The Best Card Games for Family Game Night

Before Uno slapped a trademark on the concept, there was Crazy Eights, the original "match the suit or number and dump your hand" game. All you need is a standard deck and the smug satisfaction of unloading your last card. Eights are wild, so your 8-year-old can flip the whole game to hearts and watch the table groan in unison.

Go Fish is a sneaky little memory test, and it's the gateway card game for the under-7 crowd. You collect matching sets by asking other players to hand over their cards, and every "go fish" lands like a tiny betrayal. It's the first game where a 4-year-old discovers the sweet, sweet power of telling their older sibling no.

Rummy is the game your grandparents played for hours at the kitchen table while the coffee percolator gurgled in the background, and it still holds up. You build runs and sets, ditch your dead weight and race to empty your hand before everyone else. It rewards a little planning, making it the sweet spot for kids around 8 and up.

Spoons is a race where the second you collect four of a kind you snatch a spoon and everyone else lunges for one like it's the last lifeboat. You set out one fewer spoon than there are players, pass cards frantically and pray your reflexes hold up, because whoever comes up empty-handed earns a letter spelling out S-P-O-O-N one painful loss at a time. It's loud, it's a little chaotic and it will absolutely end with someone's elbow in the dip bowl.

War is the card game equivalent of watching paint dry, and yet kids adore it with their whole hearts. You split the deck, flip cards at the same time and the higher card wins, with ties triggering a dramatic showdown of face-down cards followed by one big reveal. It requires zero strategy and can last roughly as long as a solar eclipse, which makes it perfect for a 5-year-old and a patient adult.

Slapjack is War on it’s fifth cup of coffee, where players flip cards into a center pile and race to slap any jack that appears. The fastest hand claims the whole stack, and the last player holding cards wins, so quick reflexes beat brainpower every single time. Just prepare for a few overeager slaps landing on innocent 7s, and maybe on the back of someone's hand.

Kings in the Corner is solitaire that finally invited other people to the table, and it's a gem for kids who like a little strategy without the pressure. You build descending stacks in alternating colors and race to empty your hand, with kings unlocking the four coveted corner spots. It's mellow enough for a lazy Sunday but sneaky enough that your 10-year-old will start plotting three moves ahead.

Egyptian Ratscrew is a leveled-up version of Slapjack, adding slap rules for pairs and sandwiches that can quickly turn into a full-contact sport. You flip cards into the pile, face cards trigger a countdown of chances and the fastest slapper snags the stack when a match appears. Fair warning, this one has ended more childhood friendships than a broken cassette tape.

Snap is the game that turns a quiet stack of cards into a shouting match in about four seconds flat. Players take turns flipping cards into a pile and the instant two of the same rank appear, the first person to yell 'snap' and slap the pile claims it. It's pure reflexes and lung capacity, which makes it a great equalizer for the 5-and-up crowd.

Cheat, also lovingly known as BS, is the game that rewards your kids for lying straight to your face. You discard cards face-down while announcing what they supposedly are, and anyone who smells a bluff can call it out for a penalty. It's part card game, part interrogation and it will reveal exactly which family member should never be trusted at the poker table.

Old Maid is the game that teaches kids their first real poker face, since the whole goal is to not get stuck holding the one unmatched card. You pair up cards, discard the matches and pass your hand around, praying you can pawn the dreaded Old Maid off on someone else.