1. UNO
Uno seats 2 to 10 players, which makes it the easiest answer for a big table. Everyone gets 7 cards and matches the top card by color, number, or symbol, and action cards like Skip, Reverse, and Wild Draw 4 keep anyone from running away with it. Nobody needs to know the rules going in, since they fit in a sentence. A round takes 15 to 30 minutes, and new players can join between rounds.
2. Phase 10
Phase 10 takes 2 to 6 players, and it gives a group a shared goal to talk about: everyone works through the same ten phases in order, like two sets of 3 or a run of 7. Each player gets 10 cards and draws and discards one a turn. Because players fall behind on different phases, the lead changes often and nobody is out of it early. A full game runs 60 to 90 minutes.
How to play Phase 10; phase 10 score sheet; printable rules.
3. Spoons
Spoons plays 3 to 13 people with one deck and a handful of spoons, one fewer than the number of players. Everyone passes a card to the left, over and over, trying to collect four of a kind. The moment someone does, they quietly take a spoon, and everyone else grabs. Whoever comes up empty takes a letter, and S-P-O-O-N puts you out. Rounds last a minute or two, it needs no scoring, and it is the one card game here where people end up on the floor.
4. BS (Cheat)
BS (also called Cheat) deals the whole deck out, so it seats as many as you like, and a second deck helps past five. Players lay cards face down in order, aces, then 2s, then 3s, and say what they are. Sometimes they are lying. Anyone can call BS, and whoever is wrong picks up the whole pile. The first to empty their hand wins. It rewards memory and nerve more than luck, and a game takes 15 to 30 minutes.
5. Hand and Foot
Hand and Foot is the group game people plan whole evenings around. It is a Canasta-style game for teams, usually four players in two partnerships, and it stretches to six. Each player gets two piles of cards, a hand to play first and a foot to play after, and teams build seven-card books worth 500 clean or 300 dirty. You need 5 or 6 decks with jokers, and four rounds take 2 to 3 hours.
How to play Hand and Foot; hand and foot score sheet; printable rules.
6. Spades
Spades is the partnership trick-taking game for exactly four players in two teams. Everyone gets 13 cards, bids how many tricks they expect to win, and spades are always trump. Your team scores 10 points per trick bid if you make it, but extra tricks (bags) add up, and 10 bags cost you 100. The table talk about bids is half the fun. A game to 500 runs 45 to 90 minutes.
How to play Spades; spades score calculator; printable rules.
7. Hearts
Hearts is best with four but plays with 3 to 6. Each player gets 13 cards with four players, passes 3 cards before play, and tries to avoid taking hearts (1 point each) and the queen of spades (13 points). The lowest score wins when someone passes 100. Unlike Spades, everyone plays for themselves, so it works for a group that doesn't want to pick teams. A game takes 30 to 60 minutes.
8. Euchre
Euchre is the fast Midwestern partnership game: four players, two teams, and a 24-card deck of 9s through aces. Each player gets 5 cards, a turned-up card starts the trump decision, and the two jacks of the trump color become the highest cards. The team that names trump needs 3 of the 5 tricks. Hands are quick, and a game to 10 takes 20 to 40 minutes, so groups often run a small tournament.
9. 31 (Scat)
31, also called Scat, gives everyone three cards and three lives, usually three coins. You draw and discard one card a turn, aiming for the highest total in one suit, with 31 the best hand. When someone knocks, everyone else gets one more turn and the lowest hand loses a life. It plays 2 to 9 and is best with 4 to 7, each hand takes a couple of minutes, and the last player with a coin left wins the pot.
10. Crazy Eights
Crazy Eights plays 2 to 8, with two decks shuffled together once you have 6 or more. Deal 5 cards each, match the top card by suit or rank, and play an 8 to name a new suit. It is Uno with a regular deck, so it is the game to reach for when someone forgot the Uno cards. A game takes 15 to 30 minutes, and kids from about 6 can keep up with adults.
11. Skip-Bo
Skip-Bo seats 2 to 6, and with 4 or 6 players you can play in partnerships where teammates use each other's piles. Each player gets a stockpile (30 cards with up to 4 players, 20 with 5 or 6) and races to play it out onto shared building piles that run from 1 to 12. Everyone builds on the same piles, so every play helps or blocks someone. Plan on 30 to 60 minutes.
12. Go Fish
Go Fish plays 2 to 6, and with 4 or more players each person gets 5 cards. On your turn you ask one player for a rank you hold, and a wrong guess sends you to the pond. More players means more asking and more chances to remember who holds what, which is the whole game. A round takes 10 to 20 minutes, and it is the easiest pick when young kids are at the table.
