Best Pub Card Games

So you’re sitting with your mates, having enjoying a beverage, and suddenly, the conversation hits a lull. What do you do? Call for a taxi and head for home? Perhaps that’s not the best approach, given they are your mates. Instead, why not bring out a trusty deck of cards and let some competitive spirit fill the air playing pub card games?

Card games have been around for centuries, not only because of the fun that can be had, alone or with a group, but because there are just so many games one can play with a simple 52-card deck. You could say it’s the Jack of all Trades (get it?) kind of game. Not just that, but with card games, it doesn’t matter the age, adults and even senior citizens can get in on the fun.

Although betting games like poker can easily be found online at casinos like PokerStars (it’s in the name), sometimes you’re out and about and want some human interaction and entertainment that games bring. If that’s the case, we have compiled a list of easy card games you can play with friends or by yourself.

Crazy Eights

Two or more players can play this shedding card game, which has one objective: be the first person to get rid of all your cards. It’s a game that’s along the lines of UNO, minus the trauma “special cards” instilled in us.

The premise is simple: a player puts a card on the table, and the next player has to match it either by suit or denomination. For example, if player one puts down a Queen of Hearts, the other players can put down any Heart card or any other Queen. The pile is available to all players, even if they have a suitable card in their hand.

Crazy Eights gets its name from the rule that the eights are the only special cards. They can be substituted for anything, and the player who puts an eight down can decide what suit the next player should play.

War

Two players can play War, so we would recommend it for a couple, despite the name. The first player to collect the full deck is the winner. How it works is that all the cards are divided equally amongst the players (so 26 cards per person). Cards must be placed face down in front of each player, then they have to turn a card up together. The player with the highest denomination is the winner of the round and can add a couple of cards to the end of their stack.

A draw equals war. A card is placed face down on the table by each player who has drawn one from their stack. Next, they select a card from the pile. The winner gets to hold onto the cards that started the war, as well as the facedown cards, totalling six.

Go Fish

Card games don’t get much easier than Go Fish. If you want to play but not commit, or the pub is too noisy, this is a great game to try. Depending on the version you play, the placement of the cards and who you can ask may change, but the principle is still the same.

As many “books” of cards is your aim, and that comprises of four cards of the same value, for example, four Jacks, until no cards remain. Players have to state what cards they want and who they want them from. If that player doesn’t have the cards, they simply say, “Go Fish!” and the other player needs to draw from the stack on the table.

Should a player draw the card they need, they have another chance to ask for a card from their chosen player. If not, it is the next person’s turn.

Memory

A game best played sober as a judge, Memory will test your…well…memory. You must collect and form pairs of cards. Whoever has the most pairs at the end of the game, wins.

All the cards are laid on the table, face down. Each player is allowed to turn over two cards at a time, and if they form a pair, they can be collected. If not, the cards are turned over again, facedown.

As you may have guessed, the game’s name comes from the idea that players should memorise the positions of cards so they can form pairs when it’s time to turn them up.

Klondike Solitaire

This is the classic version of the game of Solitaire and can be played all by yourself. This is for those days when you’re at the pub, after work, and you just want to relax with something easy and straightforward.

But first, a bit of history. Solitaire is one of the most popular card games in the world. We strongly suspect it’s because it was one of the very first games to be included in the Microsoft Windows software.

So how does it work? We promised simple and that’s what we deliver. The aim is for the entire deck of cards to be divided into four foundations, or piles, that start with Aces and end with Kings. Out of the 52 cards, 28 need to be divided into seven columns and the rest kept in a pile.

The foundations are built by a player turning the cards in the seven columns to face up and creating sequences from King to Ace. Cards from the pile may be used for this.