When I was young and our electricity went
out, my family sat at the dining room table and played cards
by candlelight. Yet those times, some of the fondest and funniest
in my childhood, rarely happened when the TV was on. Now,
with hundreds of channels and computer games to vie for our
attention, family time seems to have vanished. But it doesn't
have to end. The following games are just a few of many that
can bring your family closer.
• Impressions. Family members take turns
imitating famous people, or people in the neighborhood.
The first to guess the impression scores a point, and takes
a turn as impressionist. The first to guess 10 impressions
correctly wins the game.
• Concentration. You remember. Shuffle
a deck of cards, then spread them out, face down, in four
rows of 13 cards. Each person takes a turn flipping over
any two cards. If they match, he removes them from the pile.
If not, he must turn them back over. The key is to remember
where the matching cards are. Concentrate! The person with
the most cards at the end wins.
• Going on a Picnic. This game is great
for teaching kids the alphabet and boosting their creativity.
The game begins with the first person saying, "I'm
going on a picnic, and I'm taking ________ ..." starting
with the first letter of the alphabet, for example "apples."
The second person continues. "I'm going on a picnic,
and I'm taking apples and bananas ...." The games continues
through the alphabet until someone misses a letter—or
until everyone gets hoarse.
• Tall Tales. This game is great for
those who love to exaggerate. The first person begins telling
a story. Just when it gets exciting, he stops and the next
person takes over. She gets to an exciting part, then passes
it along as well. If it's a large group, the story ends
when the last person is finished. If it's a small group,
it ends when someone comes up with an ending, or nobody
can stop laughing long enough to tell the tale.
• I'm thinking of an animal. Lions and
tigers and bears, oh my! This game is just like twenty questions,
except the person thinks of a specific animal and the others
have 10 questions to guess the answer. Whoever guesses correctly
gets the next turn. If nobody guesses, the person thinks
of another animal and play continues. The game ends when
everyone gets tired or when you've got a zoo in your living
room.
101
Best Family Card Games
10-Minute
Life Lessons for Kids: 52 Fun and Simple Games and Activities
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