the right cards down, they can say “I doubt it!”.
When players are caught bluffing, they pick up all the cards in the circle’s center. Conversely, if the player who says “I doubt it!” makes a wrong call, they’ll have to pick up the cards. The winner of the game is the player who doesn’t have any cards left.
7. Concentration/Memory
Suitable for Ages: 3+
Players Needed: two to eight players
How to Play: Concentration/Memory is an excellent game that can improve your child’s concentration skills. The object of the game is to memorize and match two cards of the same rank.
To play, lay a deck of cards face-down in a grid. The first player (chosen randomly) turns over two cards, hoping to find a match. If they’re successful and the cards match, they keep them. However, if the cards don’t match, the player returns them, noting the cards’ numbers and positions.
The game continues with each player taking a turn in a clockwise direction. Once the players match every card in the grid, everyone tallies the cards they successfully matched and kept. The player with the most cards collected wins.
8. House of Cards
Suitable for Ages: 4+
Players Needed: Two or more
How to Play: House of cards doesn’t involve any complex rules. Instead, as the name suggests, the aim is to build a house of cards. The fun lies in how high you can stack your structure without it crumbling like a house of cards.
We hope you enjoyed this round-up of card games. Every one of them provides an excellent way to kill some time with the kids without resorting to TV. Have fun playing!