Playing Card Games for Adults

Classic games for three to eight players and ordinary cards: press Pick 3 new games, or choose a head count.

Bid Whist1. Partners sit opposite, and the whole deck is dealt out with a few cards left as a kitty. 2. Each player makes one bid for the number of tricks over six. 3. The highest bidder names trumps, or no trumps, and takes the kitty. 4. Play the tricks. 5. A side that makes its bid scores it, and a side that fails loses it. Players: 4, in two partnerships. Time: 45 min.
Spades1. Partners sit opposite. Deal 13 cards each. 2. Each player bids a number of tricks, and partners add their bids together. 3. Spades are always trumps. 4. Making the bid scores 10 a trick bid and 1 for each extra trick. Falling short loses the bid. 5. The first side to 500 wins. Players: 4, in two partnerships. Time: 60 min.
Kemps1. Play in pairs who have agreed a secret signal. Deal four cards each and four face up in the middle. 2. Everyone swaps cards with the middle at once. 3. With four of a kind, signal your partner, who must call kemps. 4. A pair that is caught out, or calls wrongly, takes a letter. 5. The first pair to spell the whole word loses. Players: 4 to 12, in pairs. Time: 15 min.

Next step Print a spades score sheet Only two of you? Card games for two

How it works

These are the classic playing card games grown-ups sit down to: Hearts, Spades, Euchre, Canasta and their cousins. Each has its players, its deal and its steps, and none is played for money.

Read the full guide

Choose by head count

The All games menu has a set for each table: Works with three players, Four players in partnerships, For five or six players and For seven or more. It also sorts by kind: Trick-taking games, Rummy and melding games and Fast and loud.

Card games to play with a deck of cards, or several

Most games here need one ordinary deck. Canasta takes two, Samba three, and Nerts one for every player. Hearts, Spades, Euchre, Pinochle, Canasta and Bridge each link to a score sheet you can print.

Tips

Rules vary by region. Agree on the target score and any house rules before the first deal.
For partnership games, partners sit opposite each other and may not talk about their cards.

Questions and answers

What card games are good for four adults?

Partnership games suit four best: Spades, Euchre, Whist, Bridge and Canasta all seat two pairs opposite each other. Hearts is the classic for four people who would rather each play alone.

What card games work for a big group?

Spoons takes up to 13 players, Kemps up to 12 in pairs, and Cheat up to 10. Oh Hell, Pitch and Crazy Eights seat seven, and President and Rummy 500 seat eight.

Which card games can three people play?

Hearts, Oh Hell, Five Hundred, Pitch, Rummy 500, Knock-Out Whist and Crazy Eights all work with three, and Pinochle has a three-handed game. Choose Works with three players in the menu for the full set.

What is the easiest card game to teach adults?

Crazy Eights is quick to explain: match the suit or the rank, and eights are wild. Knock-Out Whist is the gentlest way into trick-taking, because the hands shrink from seven cards to one.

All 25 games

Trick-taking games 11

Auction Pitch 1. Deal six cards each. 2. Bid from one to four for the right to name trumps: the bidder's first lead sets the suit. 3. Four points are in play: high trump, low trump, the jack of trumps and game, which goes to the side with the best cards in tricks. 4. A bidder who falls short is set back by the bid. 5. Play to an agreed score. Players: 3 to 7. Time: 30 min.
Bid Whist 1. Partners sit opposite, and the whole deck is dealt out with a few cards left as a kitty. 2. Each player makes one bid for the number of tricks over six. 3. The highest bidder names trumps, or no trumps, and takes the kitty. 4. Play the tricks. 5. A side that makes its bid scores it, and a side that fails loses it. Players: 4, in two partnerships. Time: 45 min.
Euchre 1. Use 24 cards, the 9s to the aces. Partners sit opposite, and each player gets five cards. 2. A card is turned up, and players in turn accept its suit as trumps or pass. 3. The jack of trumps is the highest card and the other jack of the same color is second. 4. The side that chose trumps scores 1 for three tricks or 2 for all five. 5. In North America the game is 10 points. Players: 4, in two partnerships. Time: 30 min.

