Hosting a game night for your friends and/or family becomes more nuanced the older you get. In a world where there are so many ways to throw a party, not a lot of young people want to spend it at their own or someone else’s home. And yet, that is exactly how adults have fun. They have people over and organize a game to pass the time while socializing. Throw in some drinks and food and you have the perfect night of rewinding and having fun. Of course, the most important thing to think about is the actual game you pick. Despite the huge popularity of board games these days, it is card games that adults tend to pick.
In general, card games is too broad of a term as it encompasses any and all activity that makes use of printed and decorated cardboard cutouts with a certain mechanic. There are hundreds of them, if not more, and what we really need to do in order to explore them is group them into a few different groups. In this article, we talk only about those that grown-ups would find fun, the best card games from the past as well as some modern classics. Read on to learn more about this especially if you like hosting people at your place and need new ideas for any group size.
First and foremost, we have the good old gambling games that have been around for centuries. Some of these are so popular and well-known around the world that they are synonymous with cards themselves. For example, a game like poker is so iconic it has its own industry. Online gambling on websites like Stake.com is dominated by live poker rooks as well as modern takes that combine other gameplay elements and offer novelty ideas and features. Of course, other casino staples are all a possible choice even if you have a smaller group. Blackjack and baccarat are almost as popular as poker on internet platforms and you can easily host a gaming night with either of them, or all three combined.
Out of the three, it is poker that has the highest skill ceiling. Baccarat and blackjack have elements where you play against the banker and the dealer and the players can team up in a way to come out on top. In poker, it is every man for himself. Therefore, not everyone will be able to play it. Unless you have some enthusiasts in your group, it can only be a night of harmless fun without a lot of serious gambling. On the other hand, if your circle of friends includes some poker masters, it could be a card game session for the ages. Alternatively, you can organize an online gambling night where you log into a casino and play from the comfort of your home at a live table. This gives you the chance to socialize with your friends over the internet and play poker and never leave your home. Live tables are very popular nowadays as they combine the best elements of two different types of gambling.
If you are not a fan of the old-fashioned games that have been around for so long and want to go more modern instead, worry not. Modern games that have been made easy and for nothing more than fun are still a good option. Their main goal is to make you laugh, think of silly stories, or utilize gameplay elements that are not present in any other type of game. So let us explore this market and see what you can do in terms of 3-player card games, 2-player card games, etc.
One of the most popular games right now, card or otherwise, is Uno. It hardly needs introduction on the global scale but new players should still know the rules. The colorful cards are split into 4 colors, each with numbers and numerous symbols. The goal is to get rid of all the cards from your hand. You have to yell UNO when you have one card remaining, else you must draw a card if someone notices you. The way you play is quite simple but there is a lot that can go wrong. You can stack the card according to color or symbol, so if there is a yellow 2, you can either throw a red, blue, or green 2, or any yellow card. Easy enough.
Where it gets fun is with the super cards that change some aspect of the game. There is one that changes the direction of who plays next, there is a skip-turn card where the next player cannot play, there is a card where you choose the next color, and then there are the draw cards. The draw cards come as a +2 and the dreaded +4, the worst in the game because it can ruin your hand and get you back where you started. Also, the draw cards stack so other players can jump in and add to the tally, resulting in one unfortunate player having to draw as many as +10 or so cards.
The strategies are plenty and there is a lot more thinking than meets the eye. Of course, there are also various types of Uno, like Uno Teams, Uno No Mercy, and Duo, which is like a continuation of the game where there are 4 different colors and new symbols. Arguably the most interesting part of this experience is that everyone plays it differently and nobody actually reads the instructions. Some people say a +4 cannot stack on +2, and some that it is the other way around. There is the jumping-in rule where you can throw in a card regardless of whose turn it is, provided that it is the same card. The list goes on!
