Card Games we Love! Times of Fun & Laughter for Connection with your People! Part 1

We LOVE games! They are an easy way to interact with some of our favorite people or a great way to get to know new neighbors and friends. We played games together before the pandemic of Covid affected the world, but during it we played a game or two almost every day! It has taken some work to narrow down this list to some of our favorites! 🙂

Let’s quickly enumerate some of the great reasons to play games:

• Connection and interaction with your family/friends that is screen free! Hooray put down those devices for a while!
• It is a simple and joyful way to pass the time while making fun memories without spending money!
• It is easy to pull out a game, they are always ready to go! You can introduce a game at any moment in a party, after dinner with your family or just host a game night! So. Much. Fun!
• Many of these games travel well! We have taken several of the small box games we love to airports, on trains, to swim meets, to volleyball tournaments, on vacation and etc. Anywhere you will have some waiting time as a family, bring a couple of these games along!
• Games teach kids about winning and losing and doing both gracefully–or working on it 🙂
• Playing games with your kids also teaches strategy, probability, courtesy, competition & overall thinking skills!
• They can be a repair tactic for tense family interaction, getting your home back to a peaceful place!
• They make great gifts for birthdays, holidays, mother’s day or just because! 🙂 (Fun stocking stuffers too!)

In this first part of the series, we will only look at card games. Let me introduce you to some of our family favorites right now! 🙂

Cover Your Assets: 2-6 players, Age 7-99 Around 20-30 minutes. (Info from the box!)

We have played this game hundreds of times! We have played it with kids as young as 5 and played with as many as 7 people. We have traveled with it & gifted it. The game is easy and there is quite a bit of chance so while you may amass wealth in the cards, it can be quickly depleted as well. We think this is great for ages 6+ and is entertaining for a group of teens or group of adults. It is a good party game with new friends because it is easily understood and you can converse while playing! The rules say “first one to one million wins,” but that is 2-3 rounds. We have played just one round before in about 10 minutes of time, so this makes a fun quick game before bedtime with your your peeps. If you don’t own this one, we highly recommend adding it to your fun!

Skull King: 2-8 players, Age 8-99 Around 30 minutes

This has been a family favorite since it came out in 2018! We actually looked up Grandpa Beck games because we enjoyed Cover your Assets. We love Skull King even more! It is a step up in difficulty from Cover your Assets because you need to guess the number of tricks you will take, but it is still understood within a couple of rounds of playing! We always play with the expansion pack that comes in the original box. We have purchased a replacement set for this game, because we simply wore out the cards from taking them along to our adventures! Our teens have played it at their parties with their peers lots. The game is different every time because it varies with the strategy of each player. A seven year old can play it, but 8 and up is just about right! We have gifted this one lots! If you are looking for a fun Christmas gift for your family buy both of these Grandpa Beck games! (We have 2 others of his games that are just ok, but these two above mentioned are crowd pleasers!)

Skyjo: 2-8 players, Age 8+ Around 30 minutes

This is a fun different game than other card games because you lay all the cards out in front of you and don’t hold them tightly concealed in your hand. 🙂 It is easily understood and you can converse while playing! (If you have played a heavy strategy game like chess-those games are NOT conducive to conversation, but Skyjo is) We played this game after dinner while meeting my daughter’s future in laws and it was delightful! This game’s length truly varies with the number of people. My husband and I can play one round in about 5 minutes, but if you are playing with 8 people, one round can take 12 minutes and usually no one stops at one round! This is a great one for a mix of fun games! I think a 6 or 7 year old who has played enough games could also play this one!

Bohnanza: 2-8 players, Age 13+ Around 45 minutes

Okay this is one of my very favorites! It is unique and everyone is involved the whole time. It’s a game of bartering and trading and luck! It truly does take the 45 minutes if you have all 8 players. It is a much calmer game with fewer players, so I think 4 or more begins to spike the fun! If your kids play games, then a 10 year old can handle it. It is not a good beginner game for a young player. Personality of the players and competitiveness affect this game, so the intensity changes per the individuals. That is true of all games, but this one especially. We fondly call it “The Bean Game.” This is a great game about learning supply and demand and keeping up relations with your neighbors! You are going to love it!

Five Crowns: 1-7 players, Age 8-99 Around 45 minutes

There are 11 rounds to this game, but most rounds go pretty quickly. The first round is with 3 cards and 3s are wild. The second round is with 4 cards and 4s are wild and etc. It’s fun and super easy to understand. A savvy 7 year old should be fine. This is a great one for traveling, because everything is held in your hand! We have happily played it with 2 people and also played with 8, cutting the game one round short! This is a great game to add to a activity gift basket!

Honorable Mention:

Sushi Go 2-5 players Age 8+ Around 15 minutes: Yep! Fun one for the mix! There is a board game edition and a card game edition. This is a take a card and pass the rest game. It’s fun and quick!

Antiquity Quest: 2-6 Players (4-8 in pairs) Age 10+ 30-45 minutes. I like this game. It is a fun hand and foot game. It is super fun to play in pairs, because you can’t talk about your strategy, which adds a fun layer. This game is fun, it can sometimes just drag a bit if you have an indecisive player. Which we just happen to have in our family. 🙂

Scum: Players 4-8 Ages 8+ Around 20 minutes. A fun card game that may be out of print, that is VERY similar to The Great Dalmuti . My kids say they are almost identical! Basically the cards you are dealt determine your pecking order in the game anywhere from Scum to President! Or in The Great Dalmuti from peasant to the great Dalmuti! Fun and fast. 🙂

Alrighty then! You have new ideas for connecting to your loved ones without a screen! That is winning! Now get to it! If you follow one of our links, Amazon kicks back a few pennies to our site, so thanks for that. We have hopefully given you a few ideas for the upcoming holidays! Mostly we hope you make some memories with your family and friends! Happy memory making and stay tuned for more ideas in this game series!