7. Slapjack
Age: 5+
Players: 2-8
Skills: Hand-eye Coordination, Reflexes
How to Play:
The deck is dealt evenly to players, who do not look at their cards. Taking turns, each player places a card from their stack into a central pile until a jack appears. The first player to slap their hand on the jack wins the entire pile, adding it to their stack. The player who eventually collects all the cards wins.
8. Spoons
Age: 6+
Players: 3-8
Skills: Quick Thinking, Motor Skills
How to Play:
Players sit around a table with one fewer spoon in the center than there are players. Everyone starts with four cards, and the goal is to get four of a kind. Players quickly pick and pass cards from one to another. Once a player collects four of a kind, they grab a spoon. Remaining players then race to grab a spoon, and the player left without a spoon gets a letter toward the word “SPOON.” The player spelled out “SPOON” first loses.
9. War
Age: 6+
Players: 2
Skills: Counting, Number Recognition
How to Play:
The deck is divided evenly, with players revealing the top card of their stack at the same time. The higher card wins both cards and places them at the bottom of their stack. If the cards are of the same rank, it leads to a “war,” where each player places three cards face down and then one face up. The higher face-up card wins all the cards. The game ends when one player has all the cards.
10. Rummy
Age: 7+
Players: 2-6
Skills: Strategy, Matching
How to Play:
Players are dealt 10 cards each. The aim is to make melds of three or more cards of the same rank or in sequences of the same suit. Players draw from either the discard pile or the stockpile and discard unwanted cards. The first to meld all their cards wins.
Card games for kids are more than just a source of entertainment; they’re a means of learning and developing cognitive and social skills. Whether your child is playing a quick game of Snap or a strategic game of Rummy, they’re sure to benefit from the challenges and excitement that card games provide. So, shuffle up some fun and enjoy these timeless card games with your kids!