There are other similar games with wacky and unorthodox gameplay mechanics that are a blast for any group size. One of the best, if not the best, is Cards Against Humanity, a game where there are black and white cards. One set has the beginning of a sentence, the other has the end. The goal is to make rude, funny, and outright obscene combinations that have deeper, sarcastic, or ambiguous meanings and then vote for the best one. It can get out of hand pretty quickly and is done best with people who are not easily offended. This game is a true “adult” card game because of the potential combinations and topics involved so tread lightly! It is not for everyone and will surely offend the more traditional folk.
Here is where the gameplay and game sessions become a little bit less important than the cards themselves, or rather, the collecting part. Trading cards like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Magic: The Gathering have whole industries around them and are very valuable in certain situations. New and rare card editions as well as special packs appear all the time with fans and collectors scrambling to find old editions that can be worth thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Behind it all though, there are novelty games with all sorts of different mechanics, strategies, rules, and features. Each of them is a game first and a collectible hobby second. The fact that most people like to own them more than use them is a different story.
It may be a bit difficult to find people who are willing to or capable of playing one of these games because it tends to be expensive to make a sizeable collection or a worthy deck. The games are strategically very advanced and it takes a while to get good. If you can, or if you are looking for a new hobby as a group, it could be fun to start fresh and go through it together. Weekly or monthly game sessions could be the way to go where you get together and play with the new decks you made, share strategies, and just have a grand old nerdy time with it. It is fun, and engaging, and you can even involve a bit of gambling like you do when you play poker games. But instead of money, you can bet some valuable cards!
What to Choose for Which Group Size?
Choosing the right game will greatly depend on the composition of the group, as well as its size. It is definitely not the same when you have a dozen friends coming over and when only a few of them are able to come. Of course, if there are only going to be 2 or 3 of you there, many of the games become less viable or completely unplayable. For example, the more fun and relaxed games are best experienced with 4 or more players, and the most amount of fun can be expected in larger groups. Naturally, you will need a few decks instead of one if the player count is higher. UNO can technically be played with only 2 or 3 total players, but it becomes less fun the more you do it because you realize what each player will do.
If you opt to play some gambling games like blackjack or baccarat, one of the players needs to be the banker/dealer. This means others will have a different type of fun and he or she may feel left out. Alternatively, it can be exactly the type of scenario most people will enjoy if everyone knows the game and has no trouble fulfilling this important role. You can always switch and play multiple sessions, each of you being the dealer/banker once.
Whereas all these games are best experienced in larger groups, trading cards are usually played in duels where two players go head to head. So if you only have a single friend available for the night, you can play a TCG together. Of course, that hardly means that nobody else is invited. As a matter of fact, you can organize a real tournament where multiple duels are going on at the same time and where winners advance until there is a final game for the winner of the whole thing. This could take time, but nobody says you cannot make it an ongoing competition that spans weeks. Be creative and imaginative, it is how people came up with these games after all!
We mentioned live game tables already where you do not need to leave your home in order to play them. But what about actual video games that utilize cards as the main mechanic? That is certainly an option especially as an adult because most of those games have strategies and elements that are simply too complex and niche for younger audiences. A game like Hearthstone by Blizzard Entertainment is an online card game with the aesthetics and characters from their famed Warcraft universe. It is the leading title in this genre and a game that has been around for over a decade. As a digital collectible card game with beautiful graphics, funny and serious voice acting, and very cool music, it has everything you need for a 1v1 night of card fun.
Similarly, Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, Magic: The Gathering Arena, and Gwent (The Witcher Franchise) utilize their famous franchises in a new way and offer card fans a chance to play new and mechanics. One of the most popular titles nowadays is Marvel SNAP, a card game with famous comic book characters like Iron Man, Spiderman, Hulk, etc. Again, the visuals are great, the combat effects are comic-book-inspired, and the art is great. It can be a breath of fresh air for anyone who enjoys cards but cannot seem to find a new way to play games. Combining the best elements of both worlds works wonders and you can also play all of these great games on your phones and tablets, from anywhere in the world. On top of everything, all of these are free to download and start playing at any time.
