25 Fun and Educational Card Games for Family Game Night

Fun and Educational Card Games to Play with Your Kids

Card games are ideal for families with a range of ages to play together. Many fun and educational card games allow adaptations for multiple ages to enjoy, and even young kids can play card games that don’t require reading. Here’s a list of 25 card games to try for your next family game night.

I’ve included some classics you can play with a regular deck of cards, and plenty of unique card games to try. These games are cards only, no dice, no game board.

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Standard Deck Card Games

These games are played with one or more standard decks of cards. You may not think of standard card games as educational, but your kids are learning strategy, problem solving, and developing reflexes when they play many of the classic card games.

1 // 500 Rummy

An oldie-but-goodie, my kids have enjoyed rummy starting at about 7 years old. They particularly love being the dealer and getting to make rules. You can imagine a 9-year-old’s delight as she announces, “5’s and 9’s are wild, it has to go around 3 times, you can do steals, and there is a death round!” At that point it’s not much of a game, but the kids still have fun.

There are many variations to rummy, and our family calls it gin rummy, but technically the game we play is called 500 Rummy. The rules for 500 rummy are explained well by the folks at Pagat.com, along with hundreds of other card games.

2 // Three Thirteen

Three-thirteen is a card game for when you’ve got some time to kill. Not a short play, although you could choose to play fewer than all 11 rounds. You’ll need to refer to the Three Thirteen rules at first, but once you learn, your card-loving kids will ask to play again and again.

3 // Golf

My family plays 4-card golf, but there are versions of 6-card or 8-card also. We play using a standard deck of cards and make everyone remember their score, but of course, you can buy a dedicated game with scoresheets if you’re that kind of family! The goal is to end up with the lowest score after 9 rounds (holes). Rules for the golf card game are simple enough for your 7-year-old to learn and each round goes quickly, perfect for those with short attention spans.

4 // Egyptian Rat Slap

Let me say up front: this game is not for card-playing newbies. The game has nothing to do with Egypt or rats, but there is slapping involved. My kids are much better at this game than I, as the rules for Egyptian Rat Slap (also called Egyptian Ratscrew) are a bit hard for me to remember in the middle of a slapping frenzy. Played with a standard deck of cards and requiring intense concentration, memory, and quick reflexes. My kids love it.

5 // War

The perfect card game to teach your kids to play with one another, since it requires only two people and can take a long time. The game ends when one player holds all the cards. Tell your kids to play War and maybe they’ll occupy themselves for 30 minutes while you relax with a cup of tea. The rules for War are fairly simple to explain to your kids and they’ll get the hang of it quickly.

6 // Nerts

This game is fast-paced and fun for card-lovers. We each have our favorite deck of cards to use for Nerts, but you can buy packs of cards in multiple colors to use for a group. You do need to have each deck of cards identifiable from the others in some way. The rules for Nerts aren’t complicated, but it may take a while for your kids to work up to speedy play.

Standard playing cards

Golf card game

Nerts card game

Picture Card Games (no reading required)

This group of card games is visually based, so young non-readers can play along with their older siblings.

7 // Blink

Two-player matching game where you race to get rid of your cards before your opponent by matching the shape, color, or count of your cards to the discard piles.

Even young non-readers can play this one!

8 // Set

A visual perception game in which everyone plays at once, attempting to spot sets of three cards that have specific matching characteristics OR no matching characteristics. The cards all contains pictures of various colors, shapes, numbers, and shading that you use to create sets.

9 // Spot It

It sounds so easy! Just spot the same picture on two different cards. And yet, somehow the slight size differences and placements make it a challenge to be the first to call out the match. Even very young kids can play this one.

10 // Sushi Go

Great for 3-4 players and you don’t need to know anything about sushi to play. Players pick a card and then pass to the left. The game is won by having the most points after three rounds, and points are accumulated by collecting the best combinations of sushi dishes as cards are passed around.

11 // Uno

You can find updated versions with slightly new rules of play, but the classic Uno is still a favorite for kids.