Show all 25 games (22 more)

Trick-taking games, continued

Five Hundred 1. Deal ten cards each and three face down as the kitty. 2. Bid for the number of tricks you will take and in which suit, or with no trumps. 3. The highest bidder takes the kitty and discards three cards. 4. Making the bid scores its value, and failing loses it. 5. The first side to 500 wins. Players: 3 to 6. Time: 60 min.
Hearts With a Three-Card Pass 1. With four players, deal 13 cards each. Before most hands, everyone passes three cards to another player. 2. Play tricks with no trumps, following suit when you can. 3. Each heart you take costs a point, and in the usual American game the queen of spades costs 13. 4. Play until someone reaches an agreed score, such as 100. The lowest score wins. Players: 3 to 6. Time: 45 min.
Knock-Out Whist 1. Deal seven cards each and turn one card up for trumps. 2. Play the tricks. 3. Anyone who takes no trick is knocked out. 4. Deal one card fewer each hand. 5. The player who takes every trick of a hand, or is the last one in, wins. Players: 3 to 7. Time: 20 min.
Oh Hell 1. The number of cards dealt changes from hand to hand, down to one and up again. 2. A card is turned up for trumps. 3. Everyone says exactly how many tricks they will take. 4. Play the tricks out. 5. Only a player who takes exactly the number they said scores for the hand. Keep a column each on paper. Players: 3 to 7. Time: 45 min.
Pinochle 1. Use the 48-card pinochle deck: two each of the 9s to the aces. With four players all the cards are dealt. 2. Bid for the right to name trumps. 3. Show melds, such as a run in trumps or four aces, and score them. 4. Play the tricks, and count the aces, tens and kings you take. 5. A bidding side that falls short loses its bid. Players: 3 to 4. Time: 60 min.
Rubber Bridge 1. Partners sit opposite. Deal 13 cards each. 2. An auction decides the contract: how many tricks over six one side will take, and in which trump suit or none. 3. The declarer's partner lays their hand face up as the dummy, and the declarer plays both hands. 4. Making the contract scores, and failing gives points to the other side. 5. A rubber is the best of three games. Players: 4, in two partnerships. Time: 90 min.
Spades 1. Partners sit opposite. Deal 13 cards each. 2. Each player bids a number of tricks, and partners add their bids together. 3. Spades are always trumps. 4. Making the bid scores 10 a trick bid and 1 for each extra trick. Falling short loses the bid. 5. The first side to 500 wins. Players: 4, in two partnerships. Time: 60 min.
Whist 1. Partners sit opposite. Deal 13 cards each, turning the dealer's last card face up to set trumps. 2. The player on the dealer's left leads, and everyone follows suit if they can. 3. The highest trump, or the highest card of the suit led, wins the trick. 4. A side scores a point for each trick over six. 5. Short games run to five or seven points. Players: 4, in two partnerships. Time: 30 min.

Rummy and melding games 6

Canasta 1. Use two decks with their jokers, 108 cards. Partners sit opposite, and each player gets 11 cards. 2. Draw, meld cards of the same rank and discard. Twos and jokers are wild. 3. A meld of seven cards is a canasta. 4. A side needs a canasta before it may go out. 5. The game ends when a side reaches 5,000. Players: 4, in two partnerships. Time: 60 min.
Contract Rummy 1. Play seven deals. Ten cards are dealt in the first four and twelve in the last three. 2. Each deal has a contract of sets and runs that you must lay down before anything else. 3. Draw and discard as in rummy. 4. When one player goes out, the others count the cards left in their hands. 5. The lowest total after seven deals wins. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 90 min.
Hand and Foot 1. Use four to seven decks, about one more than the number of players, and play in teams of two. 2. Each player is dealt two packets: the hand, played first, and the foot, picked up when the hand is gone. 3. Meld sets of a rank as in Canasta. 4. A team scores for its melds, and cards left in hands and feet count against it. Players: 4, in two partnerships. Time: 90 min.
Rummy 500 1. With three or more players, deal seven cards each. 2. On your turn draw from the stock, or take a card from further down the discard pile along with every card above it. 3. Lay down sets and runs, and add to melds already on the table. 4. Cards you meld score for you, and cards left in your hand count against you. 5. The first player to 500 wins. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 45 min.
Samba, Canasta With Three Decks 1. Use three decks with their jokers, 162 cards. Deal 15 cards to each of four players. 2. Play as Canasta, but draw two cards each turn. 3. Runs in one suit may be melded as well as sets of a rank. 4. The game is to 10,000. Players: 4, in two partnerships. Time: 90 min.
Shanghai Rum 1. Play ten rounds with eleven cards each, using two or more decks. 2. Each round sets a harder contract of sets and runs to lay down. 3. Draw and discard as in rummy. 4. Cards left in your hand count against you. 5. The lowest total after ten rounds wins. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 120 min.

