10 Fun Card Games for Kids

My children love to play games – board games, outside games, card games, anything!

We’ve been fortunate to stumble upon several tried-and-true card games that we play frequently.

Occasionally, we take a morning off from school and just play card games.  Or my kiddos and my husband might play a few hands on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Card games are a neat way to teach kids strategy and skill, all while spending some much needed time together.

With the Christmas Season upon us, I’m purchasing a few card games for nieces, nephews, and family friends.  They make the perfect clutter-free gift!

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We have several favorite card games here at the Hill House, and I’d love to share them with you!

While most of these games are for Kindergarten(ish) and up, I still always include my youngest kiddos by letting them hold my cards, draw from the deck, or lay down a hand.

But don’t skim too fast, because there are a few for the Preschool crowd in the mix also.

Have fun playing card games with your own kiddos!

Phase 10

Phase 10 is a family favorite!  Many rainy Saturday afternoons have been spent playing this card game!

This is a rummy-style game with 10 phases, where each player tries to be the first to complete the phase.

Skip-Bo

Skip-Bo is a fun way to practice number order, while building a sequential stack of cards.

What fun to be the first player to get rid of their card stockpile!

Skip-Bo Junior

Skip-Bo also comes in a Junior version!

I often use Skip-Bo Junior during our math lessons, since there is nothing better than math teaching using hands-on methods!

Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks Card Game

Oh we are SUCH fans of Richard Scarry!  We have the majority of the Richard Scarry books, as well as the super fun Busytown Eye Found It! Game.

This Cars and Trucks game is very similar to the card game War, but with those Richard Scarry characters we love.

This game also has a neat twist on very basic addition.

It’s perfect for the Late Preschool/Kindergarten crowd!

UNO

Everyone knows and loves UNO!

It is my 8-year-old’s mission in life to lay down a skip and a reverse on each of her opponents!  She’s fierce!

UNO is a super fun way to teach number and color recognition and the all important strategy. 🙂

Spot It!

Spot It! is an interesting I Spy-type game.  There is one – and only 1! – similarity between each playing card.

This is a great game for even the preschool crowd!

Spot It! is from the same makers as Double Shutter – another favorite here in the Hill House!  A great game to practice math facts.

Spot It! also comes in a few other versions:

→ Spot It! Numbers and Shapes

→ Spot It! Alphabet

→ Spot It! Junior Animals

→ Spot It! Sports

→ Spot It! Holidays

→ Spot It! Disney Frozen

→ Spot It! Basic English (great for young readers!)

I Spy Snap

I Spy Snap is another game that all of your children can enjoy since it doesn’t involve reading.

My 4 year old loves it when she beats us all and finds the matching objects first!

We especially love this card game since the images come straight from Jean Marzollo’s I Spy books, of which we are enormous fans!

♥♥♥  Note: I have not yet played the following card games.  They’re on our Christmas List!  I’ll update this post once I play them with my children.

Five Crowns

Five Crowns is a mix of rummy and Phase 10.

It’s unique in that it features 5 suits: diamonds, spades, hearts, clubs, and stars.

There is also a wild card that changes each hand, depending upon how many cards are dealt in the round.

Monopoly Deal

I might only be able to play Monopoly Deal with my older two kiddos at first  – ages 8 and 10 – since the recommendation is ages 8 and up.

This game gets excellent reviews, and I love that it’s played in a quick 15-20 minutes!

Smack It!

Smack It! sounds like a fun twist of War meets Slap Jack, which I played over and over as a child.

This will be a great game to work on number recognition!

What are your favorite card games for kids?

Lauren Hill

Lauren Hill is a Christian mom to 5, ages 19 to 7. She homeschools her children in the classical education tradition and is currently in her 15th year of homeschool. She creates engaging worksheets and hands-on printable activities for Preschool and Elementary age children to supplement their daily studies.

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