Finding a good source of entertainment is really hard to come by these days, especially, one that can involve a large group of people. Here are some really fun and fast paced card games that are sure to entertain you and all that participate:

The Animal Game

Description: This is a fast paced game that requires skilled timing, memory, and a loud voice. Best if played with a large group and on a table.

How to play: First you pick your favorite animal sound and share it with the group. Remember everyone else’s animal too. You then take a full deck of cards, take out the two jokers, and then shuffle the cards well. Distribute all the cards face down amongst the players. If one deck of isn’t enough to cover all the players, then you may include another deck of cards into the mix. You may NOT look at your cards when you get them. However, you need to keep them in a neat stack. Once everyone is ready, you yell go! Then everyone has to pick up one card and put it face up in another pile. Therefore, every player will have two separate piles, one with cards facing down and the other facing up. Then you need to look at the other player’s card to see if they match yours. Suit and color don’t matter, only the number and letter matter. If you find a card that matches yours, you need to yell that person’s animal sound before they yell your sound. If you yell that person’s animal sound before they yell yours, give him or her your card. If you lose to that person you take his or her card and put it in your separate pile. If none of the other players have a matching card, you keep your card in your separate pile. This pile can grow an unlimited amount of times. When you do find a card that matches and if you win the match, you give that player all of the cards contained in your pile of cards that are facing up. You keep doing this until one of you gets rid of all their cards. You are the first you win!

4 Player Spades

Description: This is a game for four people. It requires skill, cunning, and teamwork. You also need a piece of paper and a pencil. A round table is the best for this game.

Terminology: Book-one round of playing. Cut- when you use a spade to win a book. Renig- When you claim to not have the suit that is being played that round but you do.

How to play: You must first assign teams of two. Each team member must be sitting opposite of each other and cannot sit next to each other. On your piece of paper, you must write the team names and a T-Chart. Once that is done you take your full deck of cards and take out the 2 of ♥ and the 2 of ♦. Then shuffle the deck well. Distribute the cards amongst all the players starting to your left. You can look at your cards but can’t share them with anyone, even your teammate. Before I continue I must clarify that in order to win you need to put your highest card down. The card order from highest to lowest is, Colored Joker, Black and white Joker, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, etc. Also you must know that spades or ♠ cards are special because they can win any round in special situations. Before you begin you bet the amount of books you think you might win based on what cards you have. So if you have an Ace you know you can win one round. If you have a Queen you might win one round because there are two other cards that are of higher value that can be played. If you have a 4 that card is basically useless and is considered trash. You and your teammate put together how many books you think you can win then put it on the sheet of paper. The minimum you can bet is four. If you bet say 5 books that is 50 points and so on. If you can’t meet the amount of books you bet, you subtract the points from your score. If you bet 6 books but only got 5 you subtract 60 from your score, even if your score is zero. Negative amount of points is allowed. The first to 250 points wins. Also the suit that the first player puts down is the only suit that can be played that round. If you are certain that you don’t have any cards of that suit, you can cut the book using a ♠ and win that book. Generally, you use lower end spades to cut a book. Jokers are considered spades.

Pericó

Description: This word means parrot in Spanish. You pronounce it like so, purr-ee-ko. This game requires almost nothing at all just keen observation.

How to play: Take out one joker from the full deck of cards then shuffle them. Distribute amongst the players. Once everyone has their cards then take out all the pairs of cards you get. Pu them face up on the table. Suit and color don’t matter, only the number and letter. Once that is done, be careful not to show your cards to anyone. The object of the game is not to be left with the Joker. Now what you do is you hold the cards up without showing them to anyone and with the faces towards you let the player to the next of you get one card. If that card makes a match you set it to the side. You keep doing this until one of you is left with the Joker. Try to keep a poker face in order not to give away where the joker is.

Spoons

Description: Super-fast game that requires you to pay attention to your cards and your surroundings at the same time. This game is a lot like musical chairs.

How to play. Get any object that is safe to grab quickly like spoons or water bottle caps, and set one less object than the total amount of players. If you have 6 players, you put 5 objects in the middle of the table etc. Now you shuffle a deck or two decks depending on how big the group is, and take out the Jokers. Now distribute 4 cards to everyone. You may look at them but don’t let anyone else look at them. The object of the game is to get 4 of a kind. Suit and color don’t matter only The number or letter. So if you have two 6s then you try to get another two 6s. Ok now with the deck cards that are left the first player takes one and gives one card to the player next to him. Now that player either keeps the card or gives that card to the person next to him. Each player gives their card of choice to the player next to them. You may only have 4 cards at a time. When you get 4 of the same kind of card you take one of the objects in the middle, discreetly. When that happens everyone else also has to get one of the objects as fast as they can. Whoever doesn’t get one is left out. You keep doing this until there is only one player left.

I hope you enjoy these games as much as I do.