Hobbies And Interests
Pig
Pig is a fun family game that will get the whole crowd laughing. Take four of a kind out of a standard deck for each player in the game. For example, if you were playing with three players, take out the threes, aces, and queens. Set the rest of the deck aside. Shuffle the cards and deal to all players at the table. The object of the game is to collect four of a kind. When all players are ready, each player passes a card they do not want to their left. This can be done on cue (try "one, two, three, PASS") to help players stay on task. When a player gets four of a kind, he must quietly put his finger on his nose. When the other players notice, they must place their finger on their nose also. The last person to place a finger on his nose is the loser and will recieve a "P." The loser of the game is the person who receives all three letters, "P," "I," and "G."
Sequence
This is a great beginner card game to introduce children to all the suits and cards in a deck. Cards are ranked in order from two to Ace, and cards of the same suit (hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs) make up a sequence. Begin by dealing the entire deck to the players at the table. The player to the left of the dealer places his lowest card on the table, face up. The player with the next card in the sequence plays next and so on until the entire sequence, two to Ace, has been played. The player to the left of the player who played the last card starts the next sequence and so on. The winner is the player who plays all of his cards first.
Slapjack
Perhaps the simplest of all kid's card games, slapjack is appropriate for even the youngest card players. Deal the entire deck out to all players at the table. Players keep their cards face down on the table and on cue, flip the first card in their stack face up in the middle of the table. The players continue to flip cards until a Jack is played. When a Jack is played, players must scramble to be the first to slap their hand onto the stack of cards. The person who slaps first is the winner and places the entire stack underneath his own stack. Play continues until only one player is left with cards.
My Boat Docks
This game is more fun when played at very high speed, but can be slowed down to accommodate very young beginner players. Each player is dealt seven cards, and the rest of deck can be set aside. The object of the game is to collect seven cards from the same suit. Players decide in their heads which suit they would like to collect, but this can change as the game progresses. On cue, players slide an unwanted card to the player on their right. This is best done in a rhythm with all players discarding, sliding and picking up at the same time. Do not allow a lot of time after sliding to decide which card to get rid of, and begin the slide process again. The play continues until one player shouts "My boat docks," meaning they have collected seven cards of the same suit.