The Top 10 Best Card Games to Play With Friends

The Top 10 Best Card Games to Play With Friends

Sometimes turning off the phones and playing a game of cards just hits differently.

A 52-card deck of playing cards is essential. Card decks are affordable, accessible, and portable. No matter where you go, take 100s of games with you. Playing cards can be an entertaining, interactive way to spend time with your friends. You can play all the games below with a standard playing card deck.

10 Fun Card Games to Challenge Your Friends

1. BS

How good are you at bluffing? BS, aka ‘Cheat,’ is just as fun as adults as it was playing as kids at summer camp. In BS, players can fib about their cards for a game advantage. Of course, you can call a player’s bluff - but it comes at a cost. If the player was telling the truth, then you’re punished.

2. Poker

Poker is one of those quintessential card night games that everyone loves playing. While players need a certain skill level, those who enjoy the game can spend hours playing.

Whether you want to play with poker chips or cash is up to you!

3. Rummy

Let’s take things back a few years. Rummy is one of the old classics that keeps everyone talking. Rummy is simple to play and learn, so you can spend more time chatting and catching up rather than focusing on your next move.

4. King’s Cup

This is for the 21+ friend groups. King’s Cup is one of the easiest (and most popular) drinking card games. King’s Cup, aka Ring of Fire or Circle of Death, is great to play with your tight-knit group, or you can use it as an icebreaker for people who don’t know each other well.

5. Kemps

Kemps is a fast-paced, frantic card-grabbing game. The game is played in pairs, and the goal is to get four-of-a-kind and let your partner know by using a secret signal. Once your partner understands the signal, they call out “Kemps!”

The concept of taking turns is thrown out the window. Things can get heated during a game, but that makes it all the more exciting!

6. Give & Take

Give & Take is a fun game to play with your closest friends. This is a more obscure and less-famous drinking game that combines the classic kid’s game Truth or Dare with drinking.

This game is more luck-based than strategy. Players each round choose between truth, dare, or drink!

7. Sevens

Lucky number 7 on our list had to go to ‘Sevens.’ You may also know Sevens as Fan Tan. This is a great social card game that smaller and larger friend groups can play. This game is slightly less well-known, so there may be a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it’s always a good time!

8. Karma

In Karma, ‘2’ is considered a special card that can reset the whole deck. Unlike some of the other card games on our list, you win Karma by being the first player to get rid of all of your cards.

Karma is a fun game for any card night, especially if you’re looking for a relatively easy game.

9. Mao

“The only rule of Mao is not to mention the rules.”

Get ready for some laughs with a game of Mao. This card game forbids telling the rules to any of the new players. Instead, they have to figure out how to play as they go. If a new player breaks a rule, they have to pick up a card. The winner is the first player to discard all the cards in their hand.

10. President

We’re finishing out the list with another classic. President aka ‘Scum’ or ‘Asshole,’ excuse our French, is similar to Crazy Eights. The goal of the game is to discard all your cards while you place more cards in the center than the player before.

Get Ready For Game Night

Shake things up the next time you get together with friends for a card game. These games are generally simple to learn and can be played with a few people. Grab a deck, table, and a few drinks to get started.