10 Kid-Friendly Card Games

When the TV’s off and the board games drag on, card games bring quick, easy fun for the whole family. They’re quick to set up, easy to learn, and perfect for turning rainy days or quiet evenings into laugh-filled bonding time.

From silly giggles to sneaky strategy, these kid-friendly picks aren’t just fun—they’re moments of connection you’ll all want to repeat.

Crazy Eights

Crazy Eights suits 2 to 4 players and uses a classic 52-card deck. Children as young as five can enjoy it, but older kids and adults find it engaging too. The game’s easy-to-understand rules and sturdy cards make it easy for kids to handle. This mix of luck and strategy makes Crazy Eights a popular choice for family gatherings or classrooms.

How to Play:

1. Each player receives a set number of cards—seven if there are two players, or five when there are three or four participants.
2. Players place the remaining cards face down to form a draw pile, and turn the first card up next to it to start the discard pile.
3. Players take turns discarding cards from their hand by matching the top card of the discard pile in either suit or number. For instance, if the discard pile shows a seven of clubs, any seven or any club can be played.
4. If a player cannot make a match, they must draw cards from the pile until they find a playable card.
5. Eights act as wild cards, letting the player who lays them down choose which suit the next player must follow.
6. The first player to play all their cards wins. If the draw pile runs out, players shuffle the discard pile (except for the top card) and use it as the new draw pile.

Go Fish!

Go Fish is a classic card game perfect for groups and family gatherings. It works best for ages seven and up and can be played by two or more people.

The game uses a regular deck of 52 cards, but special-themed decks are sometimes available.

How to Play:

1. For two or three players, each person receives seven cards. If there are more players, each gets five cards.
2. Players place the rest of the deck face down to form the “fish pond.”
3. Players keep their cards hidden and sort them into groups by rank, like all eights or queens.
4. The person to the left of the dealer starts by asking any player for a specific rank that they already have in their hand. For example, if a player has two kings, they might ask, “Do you have any kings?”
5. If the asked player has one or more of that card, they hand them over. If not, the asked player replies, “Go fish,” and the current player takes a card from the fish pond.
6. As soon as anyone collects all four cards of the same rank, they place the set face down.
7. Players continue taking turns, passing control to the next person each time no match is made.
8. The round continues until all sets of four have been made, or all cards are used up.
9. If two players finish their cards at the same time, whoever has the most sets wins.

War

War is a card game for two players, using a standard 52-card deck. Its simple rules and no-strategy format make it ideal for kids as young as six. The game relies mostly on luck rather than skill, providing a quick and engaging experience for children.

How to Play:

1. Each player receives half the deck and keeps their cards face down.
2. Every turn, both players flip over the top card from their pile and place it face up in the middle.
3. The person who reveals the higher card wins both cards and places them at the bottom of their stack.
4. When both players reveal cards of equal value, a “war” occurs.
5. During war, each player draws two additional cards: one is placed face down, and the next one is placed face up in the center.
6. The player with the higher face-up card claims all six cards that have been played.
7. The objective is to win all of the cards. The game continues until one player has collected the entire deck.

Old Maid

Old Maid is a card game for children ages five and up and suits groups of three or more players.

The game uses a regular deck of 52 cards, but one queen is taken out, leaving one unpaired queen known as the “Old Maid.” The remaining queens form a pair in one color, while the single odd queen stands alone in the other color.

How to Play:

1. Players shuffle all cards and deal them face down to each participant.
2. Some players may have more cards than others, but this does not affect the game.
3. Each player looks at their hand and sorts out matching pairs by number or suit, placing any matched pairs face up on the table and keeping the remaining cards hidden from others.
4. If a player has three matching cards, only one pair may be laid on the table, with the extra card left in the hand.
5. Four matching cards allow for two pairs to be placed down.
6. The person to the left of the dealer offers their cards, face down, to the next player.
7. That player takes one card at random.
8. If the chosen card forms a pair with another in their hand, the pair is placed on the table. If not, the card joins their hand, and play continues clockwise.
9. Players repeat this process until all cards are paired and placed down, except for the single “Old Maid” queen. The person left holding this card becomes the Old Maid and loses the game.

Matching Pairs

Matching Pairs is a simple card game suitable for children as young as three years old. Two or more players can use either a standard deck of playing cards or a deck designed specifically for memory matching. This game helps children practice their memory and observation skills in a fun way.

How to Play:

1. To begin, players shuffle all cards and lay them face down on a table.
2. The cards can be spread out randomly or arranged in a grid to make it easier for everyone to see and remember their locations.
3. Each player takes turns picking two cards and turning them face up for everyone to see and try to remember where different cards are placed.
4. If the two cards do not match, the player turns them face down again and the next person takes a turn.
5. When a matching pair is found, the player keeps those cards and takes another turn.
6. The game continues until players have found and removed all matching pairs from the table.
7. At the end, each player counts the pairs they have collected. The player with the most pairs wins.

Snap

Snap is a lively card game that works well for groups of two or more players. It uses a regular deck containing 52 cards. For larger groups, two decks can be combined. Players should be at least 6 years old to fully enjoy and understand the rules. The simple structure and fast pace keep the game fun and engaging for everyone.

