Simple and Easy Fun Card Games

Here  have some of my favorite easy-to-teach-and-learn card games to play.  They are really easy to play and fun.  Card games are not everyone's favorite but these are a good place to start. 

Each is played with a standard deck (or two) of playing cards. You will also require a pad of paper and pen for keeping score, a willing hearts and competitive spirits. LET'S PLAY.

1        Kemps

For 4 or more players but must have 2 players per team, A game with partners and secret codes,

 Instructions

Spread out at a large table or on the floor. Each player needs one partner, but partners may not sit next to each other. Ideally, team members will sit across from one another.

Meet in private with your partner to agree on a secret signal. The signal should be something subtle, such as scratching the ear or crossing your arms. You will use this signal to indicate to your partner when you acquire 4 cards of the same number. Or, your partner will use it to signal to you that she has have 4 of a kind.

Choose a dealer. The dealer will distribute 4 cards to everyone at the table. Do not show your cards to anyone else. The dealer then places the pile of remaining cards in front of him face down.

Begin Kemps. The dealer takes the top card from the pile and reviews it. He may choose to keep it or discard it, face down, to the player on his left. When the player on the left has reviewed the card, he will either keep it or pass it on to the next player. This continues around the table.

Players must have only 4 cards in their hand at once. If you choose to keep a new card passed to you, replace it with a card from your hand and pass that card to the left. The dealer keeps picking the top card off the pile and continues to pass it around the circle.

Gather 4 of a kind. When a player has obtained 4 cards of the same number, she must signal her partner to win the game. When the player signals her partner, she must yell, "Kemps!" At that point, play must stop, and the team with 4 of a kind must show its cards. If the partner has 4 of a kind, this team has won the game.

Win the game another way. If you notice a team signalling or you think someone has 4 of a kind, yell, "Stop Kemps!" before anyone on that team yells, "Kemps!" If the player you stopped does indeed hold 4 of a kind, your team wins. If the player you called out does not have 4 of a kind, your team is out and play continues without you and your partner.

Spell out the word K-E-M-P-S. Each time a team loses a hand, they receive a letter. The first team to spell KEMPS loses the game.

 2       Four-of-a-kind Go Fish

For 2 or more players, Almost everyone’s played the classic version of Go Fish. Four-of-a-kind easy and fun ready?

Instructions

Gather at least two players and up to six. Deal each player seven cards, unless you have more than four players, then deal them five cards. Have them hold their cards in their hands, facing them.

Throw the rest of the cards into the "fish pond." This is the pool of cards you will be drawing from throughout the game.

Choose a player to start the play. Decide by who has the next closest birth date.

Determine what cards you plan to collect into groups of four. This is the goal of the game and you win by having the most sets of four.

Ask any other player for a specific card such as a three. Disregard suits. If this person has a three, he must hand it over to you. You then get to go again.

If the player does not have your requested card, he can tell you to "Go Fish!" This means you get to choose a card from the pile in the middle.

Say "I fished upon my wish" if you draw the card you were requesting. You then get to go again. If you did not receive the card you were looking for, your turn is ended and play moves to the left.

Place your groups of four on the table once you have collected them.

Win by collecting the most sets of four or tally the score when the fish pond is depleted. The person with the most foursomes wins.

Vary the game by collecting pairs instead of foursomes. This allows for immediate gratification by laying down pairs that are made when granted their wish card and it moves the game along quicker.

3        Sevens

For 3 or more players Subtle strategy and the randomness of the cards determine the victor here. This is definitely competitive Solitaire… but fun.

Instructions

Deal seven cards to each player. The players arrange their cards by suit in their hand. No one should see each other's cards. The rest of the cards are put face down in a pile.

Lay down a seven when it is your turn. No one can play until at least one seven has been laid down. The sevens are laid horizontally next to each other in the middle of the table. If a player does not have a seven to start the game, he must pick from the pile. For example, if player A dealt, then it is player B's turn. But player B does not have a seven, so he picks one card from the pile. This continues until someone has a seven to lay down. If you choose a card on your turn that is playable, you may put it on the board.

Put cards in sequential order above and below the seven when it is your turn. The cards have to match the suit of the seven. For example, if it is player A's turn, he can put down a six of clubs, vertically above the seven of clubs. He can continue to play until he does not have any more moves. When he is finished with any cards he can play on the board from his hand, his turn is over. Eights are placed below the sevens (going down vertically) until you reach the king of a certain suit.

