There have been times when I haven't had a board nearby, and I've kept score with pen and paper. I love the board because it's such an iconic part of the game, but you don't have to have one to play. You can vary your strategy from round to round depending on which cards you're dealt.Įven if you've never played cribbage before, you might know it involves a board to keep score.

The drawback of the second tactic is you have to pick up cards to score high, and if another player ends the round, you may suffer a hefty penalty. The drawback of the first strategy is it's often difficult to score high in a short round, even if you don't have to subtract anything. In my experience, there are two main strategies: aim to end the round early to catch the other player(s) out with a lot of cards in their hand or try to make the round last as long as possible so you have more opportunities to pick up cards and score points. The catch is if you still have cards in your hand at the end of the round, the value of those cards is deducted from your score. The game is played in rounds, which end when one player has no cards left in their hand.

three sevens) or a run of cards in a sequence of the same suit (e.g. To score points, you must play sets of a minimum of three cards that are the same rank (e.g. The objective is to be the first player to score 500 points. It belongs to the rummy family of card games, which involve grouping cards together in certain sequences and sets. This is one of my favourite games because it doesn't take long to play the rules are simple and there's the dramatic possibility of starting out badly, but ultimately winning the game, and vice versa. There are variations for three people, but they're at their best when you play with just two.

Most multiplayer card games can be scaled up or down to accommodate more or fewer players and the games mentioned here are no exception. They range from the straightforward to the complex, and all can be played with a standard 52-card deck. If you decide to play them, I hope they serve you similarly well. I'm passionate about a wide variety of games, whether they be board, tabletop or card games, and the ones listed here are what I've played most often and that bring back the best memories. I was six years old when I played my first card in a game of Crazy Eights, and I've dealt countless hands since then. For me, card games were integral to my childhood: I grew up playing cards with my parents and three siblings.

They're social, portable and inexpensive (unless you're gambling with money), and the rules are easy to learn. Card games have entertained people for centuries and have always been a great way to pass time.

Group card games for adults