Whether you like to play alone or in a group, cards is one game that is sure to please.
Before we get started and I share with you some of my favorite card games, lets begin by learning some of the basic card terms.
Deck: A regular deck of cards will have 53 cards. The deck will be divided into four suits. (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs.) There will be ten number cards and three face cards in each suit.
Shuffle: To shuffle: means to mix the deck of cards. This is done so that the same suits or the same numbers are not together.
Cut: When you cut the deck of cards, the deck is placed face down on the table. A player will then lift about half o the cards and place them next to the original pile. This is then put on top of the original pile.
Deal: To deal means to hand out the cards from the deck to each of the individual players.
Hand: The hand is the word that is used to describe the cards that a player is holding in his/her hand.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s learn some fun games to play. As I stated earlier--Some can be played alone and some can be played in groups.
GAMES FOR ONE:
Idiots Delight:
Object: To discard all of the cards in the deck except the four aces.
Begin playing the game by dealing out four cards face up in a row. Next, discard any card that is lower in value than the card of the same suit. Example: You have a five of hearts and a then of hearts, you may discard the five. You would then fill the empty space with a card from your hand. Continue to discard the lowest card of each suit and filling the empty space with cards from your hand. This continues until you cannot longer discard.
When you cannot longer do this, deal out four more cards from your hand face up on top of the four cards that are already showing. Now, begin discarding as you did before.
When a space opens because you discarded all the cards in one of the four piles, fill the space with the top card of one of the other piles. All spaces should be filled before you may start a new row of four cards. Play like this would continue until all cards in your hand are gone.
You can only win the game if you go through all of the cards but the four aces.
Even Up:
Object: To discard pairs of cards that add up to an even number.
To play this game, you must remove all of the face cards from the deck. This should leave you with forty cards, which you will want to shuffle. Next you should hold the deck and deal one card face up. Now, deal out another card face up next to the first. If those first two cards add up to an odd number, you will lay down another card. Keep doing this until two cards (side by side) add up to an even number. Pick up the two cards that add up to an even number and put them in the discard pile. Go through the deck one time and if all the cards end up in the discard pile--You Win!
GAMES FOR TWO OR MORE:
Hearts
Object: To avoid taking Hearts in tricks.
This game is designed for three to seven players. From a deck of 53 cards, eliminate the following amount of cards---depending on the number of players playing.
Players.............Discard:
_________________________________________________________
1....................1
4....................0
5....................2
6....................4
7....................3
The cards will rank in order with the ace being the high card. Each person who is playing should receive an equal number of cards. The player who is sitting to the left of the dealer will lead with any card.
All other players must them follow suit if they can. If they can’t, any card can be played. The trick is won by the player who plays the high-test card of the suit which was lead. The person who takes the trick will lead the next time around. When all the cards have been played, each player will count the number o heart cards that they have taken.
The winner of this game is the player with the lowest score.
Rummy:
Object: To be the first player out of cards after playing on sets of three of a kind, four of a kind, or runs of three or four cards of the same suit in the same sequence.
For this game, you will use all 53 cards in the deck. When there are two players playing this game, each player will receive ten cards. When there are three or four players, each will receive seven cards and when their are five or six, six cards will be dealt out. After these cards are dealt out, the remaining cards will be placed face down in the center of the table. These will become your draw pile. The person sitting to the left of the dealer will start play. Play then begins clockwise. Each player begins play by discarding a card to the discard pile.
As stated in the object, players will try to get rid of their cards by collecting three or four cards of equal rank or by collecting three or four cards of the same suit in sequence. When this is accomplished, the players will lay those cards face up in front of them. They may also add to sets that have already been placed on the table. This can be done either on their own cards or on their opponents cards.
The player who goes out first by getting rid of all of their cards is the winner. If by chance no one goes out before the last card has been drawn from the draw pile, the discard pile is turned over to make a new draw pile and then play continues as before.
Scoring: The player who wins will score points for the total value of the cards which remain in his/her opponents hands when the game comes to an end.
If the winning player happens to go Rummy, which is laying down their entire hand in one turn, that player will get double the amount of points in the other players hand(s). Scores are kept until one person reaches 500 points.
There are many other card games which can be played and shared by others. These are just a few of my favorites. I have spent many hours passing time waiting for my children in the hospital playing the solitary games. I have spent just as many wonderful hours playing cards with my husband, family, and our friends.
The next time you are sitting around wondering what to do, pull out a deck of cards. The possibilities for games are endless.