Pick a card from the pile whenever it is your turn, and you do not have a play. You just pick one card each time you can not play. You do not discard once you pick a card. You keep the cards in your hand and play them on the sevens or the branches with sixes and eights coming off of the seven.

Finish and win the game when you have no more cards left in your hand because you played them all on the board.

4. 9-Hole Golf

For 2 or more players Calm and requires concentration, don’t try to talk or you’ll forget your cards. Also, don’t let the word “Golf” throw you – you’ll enjoy this game

Instructions

Two to 4 players typically make up a game. Three standard 52-card decks, including jokers, are required so each player has enough cards. If there are more than 4 players, extra decks should be added accordingly.

Dealing

The dealer distributes 9 cards clockwise around the table to each player, 1 at a time. Players should lay their cards out in a 3-by-3 square. The remaining cards are placed in a face-down stack in the center of the table. The top card is turned face up and placed next to the stack to start the discard pile. Each player can turn over any 3 of her cards. She may not look at her other cards until she adds them to the discard pile or scores them at the end of a round.

The Game

The player to the left of dealer begins, with the order continuing clockwise. He must decide whether to draw the top card of the stack or pluck the top card in the discard pile. Either card can replace any of the 9 cards in his layout. If he chooses from the face-down stack and does not like his card, he can add it to the top of the discard pile without making a swap. It is illegal, however, to put back the top card from the discard pile. You must use it. If a player likes the card available to her, she can replace one of the other cards in her 9-card layout. She may not look at any of her face-down cards before deciding whether to make a swap--that's part of the fun of the game. If she makes an exchange with a face-down card, that card can then be shown. Any cards replaced should go face up on the discard pile.

Winner

A player should knock once all 9 of his cards are face up. Once that occurs, each of the remaining players plays 1 more hand before scoring begins. At this point, players may turn over any cards still face down to figure out their total. The player with the lowest score wins.

Scoring

Ace:1point
Two to 10: face value
Jack: 10 points
Queen: 10 points
King: 0 points
Joker: -2 points

Pairs: 0 points (pairs are formed by cards adjacent to each other in the rows and columns of each players 9-card layout)

Versions

For quicker games, you can play with 3 or 6 cards dealt to each player, instead of 9. Adjust the amount of card decks depending on the number of players.

 5       Spoons

For 3 or more players Competitive, physical, and sometimes deadly, Spoons is best for large groups hungry for a challenge.

Instructions

 

 

Set up the players around a small table. Everyone should be able to reach the middle of the table without stretching.

 

Set up a number of spoons in the center of the table, with one less spoon than the number of players. Fan the handles to the outside in a starburst pattern.

 

Select one player to be the dealer, and deal 4 cards to each player.

 

Play begins when the dealer begins pulling cards off the deck one at a time, looking at the card to see if he wants to keep it, and then passing it or a discard from his own hand to the player at the right.

 

The person at the dealers left passes his cards to a discard pile.

 

The object of the game is to get four of a kind, but you don't have to announce it right away.

 

Although you have your 4, continue passing cards until the other players are distracted, then sneak a spoon from the middle of the table.

 

The other players must grab a spoon as soon as they see you take one.

 

The player left without a spoon must drink.

6. Speed

For 2 to 6 (or more) players As you probably guessed, this isn’t a slow game – but it’s easy to catch on. And you can play a whole round in a minute or so.

The instructions say to play with two players, and it’s probably best to learn that way. But… I’ve played with as many as six players. Just add more decks and piles as needed.

Instructions

Shuffle the cards. Give both players one stack of 10 cards and one stack of five cards. Set a set of 10 cards in the middle left of the table and another set of 10 on the middle right. Place the two remaining cards side by side between the piles. All cards should be face down at this point.

Turn both single cards over at the same time. Players then must play a card from their five-card set that is one point higher or lower than the face-up cards. There is no taking turns; players play fast as they can, with the first to play overriding the other. For example, if the face-up cards are a seven and four, either player may play a six or eight on the first and a three or five on the second. Once a player places a card, it becomes the new face-up card.

Continue in this fashion, playing cards on of the face-up piles, until you can't play what's left of your five cards. You may then replenish your hand with cards from your 10-card pile, but only with as many cards as you need to fill out your five-card hand.

Turn over new face-up cards from both the left and right piles once neither player can play a card from his hand. Then proceed as before.

Shuffle and redistribute the central piles if all the cards have been turned over but players still have cards to play.

End the hand when one player runs out of cards. He then gets one point for every card his opponent has not played.

Declare a winner once one player reaches a given number of points, such as 25.