
Then, he, in turn, fans his cards and offers them to the player on his left. If the card he picks matches any he already he has, he puts down the pair. He offers them to the player on his left, who cannot see them, but takes a random card from the fan. The player to the left of the dealer then fans his cards in his hand so he can see them all, although he keeps them hidden from the other players. If anyone has four matching cards, he puts down two pairs. If anyone has three matching cards, he only puts down one pair and keeps the spare card. Anyone holding pairs of matching cards, with the same number or picture, should put them down face up. The players then sort their cards, keeping them hidden from all other players. It doesn’t matter if some players end up with more cards than others. This leaves a pair of Queens in one color and a single Queen (the old maid) in the other. Old MaidĪ standard deck of 52 cards is used, but with one of the Queens removed. If two people run out of cards together, the player with the most sets wins the game. The winner is the first person to have no single cards left, only complete sets. If the player does not have the right cards, he can tell the requester to “Go fish.” The requester then has to take one card from the “fish pond.” The player who told him to “Go fish” becomes the new requester.Īnyone who collects all four cards of a set puts them face down in front of him. The requester continues asking the same player for more cards until the player does not have the cards he wants. If the other player has these cards, he must hand them over. For example, if the requester has two kings, he will ask the other player for kings. The “requester” (person to the left of the dealer) starts the game by asking another player for cards that will match his hand. group of threes or group of kings), making sure not to show anyone. This is the “fish pond.”Įach player sorts their cards into groups of the same number or suit (i.e. The remaining cards are placed face down in a pile. If there are more people taking part, each player is dealt five cards. If there are two or three players, each player is dealt seven cards. Go FishĬhoose a “dealer” to hand out cards. The game is won by the player who collects all of the cards. Whoever puts down the higher ranking face up card wins all six. The game is now in a state of “war.” To continue, both players take two new cards and put one face down on top of the card they have already placed in the middle and one face up.

This continues until two cards of the same value are put down together. Whoever has turned over the highest ranking card takes both cards and adds them to the bottom of his pile.

Both players turn over the top card of their piles and put them face up in the middle of the table, beside the other player’s card. These games are actually great ways to help them develop skills and knowledge too! WarĪll cards are dealt to the two players and kept face down. Fun Card Games for Families with PreschoolersĬhildren as young as 3 can join in fun family card games. Now that you have decks of cards stashed everywhere that you might possibly need them, let me give you share some fun card games with you that your family might enjoy. So, grab a few packs and keep them in handy locations like: Even though my kids span ages 6 to 16 years, there are so many family card games that are easy enough for the young one to play and entertaining enough to keep my teens engaged. If we get stuck in traffic, I can whip out the cards so the kids can play a fun card game rather than whine incessantly about how bored they are. When my daughter was in her anti-math phase, we played card games that subtly exercised her math skills. If the kids are getting restless at a restaurant because it’s taking a while for our food to come out, we can play a quick card game. If the power goes out, knocking out our electricity, it’s a fool-proof way to stay entertained. My favorite “secret” mom weapon is a deck of cards. They’re inexpensive, small enough to bring with you anywhere, and there are games for all ages. Family card games are one of the easiest ways to spend quality family time together.
