Are you bored at home during quarantine? Tired of scrolling through social media? Is there nothing interesting to watch on TV? If you said ‘yes’ to any of these questions, perhaps, a rousing game of cards will pique your interest. But, which card game should you play?
The following are three excellent card games you can play at home while on quarantine:
Crazy Eights
Before anything else, make sure that you have a complete set of playing cards at home. If not, you can buy online from trusted retailers. Use keywords, like ‘buy playing cards Australia,’ to help you find reputable online sellers.
After acquiring a deck of cards, the first game you can play with your family is Crazy Eights. You can play this game with a maximum of eight players. But, you can’t play this game alone. The main objective of this card game is to be the first player in the group to get rid of the cards in your hand.
Here’s a quick rundown of how to play this game:
- The dealer deals five face-down cards to each player, starting with the dealer’s left. The rest of the cards will be at the center of the table.
- The first player turns the first card up from the deck at the center. If that individual picks up an eight, they bury that card in the middle of the pack. Then, the next player picks up the next card.
- All face-up cards become the ‘starter’ pile. Also, note that each player will place one face-up card on the starter pile. But, the catch here is that each player needs to match the suit of the top card on the starter pile.
- If the player is unable to play a card, they draw from the deck until a card becomes playable.
- A player wins if they’re the first participant without cards in their hands.
Poker
You’d normally see Poker games in physical and online casinos. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t play this famous card game at home. Still, you may need to purchase a set of chips to help with the betting.
Also, note that several Poker variations exist. But, if you want to learn one type of Poker game, consider it to be Texas Hold’em because this tends to be the easiest to learn among all the types.
Texas Hold’em Poker might seem challenging for beginners, but the rules are relatively easy to understand.
First, a dealer deals two cards per player before showing three face-up cards to the group. Before the dealer draws the next card, they’ll ask if anyone wants to do anything with their initial bet piles. Note that players can choose to do the following after each drawn card after the initial three-card draw:
Check – do nothing or maintain the number of chips gambled for the round
Raise – put more chips into the betting pool or ‘pot’
Call – match a player's raised chips by the same amount
Fold – Give up the round and all the chips gambled for that particular round
The main objective of Poker is to have the best possible combination using the two cards in your hand and the cards shown on the table. These potential combinations are (from highest to lowest in rank):
Royal Straight Flush – a sequence of ace, king, queen, jack, and ten, with each card having the same suit
Straight Flush – any sequence that bears the same suit (e.g., ace, one, two, three, four)
Four Of A Kind – four cards with the same values, such as four queen cards
Full House – one pair and a three of a kind
Flush – all cards with the same suit
Straight – any sequence regardless of suit
Three Of A Kind – three cards with the same numerical value
Two Pair – one example would be two pairs of nines and fives
High Card – no combination; a player can still win with the highest card in their hand
Solitaire
Solitaire might already be part of the digital space, but you may still find playing this classic card game with tangible playing cards. Moreover, you can play this game alone, which can help you pass the time during the quarantine.
If you’re new to Solitaire, fret not because it’s not challenging to learn how to play this particular card game. You only need to know that the objective of the game is to release each card onto the foundations using the correct sequence.
Hence, you start building the foundation with the aces of each suit. Then, you build each foundation by placing cards, like ones, twos, threes, and so on, until you reach the end of the pile (which is the king). You win the game if you can put all cards into their respective foundations.
Conclusion
Crazy Eights, Poker, and Solitaire are three of the many card games you can play at home while you’re on quarantine. You can play these games with your family, friends, or yourself. These card games can help you pass the time at home while the world is trying to figure out a solution for the pandemic.