Math Card Games

Fun games that reinforce math skills? Yes, please! Here are a few fun educational card games that provide plenty of mental math practice.

12 // Adsumudi

Your kids will want to practice mental math when they do it by playing a card game! This game offers practice in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division that you can tailor according to the level of your child.

13 // Boom Goes the Dynamite

This game combines memory, matching, and math in one fun card game.

14 // Proof

Race to find hidden equations among nine number cards. When you find an equation, be the first shout out the number answer. You’ll have to share your proof with everyone, and then the cards are yours. The winner is the player who has collected the most cards once the deck runs out.

Wordy Card Games

Make unique word connections and enjoy silly wordplay with these word-based educational card games. Your kids will need to be reading independently to get the most enjoyment from these card games.

15 // Apples to Apples

Your kids will be expanding their vocabulary without even knowing it while they play this card game. Players take turns playing a descriptive word card, and the other players each offer a card they feel most matches the description (or gets the most laughs). Older kids may enjoy the original edition, but kids as young as 8 will be able to play the junior edition.

16 // Mad Gab

This is great for a large group. Occasionally my kids will play with just two of them, but it really is fun when there are enough people to have a couple of boisterous teams. Each card has two or more words to say out loud. Your teammates attempt to interpret the sounds to make a meaningful phrase. It’s hard to explain, so here’s an example. DEW WINO HUE. If you say those words quickly, eventually you’ll hear, “do I know you?” That’s the game.

17 // Punderdome

Give your kids the chance to make their own “dad jokes” with this card game. One player draws two prompt cards and the remaining players have 90 seconds to come up with a pun combining the two prompts. The original card drawer decides on a winner, who draws the next set of prompt cards. The winner is the first player to collect 10 pairs of cards.

18 // Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

Players take turns laying cards in a central pile while saying the words taco, cat, goat, cheese, and pizza in that order as play progresses around the group. If the word spoken matching the card played, slap your hand on the pile. The last one to slap takes the whole pile, and winning the game means being the first to get rid of all your cards.

Logic Card Games

19 // Cahoots

This card game is unique in that all players are working together cooperatively to win the game. Players match either color or number cards to play on four piles in the center, with the twist of trying to complete specific goals within the time limit, without being allowed to talk to the other players about what the goal is. Great for encouraging cooperation and strategic thinking skills.

20 // Clue Card Game

This is the classic Clue board game in card form. It’s slightly modified to work in a card game format, but still requires logical thinking and deduction skills to work out the mystery.

21 // Guess in 10

Come up with the right questions to figure out the answer in these fun card games. There are several options to choose from, including States of America, Countries of the World, Animal Planet, and World of Sports. Your kids will practice problem solving and creative thinking while playing this game.

Fast Paced Card Games

22 // 3 Up 3 Down

The goal is to be the first to get rid of your cards. But the twist is that three of your cards aren’t revealed until the end.

The printed instructions for this game can be confusing. You might want to watch the video instructions instead.

TIP: This is basically the same game as Palace, played with a standard deck. If you’d like to learn how to play Palace instead of buying a separate game, watch this helpful video describing how to play Palace.

23 // Dutch Blitz

Many hours I spent playing Dutch Blitz with my siblings. It’s very similar to Nerts in that you are working to reduce your piles of cards by playing them in a center arena. Fast-paced, and the colorful cards make it easy for kids to identify their own.

24 // Pit

I remember many a family holiday with adults yelling themselves hoarse while playing Pit. If your ears can take it, this is a fun family game of fast-paced trading and dealing in an attempt to corner the market.

25 // Select 5

Player work to make streaks of cards from their own piles, the draw pile, and snatching from other players.

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Why Your Family Should Play Card Games

Many card games are quick to play and they’re compact enough to take with you almost anywhere. Keep a game in your purse for those days your 10-year-old has to wait through her sister’s sports practice or you have to take kids with you to the DMV.

Card games are fun, but they also develop hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and strategic thinking, and specific skills. Most card games are inexpensive; you’ll get hours of entertainment for the price of one movie ticket.

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Fun and Educational Card Games