5 Great Card Games For Home

Just like yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, and for the foreseeable future, most children will be stuck at home waiting for the time to come where we will be able to attend school normally.

That day will come!!!!

I’m very conscious that the activities I put on my blog are meaningful, relevant and enjoyable, and most of all, accessible to everyone.

That’s why I try to create activities that utilise materials and objects that are common in most homes, or very easy and cheap to get from nearby supermarkets and shops.

As most houses have a pack of cards, here are some activities that I’m sure you will love playing as a family, and that still have the children developing fluency with the necessary mental computation skills that we use in our everyday lives.

I call it ‘Maths without the maths’!!

This game came to me last night while I was trying to get to sleep. I was paranoid that I would wake up this morning and forget it, thankfully I haven’t, which is why I have decided on producing this blog post for today.

Maths Nerd??? Yep!!!!

Here goes…

Flipping 50

Materials

1 pack of cards (K, J, Q removed, A =1)

To Play

2-4 players

Deal the cards out evenly to each player, face down.

Player 1 places a card in the middle face up and says the total, eg 7

Player 2 places the next card on top and adds it to 7 to make a new total. Eg places a 4 on top and says “11”

Player 3 places a 5 on top and says “16” and so on.

As each player places a new card on top, they say the new total.

Now the tricky bit…

As the total gets close to 50, no player wants to be the one who hits 50, or is the one who passes 50.

If they do, they have to pick up all the cards and add them to the bottom of their pile.

The object of the game is to be the first to get rid of all of your cards.

Other Options…

· For younger players, use just the cards A-5 (A=1) so that they focus on adding a lower range of numbers. Gradually introduce more cards.

· Introduce the Joker as a ‘Wild Card’. It can be worth 1 or 10 depending on what the player who picks it up wants it to be worth. Eg If they are on 48, it would be wise to play it as a 1, as the next person will most likely have to do a pick up.

· Play backwards, choose a number to count backwards from.

Headache

A game for 2 or more players.

Materials:

A pack of playing cards.

Picture cards and Jokers removed.

Ace = 1, 2-10

To play:

Player 1 and Player 2 hold a card to their forehead without looking at it beforehand.

Player 3 says the total of the two cards.

Players 1 and 2 work out what the value of their card is by listening to what the total is and looking at the value of the card of the other player.

Call out the value of your card.

Keep swapping roles so each Player gets a turn at calling out the total.

What maths is involved?

· Matching numbers to make given totals

· Finding the missing parts of equations, not just the answer

Other Options…

· Use 3 cards, with 4 players

· Use with multiplication, subtraction, division

Before and After

A game for building counting on skills, by 1’s, 2’s and so on.

Materials:

Pack of cards, picture cards removed.

To Play:

2 or more players.

Deal out 5 cards to each player.

Place the remaining cards face down, then turn the top card face up and place alongside the pile.

Play begins with the first player putting out a card that comes either 1 before, or 1 after the card that is face up.

If a player is unable to put out a card, they pick up a card from the pile that is face down.

First player to get rid of all their cards wins.

Other Options:

· Instead of 1 Before/After, try 2, 3, 4, 5 before/after

Make 10

A game for 2 or more players. (Or can be played on your own)

Materials:

Playing cards. Picture cards removed, A = 1

To Play:

Deal out all of the cards into 9 equal piles as shown above.

Player 1 goes first and tries to find a combination of cards that adds up to 10.

Say the equation eg “7 + 3 = 10”

If correct, Player 1 keeps those cards and puts them to the side.

Player 2 has a turn and does likewise.

If no combination is possible, shuffle the remaining cards and deal out into 9 piles again and continue.

When only a few cards are left, and no combinations are possible, each player counts their cards. Winner has the most cards (although having a winner is not important, the developing of mental computation skills is)

Other Options…

· Change the total … Make 15, Make 20 etc

· Try not to limit it to using just two numbers eg 2 + 4 + 4 = 10

· Used mixed operations eg (7 x 2) – 4 = 10

Bother

Materials: a pack of cards, 2-4 players

To play: A=0, K=1, K= 10, J=10, Joker removed ( or include it and make it worth 15)

Object of the game is to get the lowest total for 4 cards.

Deal 4 cards to each player, face down. Leave deck in the middle.

Players look at their two end cards once only and do not show anyone else.

First player picks up the card from the top of the deck and looks at it without showing others. If it is a low card, swap it with one of your own. Put the discarded card face up beside the deck. If the card that you pick up is not worth trading, leave it face up in the pile beside the deck.

If a player picks up one of their cards to trade, they must commit to it even if they discover it is a card that they want to keep (eg an Ace or a King). This may happen when you go to trade one of your middle cards, because you do not know what they are. You take the risk of getting rid of a good card, but also getting rid of a bad card. If a player mistakenly discards a good card, the next person may take this card instead of choosing from the top of the deck.

Keep taking it in turns going around the circle. When you think you have a low total, knock on the floor/table. This means that everyone else has one last turn.

Now reveal your cards to see who has the lowest total.

Keep a running score, last one past 101 wins.

This game has always been a huge hit over many years. This was more evident recently at a school I was working in when I taught it to a Gr 3 class. Some of these kids were then playing it at recess and lunch, then teaching it to groups of kids from other classes.

I feel that the proof that a game is worthwhile is when the kids take it up in their own time.