Family Night

2 to 4

Standard 52 cards

To discard all of your cards.

Choose a dealer.

In a two-player game, each player is dealt seven cards. In a game with three or four players, each player is dealt five cards.

The remaining cards are placed face down in the center of the table, forming a draw pile. The top card of the draw pile is turned face up to start the discard pile.

The player to the left of the dealer goes first. Play moves clockwise.

On a turn, each player adds to the discard pile by playing one card that matches the top card on the discard pile either by suit or by rank (i.e. 6, jack, ace, etc.).

A player who cannot match the top card on the discard pile by suit or rank must draw cards until he can play one. It is allowed to pull cards from the draw pile even if you already have a legal play. When the draw pile is empty, a player who cannot add to the discard pile passes his turn.

All eights are wild and can be played on any card during a player’s turn. When a player discards an eight, he chooses which suit is now in play. The next player must play either a card of that suit or another eight.

The first player to discard all of his cards wins.

With four players, it is possible to play partnership. If you do this, the game ends when both members of a partnership discard all their cards.

To play multiple games, add up the cards remaining in the losers’ hands and give the points to the winner: 10 points for each face card, 1 point for each ace, 50 points for each eight, and the face value for the other number cards. Play to a set number, such as 150 or 200.

2 to 6 players, best with 3 to 6.

Standard 52 cards

To collect the most sets of four.

Five cards are dealt to each player if three to six players are involved. With only two players, seven cards are dealt to each.

All remaining cards are placed face down in a draw pile.

Randomly choose a player to go first.

On your turn, ask a player for a specific card rank. For example: “Barb, please give me your 9s.” You must already hold at least one card of the requested rank.

If the player you ask has any cards of the requested rank, she must give all of her cards of that rank to you. In the example, Barb would have to give you all of her 9s.

If you get one or more cards from the player you ask, you get another turn. You may ask any player for any rank you already hold, including the same one you just asked for.

If the person you ask has no relevant cards, they say, “Go fish.” You then draw the top card from the draw pile.

If you happen to draw a card of the rank asked for, show it to the other players and you get another turn. However, if you draw a card that’s not the rank you asked for, it becomes the next player’s turn. You keep the drawn card, whatever rank it is.

NOTE: The “next player” is the one who said “Go fish.”

When you collect a set of four cards of the same rank, immediately show the set to the other players and place the four cards face down in front of yourself.

Go Fish continues until either someone has no cards left in their hand or the draw pile runs out. The winner is the player who then has the most sets of four.

2 to 8 players

Standard 52 cards

To avoid being the player who ends the game holding the Old Maid.

Remove three of the queens from the deck. The remaining queen is the Old Maid.

(Alternatively, remove just one queen from the deck. The remaining queen of that same color is the Old Maid.)

Choose a dealer.

Deal the cards as evenly as possible among the group. It’s acceptable for some players to have more cards than other players.

Players sort their cards and discard any pairs. (If a player has three of a kind, he discards two of the cards and keeps the third).

The dealer then offers his hand, face down, to the player on his left. That player randomly takes one card from the dealer. If the card matches one he already has in his hand, he puts the pair down. If not, he keeps it.

Play proceeds clockwise, so the player to the left of the dealer then offers his hand, face down, to the player on his left. This cycle repeats until there are no more pairs and the only remaining card is the Old Maid.

The game ends when the Old Maid is the only card in play. The person holding the Old Maid loses.

3 to 13 players. Best with 6 to 13 players.

Standard 52 cards
Note: To play the Spoons version, you also need one spoon for each player except one. EXAMPLE: With 8 players, you need 7 spoons. For Pig and Tongue, no extra equipment is needed.

To be the first to collect four cards of the same rank. If an opponent beats you to that goal, to not be the last to realize it.

For each player in the game, you need four cards of the same rank from the deck. For example, with 5 players you could use the Aces, 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s.

Shuffle the cards and deal them to the players. Each player will have four cards.

If you’re playing Spoons, put the spoons in the middle of the table so that every player can reach them.

Players simultaneously choose one card from their hands, pass that card to the opponent on their left, and pick up the card they’ve received from the opponent on their right. Each player can never have more than four cards in his hand, so it’s illegal for a player to pick up a new card before passing one to the left.

When a player collects four of a kind, he does one of the following actions, depending on which version of the game is being played:

* Spoons: As subtly as possible, take a spoon and place it in front of yourself.
* Pig: Quietly place a finger on the tip of your nose.
* Tongue: Quietly, but visibly, stick out your tongue.

When one player does this, every other player must do likewise as quickly as possible. The last player to grab a spoon, touch his nose, or stick out his tongue is the loser.

OPTIONAL: While playing Spoons or Tongue, players who either take a spoon or stick out their tongue can continue to pick up and pass cards, making it more difficult for other players to realize what has happened. (The player who actually collected four cards of the same rank must always pass the card they just picked up, because passing any other card would break up their four-of-a-kind.) This option is not available when playing Pig, since one of your hands will be occupied with touching your nose.

The last player to grab a spoon, touch his nose, or stick out his tongue is the loser and is eliminated from the game. Remove a set of four cards from the deck and play another round.

OPTIONAL: Each player has three lives. The last player to grab a spoon, touch his nose, or stick out his tongue is the loser and loses a life. When a player loses all three of his lives (which can be represented by the letters P-I-G), he’s eliminated from the game. Remove a set of four cards from the deck and play another round.

The final two players in the game are co-winners.