Find the Right Card Game
| Game | Players | Good if you like… |
|---|---|---|
| Hearts | You + 3 computers | A quick game where you try not to win certain tricks |
| Spades | You and a partner vs. 2 | Bidding and teamwork |
| Hand and Foot | You and a partner vs. 2 | Building books with lots of cards, at a relaxed pace |
| Canasta | You and a partner vs. 2 | The classic melding game with a bit more strategy |
| Cribbage | You vs. 1 computer | Counting hands and pegging around the board |
| Gin Rummy | You vs. 1 computer | A quiet two-player game of building your hand and picking your moment |
| Rummy | You vs. 1 computer | Laying down sets and runs as you go |
| Rummy 500 | You vs. 1 computer | Rummy with bigger scores and a little gamble |
| Euchre | You and a partner vs. 2 | Fast hands, trump and teamwork |
| Whist | You and a partner vs. 2 | Plain trick-taking with no bidding |
| Oh Hell! | You + 3 computers | Predicting exactly how many tricks you will take |
| Pinochle | You and a partner vs. 2 | Bidding, melding and a deck with every card doubled |
| Bridge | You and a partner vs. 2 | The deepest partnership game of them all |
| Crazy Eights | You + 3 computers | An easy matching game that is over in minutes |
| Switch | You + 3 computers | Crazy Eights with more special cards |
| Kings in the Corners | You vs. 1 computer | Solitaire-style building against an opponent |
| Idiot | You + 2 computers | Playing higher and dodging the pile |
| Thirteen | You + 3 computers | Beating pairs and runs, with twos as the top cards |
| Go Fish | You + 2 computers | A gentle memory game, perfect with grandchildren |
| Old Maid | You + 3 computers | Pure fun with nothing to work out |
| War | You vs. 1 computer | Sitting back and letting the cards decide |
| Spit | You vs. 1 computer | A quick race, at a pace you choose |
| Escoba | You vs. 1 computer | Adding cards up to 15 |
| Briscola | You vs. 1 computer | A quick trick game with a 40-card Italian deck |
| Skat | You + 2 computers | Bidding to play alone against the other two |
| Manni | You + 2 computers | A three-handed trick game from Iceland |
Rummy Games
Gin Rummy is the two-player classic: you keep your sets and runs in your hand, then knock when your leftover cards add up to 10 or less. Go out with nothing left over and you score a gin bonus. How to play Gin Rummy.
Rummy is the version many of us learned first. You put melds on the table as soon as you have them, add cards to anyone's melds, and try to be the first with an empty hand. How to play Rummy.
Rummy 500 lets you take a card from deep in the discard pile, as long as you take everything above it and use it at once. Every card you meld scores, and the first to 500 wins. How to play Rummy 500.
Trick-Taking Games
Euchre is played with only 24 cards and five-card hands, so it moves quickly. Your team calls trump, the two jacks of that color become the top cards, and three tricks win the hand. How to play Euchre.
Whist is the old parlor game that Spades and Bridge grew from. There is no bidding: the last card dealt sets trump, and your team scores for every trick over six. How to play Whist.
Oh Hell! asks you to say how many tricks you will take, and you only score if you take exactly that many. The hands grow and shrink each round, which keeps everyone guessing. How to play Oh Hell!
Pinochle uses a 48-card deck with two of every card from nine to ace. Partners bid, show their melds for points, then play the tricks to collect the counting cards. How to play Pinochle.
Bridge is played with a computer partner who bids by a written-out system, so you can see what every bid means. Win the auction, then take the tricks you promised. How to play Bridge.
Shedding Games
Crazy Eights is about as simple as card games get: match the suit or the number, play an eight to change the suit, and get rid of every card first. How to play Crazy Eights.
Switch is the British cousin of Crazy Eights. Twos make the next player pick up, eights skip a turn, and the game gives you plenty of chances to turn the tables. How to play Switch.
Kings in the Corners lays out piles around the deck, and you build down in alternating colors just as in solitaire. Kings go in the corners, and the first to play out their hand wins. How to play Kings in the Corners.
Idiot gives everyone a hand plus face-down and face-up cards on the table. Play equal or higher on the pile, or pick the whole pile up, and try not to be the last one with cards. How to play Idiot.
Thirteen, also called Tien Len, comes from Vietnam. You beat the last play with a higher single, pair, triple or run, and the twos are the strongest cards in the deck. How to play Thirteen.
Easy Family Games
Go Fish is the game many of us first played as children. Ask for the cards you need, listen to what the others ask for, and collect sets of four. How to play Go Fish.
Old Maid is pure fun: pair up your cards, take turns drawing from your neighbor's hand, and hope you are not the one left holding the odd queen. How to play Old Maid.
War needs no decisions at all. Turn over a card each, the higher card takes both, and a tie means war. It is a restful game to play while you chat or listen to the radio. How to play War.
Spit is a race to play your cards one higher or one lower onto two piles in the middle. Our version has a slow pace setting, so the computer never rushes you. How to play Spit.
Card Games From Europe
Escoba is the Spanish fishing game. Play a card that adds up to 15 with cards on the table to capture them, and clear the whole table for a sweep. How to play Escoba.
Briscola is Italy's favorite trick game, played with a 40-card deck. You don't have to follow suit, so the fun is in deciding when to win a trick and when to let it go. How to play Briscola.
Skat is the great German three-player game. Each hand, one player wins the bidding and plays alone against the other two, with the four jacks as the top trumps. How to play Skat.
Manni is a three-player trick game from Iceland. A cut card sets the kind of hand, you swap cards with a spare pile called the Manni, then win or dodge tricks on the way to ten points. How to play Manni.
Card Games Without the Usual Annoyances
- Computer players that play by the rules. Every move a computer makes goes through the same rule check as yours.
- See why. Tap Why? next to any computer move for a one-line explanation.
- See every hand. When a hand is over, you can look at all the cards that were dealt, and replay the same deal by its number.
- Your house rules. Hand and Foot and Canasta are played many different ways. Our House Rules settings explain each choice in plain English.
- Four-color cards. Turn on four-color cards in Settings to make diamonds blue and clubs green, so suits are easier to tell apart.
Prefer to play on your own? Our solitaire games have the same big cards and unlimited undo.