My circle of friends loves getting together as often as we can to play card games, and I don’t mind telling you we’re a bit ridiculous about it. Whether we’re gathering as just us moms or with our entire families, we’ve found the very best family card games to play when we’re together.

Most of the games listed below are fun for players who are a little older. But we’ve included some that younger ones will enjoy, too. 

Quick and Easy Card Games

Pass the Trash

Ages: 5 (or younger, if your little card shark has their numbers down!) and up – 2+ players

Object of the game: not to have the lowest card. 

How to play: Everyone gets three chips (or pennies). The dealer passes out one card to each player. Only the player can see their own card. Once cards have been dealt, the player to the left of the dealer decides whether to keep their card or trade with the player to their left. Players with an Ace can reject the trade. Play continues to the left. When play returns to the dealer, they decide whether to keep their card or draw from the deck. Everyone shows their card. Player(s) with the low card lose(s) and pays one chip.

Play for money: Each player comes to the table with three $1 bills. Each time they lose a hand and have to place a chip in the middle, they also lose one dollar. When a player is out of dollars, they are out of the game. The last player standing wins the pot.

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING THE SONG FOR THE LOSER: It is very important that everyone at the table sing the “We hate to see you go,” song when a player runs out of dollars and is out of the game. The song is to the tune of “Farmer in the Dell,” and it goes like this: “Ooooh, we hate to see you go, we hate to see you go, hi-ho the derry-o, we hate to see you go!” It’s obnoxious and amazing all at the same time.

31

Ages: 8 and up – 2+ players

Object of the game: Get a hand that totals 31 in one suit, or have a hand at the showdown whose total in one suit is higher than at least one other player without going over 31.

How to play: Three cards are dealt to each player. Then the deck is placed in the center of the table, with one card flipped face-up. The player to the left of the dealer has first play. The first player decides whether to take the flipped card or to draw from the deck. After drawing a card, they discard one so they are back to holding three cards, then play moves to the next player to the left. 

Play continues to progress to the left until one player decides the value of their hand can beat at least one player at the table. They indicate this by knocking on the table. Everyone else has one more turn after the knock. Then all players show their cards. The player with the highest total value wins the hand. If there’s a tie, the player with the highest ranking cards wins (Ex: K, Q, 10 = 26 beats Q, 9, 7 = 26). 

At any time during play, if a player obtains exactly 31 points, they shout, “31!” and automatically win the hand. 

Play for money: Each player comes to the table with three $1 bills. Each time they lose a hand and have to place a chip in the middle, they also lose one dollar. When a player is out of dollars, they are out of the game. The last player standing wins the pot.

Please see “IMPORTANT NOTE” at the end of the Pass the Trash section!

Related: Games That Are Fun For The Whole Family

 

Family Favorites

Games in this section are the opposite of quick – and some aren’t even easy. But they’re all super fun! 

Shanghai

Ages: 8 and up – 2-6 players

Object of the game: To be the first player out and to have the lowest points

How to play: For 2-5 players, use 2 decks. For 5-6 players, use 3 decks. (If you have more than 6 people, break up into 2 tables). Remove Jokers from your decks. Eleven cards are dealt to each player. The deck is then placed in the middle of the table, and the top card is turned face-up next to the deck.

There are then seven rounds to fulfill these seven contracts:

1 – 2 sets of 3 cards 

2 – 1 set of 3 cards, 1 run of 4 cards

3 – 2 runs of 4 cards each

4 – 3 sets of 3 cards each

5 – 2 sets of 3 cards each, 1 run of 4 cards

6 – 2 runs of 4 cards each, 1 set of 3 cards

7 – 3 runs of 4 cards each

A set is 3 cards of the same rank, without regard for suit (a 3 of diamonds, 3 of spades, and 3 of clubs is a set). A run is a group of 4 same-suit cards in sequential order (a 3 of diamonds, 4 of diamonds, 5 of diamonds, and 6 of diamonds is a run). Two of clubs is wild. Aces are low or high, whichever the player decides. 

The player to the left of the dealer goes first. Play moves clockwise around the table. 

The first player draws a card – either the face-up card or the top card from the deck. If they are able to fulfill the first contract, they lay down their 2 sets during their turn. If they cannot, they decide which card they’ll discard. The turn ends when they’ve discarded their card onto the face-up discard pile. 

