Top 6 compared
The best card games
Easy games for the whole family, learned in minutes and small enough to take anywhere.
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The top 6 at a glance
A card game needs nothing but the deck: no board, no dice and nothing to set up beyond a shuffle and a deal. Some are races of quick eyes and hands where everyone plays at once, some come down to luck, like risking one more card, and others reward a little planning, such as holding back the right card.
None of these comes with tokens or a score pad, and games played over several rounds carry a running total, so keep a pen and paper with the cards. Regular shuffling wears the edges, and a paper case often gives way before the cards do, so a tin or a sturdy box keeps a deck together for longer.
What matters
- A player range that covers how many usually play.
- Speed, luck or tactics: the kind of game your group enjoys.
- An age on the box your youngest player can manage.
#1Asmodee Dobble (tin)
£13.99 RRP
Fifty-five round cards, each printed with eight symbols, and any two cards share exactly one symbol. Players race to spot and call out the match, and the rules give five different games to play with the same cards, all in a small tin.
What owners say: Owners say it’s hard to put down and quick to set up, that young and old can play together, and that a game lasts 10 to 15 minutes.
A closer look: Start younger players on the simplest of the five games, and stay with it until everyone spots matches quickly before moving on to the faster ones. The tin slips into a coat pocket or a day bag, so it comes along on days out as easily as it sits on a shelf at home.
- Five games in one tin
- Pocket-sized tin
Best for: Mixed ages, quick rounds
- Kind of game
- Spot the match
- Players
- 2–8
- Ages
- 6+
- Playing time
- 15 min a game
#2USAopoly Flip 7
Under £10
A push-your-luck game for three or more: turn over cards one at a time and stop before a number appears twice, or lose that round’s points. The deck holds twelve 12s, eleven 11s and fewer of each lower number, with action cards and bonus-point cards for twists, and the first to 200 wins.
What owners say: Owners find the rules take about two minutes to explain and the pace keeps everyone involved, and like that it packs small for a holiday.
A closer look: Action cards can be played on anyone, yourself included: Freeze banks a player’s points and ends their round, and Flip Three makes them take three more cards. Turn over seven different numbers and the round stops at once with 15 bonus points.
- Out if a number repeats
- First to 200 points wins
Best for: Groups who like taking a risk
- Kind of game
- Push your luck
- Players
- 3+
- Ages
- 8+
- Playing time
- 20 min a game
#3Mattel UNO
Under £10
The classic matching game: play a card of the same colour or number as the top card, use action cards to skip, reverse or make the next player draw, and call UNO with one card left. This pack adds a Swap Hands card and blank wild cards to write your own house rules.
What owners say: Owners love it for hours of family fun and say children and adults pick it up easily. Durability is mixed: some find it lasts through endless game nights, others that the paper box wears out quickly.
A closer look: A full game is first to 500 points over several rounds; for a shorter game, play single rounds. Settle what the blank wild cards do before the first deal, so nobody argues over a house rule mid-game.
- Swap Hands card included
- Write-your-own wild cards
Best for: Family game nights
- Kind of game
- Match colours and numbers
- Players
- 2–10
- Ages
- 7+
- Playing time
- 15 min a round
#4Dutch Blitz
£10–£20
A race where everyone plays at once: each player works through their own 40-card deck, trying to empty their Blitz pile first while everyone builds shared piles in the middle, each colour from 1 to 10. The box holds four decks, so up to four can play.
What owners say: Owners call it highly addictive and like how fast it moves. Learning it splits opinion: some find it simple, others a little complicated.
A closer look: An expansion pack, sold separately, adds four more decks, so up to eight can play. A game usually runs to 75 points over several rounds, and a lower target suits younger players or a quick game before bed.
- Everyone plays at once
- Four decks in one box
Best for: Fast rounds for quick hands
- Kind of game
- Speed race
- Players
- 2–4
- Ages
- 8+
- Playing time
- 5–10 min a round
#5Blue Orange Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
£11.99 RRP
Players lay cards in turn while saying taco, cat, goat, cheese, pizza in order, and when a card matches the word, everyone slaps the pile and the last hand down takes it. Gorilla, groundhog and narwhal cards each need their own gesture before the slap.
What owners say: Brilliant fun and easy to learn, say owners, with a fast pace and a compact box that travels well. Nothing draws a recurring complaint.
A closer look: Nobody looks at their own cards before laying them, and a wrong slap, a slap pulled back or a forgotten word sends the middle pile to you as well. To win, a player has to run out of cards and then be first to slap, so a game can turn right at the end.
- Wrong slap takes the pile
- Animal cards need a gesture
Best for: Lively tables of up to eight
- Kind of game
- Say it and slap
- Players
- 2–8
- Ages
- 8+
- Playing time
- 10 min a game
#6Gamewright Sleeping Queens
£10–£20
Twelve queens lie asleep face down: play a king to wake one, a knight to steal one or a potion to send one back to sleep, and throw away number cards that add up, such as 2, 3 and 5, to draw fresh ones. Miranda Evarts dreamed the game up when she was six.
What owners say: Families say it’s a hit with boys and girls alike: simple to learn, quick to play and beautifully illustrated, and good practice at adding up. The price divides them.
A closer look: Dragons block knights and wands block potions, so it’s worth keeping one of each in hand. With two or three players the winner needs five queens or 50 points; with four or five it’s four queens or 40 points.
- Number cards practise adding up
- Knights steal, dragons defend
Best for: Children and grown-ups together
- Kind of game
- Collect the queens
- Players
- 2–5
- Ages
- 8+
- Playing time
- 20 min a game
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 6.
| Feature | #1Dobble | #2Flip 7 | #3UNO | #4Dutch Blitz | #5Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza | #6Sleeping Queens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Best push-your-luck | Best budget | ||||
| Picked Rating | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.4 |
| Price | £13.99 RRP | Under £10 | Under £10 | £10–£20 | £11.99 RRP | £10–£20 |
| Kind of game | Spot the match | Push your luck | Match colours and numbers | Speed race | Say it and slap | Collect the queens |
| Players | 2–8 | 3+ | 2–10 | 2–4 | 2–8 | 2–5 |
| Ages | 6+ | 8+ | 7+ | 8+ | 8+ | 8+ |
| Playing time | 15 min a game | 20 min a game | 15 min a round | 5–10 min a round | 10 min a game | 20 min a game |
| Best for | Mixed ages, quick rounds | Groups who like taking a risk | Family game nights | Fast rounds for quick hands | Lively tables of up to eight | Children and grown-ups together |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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