Classic family card games

One deck of cards costs about two pounds and covers Christmas afternoon, a rainy holiday and every long train journey for a decade.

Twenty games below with rules and the age they start working, from four-year-olds up to a full table of adults after dinner.

For young children (4+)

• Snap - matching cards, fastest hand wins the pile. Chaotic, loud, over quickly.
• Pairs (pelmanism) - all cards face down, turn two, keep matches. Children beat adults at this consistently.
• Go Fish - collect sets of four by asking other players. Teaches number recognition without feeling like maths.
• Beggar my neighbour - pure luck, no decisions, can last forever. Perfect for a five-year-old.
• Old Maid - remove one queen, pair everything up, don't be left holding her.

For the whole family (7+)

• Cheat (or Bluff) - play cards face down and lie about them. The best family game there is.
• Sevens (Fan Tan) - build suits up and down from the seven. Simple rules, surprising tactics.
• Racing Demon - everyone plays patience at the same time onto shared piles. Fast and extremely loud.
• Rummy - collect runs and sets, first to go out scores. The reliable middle-of-the-road family game.
• Newmarket - stake counters on four boss cards. Traditional Christmas game in a lot of British households.
• Chase the Ace - one card each, pass to your neighbour or stick. Three lives, last one standing wins.
• Spoons - collect four of a kind then grab a spoon. Chaos with cutlery.
• Switch (Black Jack, Crazy Eights) - match suit or number, twos pick up two. Everyone's house rules differ.

For adults after dinner

• Whist - four players, two teams, trumps and tricks. The classic British card game.
• Nomination whist - bid your tricks first, score points for hitting your bid exactly.
• Pontoon - the British version of blackjack. Best played for buttons, matchsticks or 5p pieces.
• Cribbage - two players, a pegging board, fifteen-twos and pairs. Twenty minutes and genuinely deep.
• Hearts - avoid taking hearts and the queen of spades. Or take them all and shoot the moon.
• Bridge (rubber, informally) - four players, bidding and tricks. Steep to learn, endless once you have.
• Knockout whist - trump suit changes, hands get shorter, players drop out.

House rules worth having

• Agree your house rules before the first hand, not during the argument in hand three.
• Write them on a card and keep it in the box. This ends the annual Christmas dispute permanently.
• Play for buttons or matchsticks, never money, if children are at the table.
• Let the youngest deal first. It slows the game to their pace for one round, which is enough.
• Keep a running score in the back of a notebook across the years. It becomes a family record.

Shop funny cards

Cards for the occasion

Blank inside, designed in house, posted first class.

Bits for the party

Banners, cake toppers and confetti that are actually in stock.

How to write it so it lands

• Write your house rules on a card and keep it in the pack. It settles every future argument.
• Racing Demon needs one deck per player with different backs - worth the extra packs.
• A running score kept over years turns a card game into a family tradition.

Where to shop next

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• Classic British pub games
• Family card games
• Rainy day activities
• Garden games for a party
• Growing up in the 80s and 90s
• Nostalgic quiz questions
• Party supplies
• Work party ideas
• Celebration ideas
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas

Frequently asked questions

What card games can you play with one deck?

Almost all of them - Rummy, Cheat, Sevens, Whist, Pontoon, Hearts and Newmarket all need only a standard 52-card deck.

What's a good card game for young children?

Snap and Pairs from four years old, Go Fish from five. All three teach matching and turn-taking without needing to read.

What is the best family card game?

Cheat. It works from age seven to eighty, needs one deck, and the whole family can play at once.