13. Rummy
Rummy takes 2 to 6 players, dealing 7 cards each for 3 or 4 and 6 each for 5 or 6. You draw, lay down sets and runs, add to melds already on the table, and discard one card. The player who goes out scores the cards left in everyone else's hands. It is best with 2 to 4, but it holds up with a bigger group, and many families switch to Rummy 500 when the table fills up.
14. Canasta
Canasta is a four-player partnership game at heart. Each player gets 11 cards from two decks plus four jokers, and partners share their melds. You can take the whole discard pile when you can meld its top card, 2s and jokers are wild, and a meld of seven is a canasta. Your side needs at least one canasta to go out. A game to 5,000 takes 1.5 to 2 hours.
15. Pinochle
Partnership pinochle is for four players in two teams with a 48-card pinochle deck, 12 cards each. Players bid for the right to name trump, starting at 250, partners pass four cards each way, and teams score meld plus trick points. If the bidding team falls short, it loses the bid amount. A game to 1,500 takes 1 to 1.5 hours, and it rewards groups that play it every week.
How many players each game seats
Some group games are fixed at four, and some stretch. Spades, Euchre, and partnership Canasta and Pinochle are built for exactly four in two teams. If you have five or more, pick from the flexible games in the table below.
| Game | Players | Teams? | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uno | 2–10 | No | 15–30 min per round |
| Phase 10 | 2–6 | No | 60–90 min |
| Hand and Foot | 4 (2–6+ variants) | Yes | 2–3 hours |
| Spades | 4 | Yes | 45–90 min |
| Hearts | 4 (3–6 variants) | No | 30–60 min |
| Euchre | 4 | Yes | 20–40 min |
| Crazy Eights | 2–8 | No | 15–30 min |
| Skip-Bo | 2–6 | Optional with 4 or 6 | 30–60 min |
| Go Fish | 2–6 | No | 10–20 min |
| Rummy | 2–6 | No | 30–60 min |
| Canasta | 4 | Yes | 1.5–2 hours |
| Pinochle | 4 | Yes | 1–1.5 hours |
| Spoons | 3–13 | No | 15–30 min |
| BS (Cheat) | 3–10 | No | 15–30 min |
| 31 (Scat) | 2–9 | No | 15–30 min |
Picking the right game for your group
For a party where people come and go, choose a game with short rounds and no teams, like Uno or Crazy Eights. For a planned game night with two couples, a partnership game such as Spades, Euchre, or Hand and Foot gives everyone a partner to talk strategy with between hands.
Check your cards before people arrive. Hand and Foot needs 5 or 6 decks, Crazy Eights needs a second deck for 6 or more, Euchre uses only the 9s through aces from one deck, and Uno, Phase 10, and Skip-Bo each need their own boxed deck.
Questions people ask
- What card games can you play with a large group?
- Uno is the easiest large-group card game, since it seats 2 to 10 players. Crazy Eights plays up to 8 with two regular decks shuffled together. Phase 10, Skip-Bo, Go Fish, and rummy all take up to 6. Hand and Foot is usually played by four in two teams but stretches to six with extra decks. For more than 10, split into two tables.
- What is a good card game for 4 players?
- Spades and Euchre are the classic four-player games, both played as two teams of two. Spades uses the full deck and runs 45 to 90 minutes to 500 points, while Euchre uses 24 cards and a game to 10 takes 20 to 40 minutes. If you would rather everyone play for themselves, Hearts is built for four and takes 30 to 60 minutes.
- What card game can 6 people play?
- Uno, Phase 10, Skip-Bo, Go Fish, rummy, and Crazy Eights all handle 6 players. Skip-Bo lets six play in three partnerships, with 20-card stockpiles each. Rummy deals 6 cards each at that size. Crazy Eights needs two decks shuffled together once you reach 6. Hand and Foot also stretches to six with extra decks, and Hearts has a variant for six.
- How many decks do you need for Hand and Foot?
- Use 5 or 6 standard decks with the jokers left in for four players. One version on pagat.com uses one more deck than the number of players. Shuffle them together in several stacks, since that many cards are hard to shuffle at once. Each player gets two piles, the hand and the foot, of 11 cards each in the common US version.
- What is the difference between Spades and Hearts?
- In Spades you want to win tricks, and in Hearts you want to avoid them. Spades is played in two teams of two, everyone bids a number of tricks, and spades are always trump. Hearts has no trump and no partners: each heart you take costs 1 point and the queen of spades costs 13, and the lowest score wins when someone reaches 100.
- What card games work for 4 players with kids?
- Uno, Go Fish, and Crazy Eights are the easiest, and kids from about 6 or 7 can play them as equals. Skip-Bo and Phase 10 work from about age 7 and give older kids more to plan. Go Fish deals 5 cards each with four players. Save the partnership trick games like Spades and Euchre for when kids are 10 or older.