Kids are all about technology and their whiz- bang gadgets these days (am I showing my age by using whiz-bang??). Have you noticed a trend though that old school fun is becoming new again and card games for kids are making a comeback in a huge way. In our house playing card games is a Sunday night ritual where we turn off the television, get off the phones and play some rounds of cards and let me assure you the competition fierce. Its a great way to reconnect with your kids and just have some simple, good fun. 

Here is your guide to the most popular card games for kids that they will love. This list was compiled by reviewing the highest rated feedback/purchase volume on multiple larger online stores both in Australia and the USA. 

The Mind

Ages: 8+ - Players: two to four

This game will test your problem-solving skills with a dash of luck. The deck has 100 cards numbered one to one hundred. Your mission is to get through 12, 10 or 8 levels having two, three or four players.

You will receive the number of cards according to the level you are on. One by one, you place these cards in a discard pile at the centre of the table from smallest to largest. No talking allowed though! You need to call each other’s bluff and this makes the game all the more fun. When you feel like it’s time to strike, you place down your lowest card. If no one has a smaller card than you, keep going! If someone does, unfortunately, everyone has to give up all their cards that are lower than what you put down. By the way, you also lose a life.

Everyone starts with the same amount of lives as the level you are all playing. Everyone also starts with a shuriken. Play this when you want everyone to reveal and discard their lowest card. If you play this game smart and you have luck on your side, you will win!

Exploding Kittens

Ages: 7+ - Players: two to five

What do kittens, magical enchiladas and weaponised back hair all have in common? They are all part of this very cool card game, Exploding Kittens. This card game is a favourite in our house and often get played when friends come around for a play.

The rules are simple, the players pick a card until someone picks up the exploding kitten. This can then go two ways. You either die a very swift death and get eliminated or you’ve picked up a useful card along the way that you can use. The diffuser card allows you to be able to deactivate the exploding cat by laser pointing and belly rubs.

The action cards are where things get really fun. You can skip your turn by playing the portable cheetah butt card…yes, you read that right. You can also attack others by using your thousand-year-old back hair card. That was not a typo either. This kitty version of Russian Roulette is fun and cruel all at the same time, ensuring hours of fun.

Fun fact, Exploding Kittens became the most backed game in Kickstarter history!

Star Wars Party Game

Ages: 12+ - Players: two to eight

Outwit, outlast and outplay! No, it is not Survivor, it’s the Star Wars Party Game! This card game for kids is a battle to be the last one standing. There will be plenty of laughter about the cards themselves. You will face danger; your action will have consequences and of course, there will be plenty of jokes. There will be Escape cards to help you progress in your journey and you want to stay away from the Nooo! cards. May the force be with you in this great card game.

 

Unstable Unicorns (Note: Also has Dragons Expansion Pack)

Ages: 14+ - Players: two to eight

The front of the box sums up the game. “Build a Unicorn Army. Betray your friends. Unicorns are your friends now.” Don’t be fooled though by how simple this all sounds. Friendships will be tested in this card game all about destruction and unicorns. You start the game with your own baby unicorn. Your mission is to grow your Unicorn Army as quickly as you can. There are over 20 magical unicorns to collect as well! Your job, other than protecting your stable of unicorns, is to seek revenge by using your Magic. Be aware when another player pulls out the Neigh card as it will send the game into utter chaos! Play this wonderful card game to see if you are The Righteous Ruler.

 

The expansion pack adds another layer of fun to the unicorn battle. It adds dragons, magic and brand-new unicorns into the mix. The expansion pack is definitely worth it if you enjoyed the original.

Sleeping Queens

Ages: 8+ - Players: two to five

Another go-to game in our house and we play all the time, it so much fun and can really go on for some time. Twelve Queens have fallen asleep because they are under a spell and can only be woken by a King. No, it’s not that easy! The Queens can go right back to sleep if the sleeping potion card is played. The potion can be broken by a wand that casts a spell but a Knight can ruin that happily ever after. There are dragons and the Jester to keep the fun rolling on as well. Sleeping Queens will take strategy, quick thinking, and a little luck.

As you make your way through the game, you will be developing your memory, problem-solving and math skills. The great thing is you won’t even know with all the fun that you will be having,

This is a game for kids made by a kid, literally. Miranda Evarts was six years old when she thought of this game one night when she couldn’t sleep. With the support of her family, they got working in creating the game the next day.

Flags of the World Game

Ages: 8+ - Players: two to six

The aim of this game is clear. Identify and learn about all the flags of the world. It’s a fun and educational game that will create great conversation and is an excellent memory game. You will learn all the interesting facts about different countries. The game has 200 cards and a world map. A game with education and fun is sure to always be a winning combination.

Organ Attack

Ages: 8+ - Players: two to six

Organ Attack is a lot of fun but can also get very awkward and a little gross. You will battle your friends and families to steal all their organs before they steal yours. The last person standing with one organ is the winner! You use related diseases to take out other players organs. Now, you may think you need a medical background for this game but you don’t need any at all. After one round, you will easily get the hang of this game.

A word of caution though. This game might not be for people who might be sensitive to talking about medical conditions.

 Bears V's Babies

Ages: 10+ - Players: two to five

I want to own this game just for the case it comes in.  Bears V's Babies is brought to you by the clever people behind Exploding Kittens. This card game is just as zany and fun. Your aim is to build amazing monsters who then go to war with horrifying babies. The deck of cards has a mixture of monster parts and baby cards. The aim is to draw as many monster parts as you can so that you can build your beautiful monster. If you draw a baby card from the deck, its placed in the center of the table. When the babies get angry enough, they will attack! You better hope that you have built a pretty good monster to defeat the army of these horrible babies!

You've got crabs

Ages: 7+ - Players: four to ten

This card game will be hours of guaranteed laughter. You have to pick a partner and split the group up into teams of two. Every pair then goes away and figures out a signal that you both agree on like rubbing your eye. Everyone will then sit across from each other and takes turns drawing crab cards. If you get four of the same cards, you have crabs! Let your partner know you have crabs by using the secret signal you and your partner agreed on in private. If your partner picks up on your signal and yells “you’ve got crabs!” before anyone else does you get points. If an opponent notices and yells “you’ve got crabs” then you lose points. Points come in the form of crabs and the team that ends up with the most crabs wins the game. It will take a couple of rounds to get the hang of the game. The game will move through the motions and competition will become intense when you do.

If you are in the market for a really fun and fast-paced game then You’ve got Crabs is perfect!

Skip.Bo

Ages: 7+ - Players: two to six

The objective of the game is to get rid of all the cards in your stock pile. Each player gets thirty cards and the card at the top of your pile is face up. There are four building piles at the centre of the table that start at one and pile up in ascending order to twelve. A Skip Bo card can be played like a wild card and can be put down in place for any number. When a building pile reaches twelve, the pile is reshuffled and put back into the centre stock pile.

It’s a fast-paced game that will take a couple of rounds for everyone to build up their understanding and pace. Rest assured though that when you do, this will become a huge favourite not only for kids but for the whole family!Each player has their own four discard piles. You can place cards on here in any order and a card is placed there at the end of your turn. The youngest player will go first and everybody will get 5 cards from their stockpile to start play. As soon as you play your five cards, draw another five. At the end of your turn when you can’t or don’t want to continue play, you put down one card in one of your four discard piles. The winner gets 25 points and an additional 5 points for every card in everyone else’s stockpile. The first person to get to 500 points wins.