Fast and loud 8

Cheat for a Full Table 1. Deal out the whole deck. 2. In turn, play one or more cards face down and name their rank, which must follow on from the last. You may lie. 3. Anyone may challenge. 4. If the cards are not what was said, the player picks up the pile. If they are, the challenger does. 5. The first player out of cards wins. Players: 3 to 10. Time: 15 min.
Crazy Eights for a Full Table 1. Deal five cards each and turn one up to start the pile. 2. On your turn play a card that matches the top card in suit or in rank. 3. An eight may be played at any time, and its player names the next suit. 4. If you cannot play, draw from the stock. 5. The first player out of cards wins the hand. Players: 3 to 7. Time: 15 min.
Kemps 1. Play in pairs who have agreed a secret signal. Deal four cards each and four face up in the middle. 2. Everyone swaps cards with the middle at once. 3. With four of a kind, signal your partner, who must call kemps. 4. A pair that is caught out, or calls wrongly, takes a letter. 5. The first pair to spell the whole word loses. Players: 4 to 12, in pairs. Time: 15 min.
Nerts 1. Every player has their own deck with a different back. Deal yourself a pile of 13 and four cards face up beside it. 2. Everyone plays at once, building shared piles in the middle from the ace up in each suit. 3. The first to empty their pile of 13 calls nerts, and play stops. 4. Score a point for each card you got to the middle, less two for each card left in your pile of 13. 5. Play to 100. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 20 min.
President, First Out Leads 1. Deal out the whole deck. 2. The leader plays a card or a set of equal cards. Each player in turn plays the same number of cards of a higher rank, or passes. 3. When everyone passes, the last to play leads again. 4. The first player out is president for the next hand, and the last gives the president their best card. 5. Play as many hands as you like. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 20 min.
Ranter-Go-Round 1. Everyone starts with three counters as lives and is dealt one card. 2. In turn, keep your card or swap it with the player on your left. The dealer swaps with the stock. 3. Then all cards are shown, and the lowest card loses a life. 4. The last player with a life wins. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 15 min.
Sevens, Built Out From the 7s 1. Deal out the whole deck. 2. The sevens start four rows, one for each suit. 3. On your turn add one card that carries a row on, up toward the king or down toward the ace. 4. You may pass only when you have nothing that fits. 5. The first player out of cards wins. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 15 min.
Spoons 1. Put spoons in the middle, one fewer than there are players, and deal four cards each. 2. Everyone passes one card to the left at the same time, again and again. 3. With four of a kind, take a spoon. As soon as one goes, everyone grabs. 4. The player left without a spoon loses the round. 5. Many tables give the loser a letter of the word spoons, and spelling it all puts you out. Players: 3 to 13. Time: 15 min.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03 for a table of three to eight grown-ups and ordinary playing cards, in our own words; only traditional games are listed, with no boxed card game and no stakes. Playing times are our estimates. Deals, player counts and winning scores were checked on 2026-10-03 against English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, in these articles: Hearts (card game); Spades (card game); Euchre; Oh hell; Whist; Bid whist; Contract bridge; 500 (card game); Pitch (card game); Pinochle; Knock-out whist; 500 rum; Canasta, for Canasta, Samba and Hand and Foot; Contract rummy; Shanghai rum; Crazy Eights; Pig (card game), for Spoons; Cheat (game); Nerts; President (card game); Kemps (card game); Domino (card game), for Sevens; and Ranter-Go-Round. Rules vary by region, and each entry gives one common way to play. Licence: own work