Instructions for Card and Dice Games for Families

Chase the Ace

• 1

  Gather a group of two or more players around a table, remove the jokers from the deck of cards and shuffle thoroughly.

• 2

  Deal one card face down to each player. The goal of the game is to not be the player with the lowest card at the end of the game, an ace being the lowest card and a king being the highest.

• 3

  Decide how many lives each player will have. Normally you will begin a game with three or four lives, but you may decide to start with fewer or more lives depending on how long you would like the game to last. Each player begins with the same number of lives.

• 4

  Start with the player to the left of the dealer. He may either keep the card he already has or blindly switch his card with the player to his left. If he chooses to switch cards, the other player must switch unless she has a king, in which case she may keep her card.

• 5

  Allow each player to take a turn in the same way. The dealer goes last. When it's the dealer's turn, he may either keep his card or blindly switch it with a card from the deck. If the dealer decides to exchange his card with one from the deck and he draws a king, he must return the king and keep his original card.

• 6

  Have everyone show their card once each player has taken a turn. The player with the lowest card loses a life. If multiple players have the same lowest card, they each lose a life.

• 7

  Reshuffle all the cards and play another round. The player with the lowest card at the end of the round loses a life. Continue to play until one player has lost all of his lives and is out of the game. The remaining players may continue to play until only one player remains and is declared the winner.

Three or More

• 8

  Gather two or more players around a table. Determine who will keep score and give that person a paper and pen.

• 9

  Have each player take a turn rolling a die. Whoever gets the highest roll will go first.

• 10

  Give the first player five dice and have him roll all the dice at once. If he gets three of a kind, he gets three points. If he gets four of a kind, he gets six points. If he gets five of a kind, he gets twelve points. If he gets two of a kind, he gets zero points but may roll once more. If he gets two of a kind on his second roll, his points remain at zero and his turn is over.

• 11

  Pass the dice to the next player and have him roll the dice to continue the game.

• 12

  Play five rounds of the game so each player has five turns. You may play fewer or more rounds as long as you determine the number before you begin. Whoever accumulates the most points at the end of the game is the winner.