Uno
An absolute classic, uno is simple to pick up and play but be warned - with younger children it comes in hot on the tantrum meter. Nothing invokes the tantrum Gods quicker than repeatedly using a draw 4 on a 6 year old who had one card left.
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Exploding Kittens
A hilarious game, but definitely for older kids (aged 7+) as there’s a good amount of strategy and quick thinking involved, with lots of devious play possible. The artwork on the cards is fun and rounds are fast paced - there are some genuine laugh out loud moments whilst playing this.
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Sleeping Queens
Another card game with strategic elements and lovely artwork, we’d recommend this for older children (7+) as there are a number of rules to get your head round, and with the possibility of “stealing” Queens from other players, there’s plenty of moments that can result in rooms being stormed out of. As a warning - you do need a fair bit of table space to play this game, so this one is not car friendly.
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Dobble
This has been a favourite in our family for years. It’s great for long train journeys, it’s quick to pick up and play and is suitable for all age ranges. The rules are simple - be the first to find a symbol that matches across two cards (and there are different game variations around this rule). And yet the number of times I’ve sat staring at a pair of cards, and been utterly convinced that there is no match, only for one of the kids to spot it and win the pair…
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Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
Another pattern matching card game, but this one has some fun, energetic (which in my book, with my constant lack of energy and sleep, counts against it) twists.
Flip over cards whilst saying “Taco”, “Cat”, “Goat”, “Cheese”, “Pizza”, and if the card matches the word being said, the last to slap the pile takes all the cards, with the object to get rid of all your cards.
There are a number of cards that needs physical actions - the Groundhog card means knocking on the table before slapping the deck, whilst the Gorilla card means thumping your chest (yes, this constitutes high energy exercise for me). Rounds are fast paced with lots of laughs - this one is suitable for the younger kids in the family,
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A plain old deck of cards
With all these fancy card games, it’s easy to completely overlook the original - a plain deck of cards. Who can forget classics such as 21s or Go Fish, or having to invent your own games.
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