24 May Card Games for Kids
With Summer coming, children may be spending lots of time with family and friends on roadtrips, on vacations, or hanging out at home. Here are some great games to check out using a standard 52-card playing deck. These are perfect if you need a lot of different games, but don’t have a ton of space. Some may be familiar from childhood, and some may be completely new! All game rules have been taken from bicyclecards.com, but there are many variations!
Crazy Eights
A game about playing all of the cards from your hand, Crazy Eights is a great game for children who are learning card games. You play cards that either match in number or match in suit. The only trick is that 8s are wild! Great if you’re looking for practice before moving on to a game like UNO! (™) with more complicated rules. Perfect for kids ages 4 and up, and for 2+ players.
Old Maid
This game is great for teaching matching and number recognition. Players try to lose the cards in their hand by making matches. You do this by pulling cards from other players’ hands. The goal is to not be left with the last card (a queen) at the end. Great for ages 4 and up, and for 2+ players.
Go Fish!
Similar to Old Maid, this game is also about making matches. But instead of always pulling from your partner’s hand, you have a pool of cards you must “fish” from. This game is all about collecting matches, and listening to what the other players say. But remember, they’re listening to you as well. Good for 4 and up, and for 2+ players.
Slapjack
Slapjack is a fast-paced game about getting as many cards as you can. The only way to get them is to be the first person to slap the jack as it’s laid down. But be careful to not hit any other cards, or you’ll be losing a few! For ages 4+, and for 2+ players.
Pig
Pig is a secret matching game. The goal of the game is to get 4 of a kind as quickly and quietly as possible. Players will pass cards as fast as possible from right to left, so players have a difficult time keeping up. The first player to get 4 of a kind stops passing and picking and puts a finger to their nose, being quiet so other players don’t see. The last person to put their finger to their nose is the Pig! Can be played with ages 4+, and needs 5+ players.
Read More
If you’re looking for more card game ideas to play with your family, check out these books from Evergreen!
The Book of Card Games for Little Kids by Gail MacColl
