A deck of cards

• Social deception

  Cheat

  best bit: calling “Cheat!” and flipping over four very confident lies

  Play cards face down and say what they are, true or not. Get caught lying and you pick up the whole pile.

  3–10 people · 15–30 min · cards · learn in a minute

• Outsmart

  Crazy Eights

  best bit: playing an eight and naming the one suit they don't have

  Match the top card by suit or number to empty your hand. Eights are wild and change the suit.

  2–7 people · 10–30 min · cards · learn in seconds

• Outsmart · from Russia

  Durak

  best bit: piling attack after attack on the same poor defender

  Throw cards at your neighbor that they have to beat. There's no winner, just one fool left holding cards.

  2–6 people · 20–40 min · cards · learn in a few minutes

• Fast hands

  Egyptian Ratscrew

  best bit: every hand at the table slamming down on a pair of 8s

  Take turns flipping cards onto a pile. Spot a pair and slap it first to win the whole stack.

  2–6 people · 15–30 min · cards · learn in a few minutes

• Outsmart

  Euchre

  best bit: slamming down the right bower to steal the last trick

  Partners race to win three of five tricks, where two jacks become the most powerful cards in the deck.

  4 people · 30–60 min · cards · learn in a few minutes

• Outsmart

  Gin Rummy

  best bit: calling gin when they were one card away

  Draw and discard to build sets and runs. Knock when your leftover cards add up to 10 or less.

  2 people · 20–45 min · cards · learn in a few minutes

• Outsmart

  Golf

  best bit: flipping your last card and finding the king you prayed for

  Swap cards to build the lowest-scoring grid of six. Lowest total after nine rounds, or holes, wins.

  2–6 people · 20–40 min · cards · learn in a minute

• Outsmart

  Hearts

  best bit: dumping the queen of spades on your friend with a smile

  Avoid winning tricks with hearts in them, and steer clear of the queen of spades. Lowest score wins.

  4 people · 30–60 min · cards · learn in a few minutes

• Social deception

  Kemps

  best bit: a very suspicious amount of eyebrow scratching

  Get four of a kind, then secretly signal your partner so they can call it before the other team catches on.

  4–8 people · 20–40 min · cards · learn in a minute

• Crack the rule

  Mao

  best bit: a penalty card for “talking”, with no further explanation

  Nobody explains the rules. Break one and you get a penalty card. Work them out before your hand gets huge.

  4–8 people · 20–60 min · cards · learn in a few minutes

• Fast hands

  Nertz

  best bit: four hands diving for the same pile with the same 6 of hearts

  Everyone plays speed solitaire at once, with shared piles in the middle. Empty your stack and yell “Nertz!”

  2–6 people · 20–40 min · cards · learn in a few minutes

• Outsmart

  Oh Hell

  best bit: desperately trying to lose a trick you never wanted to win

  Bid the exact number of tricks you'll take. One too many is as bad as one too few.

  3–7 people · 30–60 min · cards · learn in a minute

• Outsmart

  President

  best bit: Scum handing over their two best cards through gritted teeth

  Beat each play to get rid of your cards first. Finish first and you're President, last and you're Scum.

  4–8 people · 20–45 min · cards · learn in a minute

• Outsmart · from Italy

  Scopa

  best bit: slapping down a king to sweep the whole table

  Capture table cards that match your card or add up to it. Sweep the whole table clean and shout “Scopa!”

  2 people · 20–40 min · cards · learn in a few minutes

• Outsmart

  Spades

  best bit: your partner bidding nil and somehow pulling it off

  Partners bid how many tricks they'll win, and spades beat every other suit. Make your bid to score.

  4 people · 45–90 min · cards · learn in a few minutes

• Fast hands

  Speed

  best bit: both of you slamming a 7 on the same 8 at the same instant

  Two players race to play cards one higher or one lower onto the middle piles. No turns, just speed.

  2 people · 5–10 min · cards · learn in a minute

• Fast hands

  Spoons

  best bit: looking up to find every spoon is already gone

  Pass cards around the table fast. Get four of a kind, grab a spoon, and don’t be the one left without.

  3–13 people · 15–30 min · cards · learn in a minute

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