How to Play:

1. Players choose a dealer to hand out all the cards to each participant. Some players may have more cards than others.
2. Each player keeps their cards face down in their own piles and does not look at them.
3. Each person, starting with the player beside the dealer, takes the top card from their stack and flips it face up in a new pile next to their original stack.
4. When two face-up cards on the table match in rank—such as two fives or two kings—everyone must pay close attention and react quickly.
5. The first person to spot the matching pair and yell “snap!” wins both matching piles, adding them to the bottom of their face-down stack.
6. Play continues in a clockwise order.
7. If two players shout “snap!” at the same time, those piles combine into a snap pool in the center.
8. The snap pool adds a layer of excitement because players watch for cards in their piles to match the top card of the pool. Whoever calls “snap pool!” first when a match appears takes all the cards in the pool.
9. A player must drop out if they run out of cards in both piles.
10. The last remaining player with all cards in their possession wins and ends the game.

Rummy

Rummy is a classic card game for children ages 7 and up and works best with two to six players using a standard 52-card deck. The goal is to get rid of all your cards by making “melds,” which are groups or sequences of cards.

A meld can be a set (three or four cards with the same number, like three 7s) or a run (three or more cards in a row of the same suit, such as five, six, and seven of spades).

How to Play:

1. The dealer shuffles and hands out cards based on the number of players: two players each get 10 cards; three or four players receive seven cards each; five or six players get six cards each.
2. Players place the unused cards face down in a stack in the middle of the table to form the stockpile.
3. The dealer flips the top stock card over to start the discard pile, which sits next to the stock.
4. Each player may sort their cards to spot matches but should keep these arrangements private.
5. The player to the dealer’s left starts by picking up one card from either the stock or the face-up discard pile.
6. If the player can form a meld, they place those cards face-up on the table.
7. After attempting to make a meld, the player discards one card face-up onto the pile, signaling the turn is over.
8. Players can not only form their own melds, but also add to melds already played by others. For example, if there is a meld of three sixes, and a player has another six, they can add it on their turn.
9. Play continues in a clockwise direction, with everyone drawing and discarding each turn.
10. The round ends when a player runs out of cards. Players typically win the overall game by being the first to claim victory in five rounds.

I Doubt It

I Doubt It is a fast-paced bluffing game that’s perfect for bigger groups. Best with six to twelve players, it challenges honesty and quick thinking in a fun way.

How to Play:

1. Players shuffle a standard deck of 52 cards and deal them out one at a time. Not every player will receive the same number of cards, which does not affect play.
2. Each participant keeps their hand hidden and arranges their cards however they like.
3. The player to the left of the dealer starts the game by announcing and placing a certain number of aces face down in the center, even if those cards are not actually aces. For example, a player may say, “two aces,” while placing any two cards from their hand face down.
4. Play moves clockwise, with each new player announcing the next card in order—twos, then threes, and so on through kings.
5. If the sequence reaches kings, the next round begins again with aces.
6. Players announce the cards they are playing. However, they do not have to be honest and can bluff about the cards they put down.
7. If a player does not have the next card in the sequence, they must still play something and announce accordingly.
8. After each move, others can challenge the announcement by saying, “I doubt it.”
9. If challenged, players check the cards just played.
10. If the claim is accurate, the challenger must pick up all the cards in the discard pile. If not, the player who attempted the bluff takes the full pile.
11. Players continue until someone lays all of their cards down and has none left in their hand.

Slapjack

Slapjack is a fast-paced card game for kids ages four and up. Two to five people can play, using either a standard set of 52 cards or a deck made just for this game. Kids enjoy Slapjack because it is quick, involves both luck and quick thinking, and helps with focus and hand-eye coordination.

How to Play:

1. One player deals all the cards face down at the start of each round.
2. Players cannot check their own hands and must keep their stacks face down. If the cards do not split evenly, some may have more cards than others, but this does not affect gameplay.
3. The game moves clockwise, with each person flipping the top card from their stack to the middle.
4. All players watch closely for a jack.
5. When someone flips a jack, everyone tries to be the first to slap their hand on the face-up pile.
6. The fastest player collects all cards in the middle and adds them to their own stack, placing them underneath their pile.
7. The next person to the left continues play.
8. Players with no cards remaining have a single chance to return if they slap the next jack before anyone else. If they miss, they are completely out of the game.
9. The person who collects all the cards wins.

Pig

Pig is a card game suited for children ages 6 and older and works best with 3 to 13 players. Players use a standard 52-card deck, but the number of card groups matches the number of players—each group consists of four cards with the same rank, such as four tens or four kings.

For example, in a game with five players, the group uses five different sets of four-of-a-kind cards, leaving the leftover cards out.

How to Play:

1. After shuffling, the dealer gives each player four cards.
2. Players keep their cards hidden from others.
3. Each participant selects a card to discard and places it face down in front of them.
4. Once everyone is ready, players all pass their chosen card to the person on their left at the same time.
5. Each person then picks up the card passed by the player to their right, adding it to their own hand.
6. Players aim to build a hand containing four cards of the same rank.
7. When a player gets four cards of the same number, they quietly touch their nose.
8. The other players must notice and quickly do the same.
9. The slowest player to react earns a letter: first P, then I, then G.
10. If a player gets all three letters, spelling P-I-G, they lose the game.

With so many fun options to choose from, there’s something for everyone. These card games help families laugh, play, and spend time together.

So shuffle up, deal out, and let the games begin—because some of the best memories happen around a table with a deck of cards.