When a player “goes down,” or fulfills the contract for that round, they may play on what other players have laid down.

The first player to get rid of all their cards wins the hand. Remaining players count the points of their cards.

Scoring points: 

2’s through 9’s = 5 points

10’s through Aces = 10 points

2 of Clubs = 20 points

Buying: players can “buy” a discarded card when it’s not their turn by drawing a penalty card. Adding cards in this way can help the player complete a set or a run.

After the first contract is filled, all players advance to the next contract.

Play for money: Decide your buy-in (we have a $10 buy-in). For 4 players, the winner of each hand wins $4 and the overall winner wins $12. For 5 players, the winner of each hand wins $5 and the overall winner wins $15. For 6 players, the winner of each hand wins $6 and the overall winner wins $18.

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Frustration Rummy

Ages: 8 and up – 2-5 players

Similar to Shanghai, but different in these ways: 1) game play is WAY longer because there are double the number of contracts to fulfill; and 2) players who don’t fulfill a certain contract do not move ahead until they’ve fulfilled that contract.

Object of the game: To fulfill all 14 contracts in order

How to play: This game has a board where players move their peg to indicate which contract they’re on. (Side note: if you have a card game-lover in the family, this is a great customizable gift idea!) Two decks of cards, including Jokers. Jokers and 2’s are wild. Aces can be high or low, whichever the player chooses.

The dealer passes out 13 cards to each player. The deck is then placed in the middle of the table, and the top card is turned face-up next to the deck.

The player to the left of the dealer goes first. Play moves clockwise around the table. 

The first player draws a card – either the face-up card or the top card from the deck. If they are able to fulfill the first contract, they lay down their 3 sets during their turn. If they cannot, they decide which card they’ll discard. The turn ends when they’ve discarded their card onto the face-up discard pile. 

When a player “goes down,” or fulfills the contract for that round, they may play on what other players have laid down.

The first player to get rid of all their cards wins the hand. Any player who completes the contract moves on to the next contract. Any players who have not completed their contract remain on their current contract.

The first player to go out on Contract 14 wins.

Nertz

Ages: 10 and up – 2+ players

This game is intense. Very fast-paced. Typically includes lots of curse words, so keep that in mind if you’re playing with younger ones. 

Object of the game: Race to be the first to get rid of the cards in your Nertz pile by building up from Ace to King within suits in the common area.

How to play: Each player has a deck of uniquely colored cards. Players deal themselves a Nertz pile of 13 cards, all face-down. Next to this pile, the player lays out 4 cards face-up, side-by-side. Their remaining cards are placed face-down as their stock. 

When everyone is ready, someone counts down: “3, 2, 1, go!” and each player turns the top card of their Nertz pile face-up. 

This is when sh*t gets real. 

Everyone simultaneously starts building stacks to offload their Nertz pile. The center area is the common area, where players will place Aces, as they come across them. When play first starts, the player will look at the card they’ve just turned face-up, as well as the 4 side-by-side cards. If they have an Ace, they’ll place it in the common area to begin building a stack, and put the face-up card from the top of their Nertz pile in place of the card they’ve pulled from their 4 side-by-side cards. 

If the 4 side-by-side cards or the face-up Nertz card don’t allow the player to add to the stacks as they’re building in the common area, the player turns 3 cards at a time from their stock pile, until they have playable cards. 

As they turn cards over, they may be able to build up from Ace to King in the common area, or add to their stacks of 4 side-by-side cards by stacking in descending order AND alternating red and black. This offers more opportunity for playable cards into the common area.

The first player to run out of cards in the Nertz pile shouts, “NERTZ!” and wins that hand. 

If you play any of these, I’d love to hear your feedback!

Kristan LeBaron
Kristan writes about her counter-intuitive approach at dealing with life’s messy moments. Owner of a small ad agency, The LeBaron Agency, Kristan writes raw, honest, and humorous "real mom" stories about navigating through all the messy life stuff, including her family’s experience with anxiety, depression, and ADHD. Kristan’s posts will have you nodding in agreement as you think, “thank sweet fancy Moses, it’s not just me.” Kristan and her two sons, Jace (1999) and Cody (2007) live in Liberty Hill with their two crazy dogs. You can find Kristan at BringMommyAMartini.com and KristanLeBaron.com.

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