12 best card games to play with family and friends

Best: Overall

Rating: 10/10

• Players: 2-6
• Ages: 7+
• Difficulty: Very easy

Phase 10 has been a family favourite game for years. In fact, our tester was probably around the age of eight when they first played it. Ever since, they’ve been recommending and introducing it to anyone who will listen, and guess what? They all inevitably end up loving it too.

This addictive card game takes the rules of Rummy and twists them. Simply work your way through the phases (collect 2 sets of 3, make a run of 9, collect 7 cards of one colour) and be the first to complete phase 10 with the lowest points to win. However, you will have to complete one phase before you move on, so the game can change at any moment. We promise it’s great fun and one you’ll love introducing everyone else too.

Best: For political incorrectness

Rating: 10/10

• Players: 4+
• Ages: 17+
• Difficulty: Easy

In case you somehow haven’t heard of Cards Against Humanity yet, this adult party game sees players complete fill-in-the-blank statements using some rather risqué phrases. Naturally, the more outrageous the answer, the more likely you are to win. It is, understandably, recommended for ages 17 and up, and we personally wouldn’t recommend playing with your parents or grandparents, unless “cringeworthy” is the ambience you’re going for this Christmas. If you have thicker skin than us, have at it – but don’t say we didn’t warn you…

If you’ve already exhausted the original deck, there are also versions of this game for specific fan bases such as Cards Against Disney (£24.98, Amazon.co.uk) and Cards Against Star Wars (£28.99, Amazon.co.uk). Both of which are great for the film fanatics in your life as all the cards – both the statements and phrases – are themed around your chosen field. You just may never be able to watch the Skywalker Saga or The Lion King in the same way again…

Best: For families

Rating: 10/10

• Players: 2-10
• Age: 7+
• Difficulty: Easy

Uno is one of those card games that everyone has played at some time in their life, and in our tester’s family, it was played a lot. It’s a really easy game to pick up and one people of all ages can enjoy. All you have to do to get rid of your cards is match colours and numbers – but beware, as there are action cards that can see gameplay reversed, your turn skipped or the next player having to pick up two or more cards. The first player to get rid of all the cards in their hand wins. Just don’t forget to shout “uno” when you’re down to one!

Best: For kids

Rating: 9/10

• Players: 2-8
• Age: 6+
• Difficulty: Easy

Unbeknownst to us, Dobble has become the card game to play. And having given it a fair few rounds we can now quite easily see why. In a fast-paced game, you will compete against other members of your family to spy matching images on the cards. That might sound easy, but, no two cards are the same and with five different ways to play the fun is truly endless.

We found this was great fun even after the kids went to bed as things got very silly. At one point everyone was shouting over one another that they “found the cactus first” – believe us when we say that makes more sense once you’ve played a couple of rounds. It’s a really straightforward game to pick up, and it comes in a handy travel-size tin so will be ideal for taking away or out to restaurants. Plus, there are tons of themed packs to choose from too, including Harry Potter (£8.99, Amazon.co.uk), Marvel (£14.99, Johnlewis.com) and even The Gruffalo (£12.99, Waterstones.com).

Best: For teens

Rating: 9/10

• Players: 4+
• Age: 17+
• Difficulty: Easy

A word to the wise: don’t try to play this with your 86-year-old grandad, unless you like answering the question “what is a meme?” a lot… But bless his heart, he tried! Actually, even our 52-year-old mum epically failed at this game, so maybe this is just one for Gen Z.

Unlike in Cards Against Humanity where you’re filling in outrageous statements, this time around players try to match the funniest caption card to the chosen picture. Each of the images is of iconic memes that have made (or are still making) their way around the internet. And once again, if your caption is the funniest or most outrageous, you win. This can be a hilarious game that provides endless entertainment as no two games will ever be the same – just pick the right people to play with first.

Best: Escape room

Rating: 8/10

• Players: 1-6
• Age: 14+
• Difficulty: Moderate

We’ve become a bit obsessed with virtual escape rooms throughout lockdown, and this ingenious invention from Ravensburger brings the fun of an escape room to your dining room. Clues can be found both in the pictures and heard in the clips (you’ll need to download the Echoes app to listen to the clip behind each picture) – look and listen carefully. Only when you’ve successfully put all the cards and clips in the right order – and don’t worry, the app will tell you when you’ve got it right – will you uncover the truth.

We’ve tried both the cocktail and the dancer (£9.98, Amazon.co.uk) and found ourselves totally engrossed in both storylines. If done properly you should be able to “escape” in the allotted hour. It’s a different take on both the card game and escape room, but one with the same enjoyable payoff.

Best: For learning

Rating: 8/10

• Players: 3+
• Age: 10+
• Difficulty: Easy

We love a game that inadvertently teaches us something, and Matt Edmondson’s Ansagrams just does that. At first glance, this appears to be just another trivia game as you’ll need to answer just five questions correctly. But here’s the twist – you’ll then need to unscramble the first letters of each answer to spell a word. It all sounds simple enough, but throw in a 30-second timer to solve the anagram and a few wrong answers and you could come up with a word that’s entirely different.

When we played it there were some very silly “solutions” to the anagrams and we all felt like we’d learned a lot (mostly that none of us should ever go on Countdown!). It’s a great game for three or more players and ideal for ages 10 and up.

Best: Trivia game

Rating: 8/10

• Players: 2+
• Age: 14+
• Difficulty: Moderate

Turning trivia night on its head, in this game you want to score zero points. Confused? Let us explain. In this fun, fast quiz you’ll work your way through a series of general knowledge questions that you really should know the answer to. Get a question right, you stay where you are, but get an answer wrong and you can lose up to eight points. The aim is to hang on to as many points as you can (ie keep your total as close to nil as possible) and thereby of course proving your general trivia knowledge is superior to all others’. It’s a little bit topsy-turvy in terms of points but a fun quiz for everyone to join in with.

Best: Strategic game

Rating: 8/10

• Players: 2-5
• Age: 7+
• Difficulty: Easy

If you’re looking for a quick game to pass the time between dinner and pudding, then look no further. This kitty-powered game is a lot like Russian roulette, only rather than a smoking gun, it’s an exploding kitten you’ll want to avoid. Players can do this by drawing defuser cards – this can be anything from belly rubs to catnip sandwiches – or just by strategically playing their movement and avoidance cards right. We found it to be an intense game that gets very exciting, quickly. Best of all, it takes just 15 minutes to play and can be enjoyed by as little as two players.

Best: For challenges

Rating: 9/10

• Players: 2-8
• Age: 9+
• Difficulty: Moderate

This is so much more than a card game and is sure to liven up any party with its box of wacky challenges. Inside you’ll find an assortment of seemingly random objects as well as an egg timer and of course challenge cards. There are four different ways to play – solo, battle royale, buddy up and duel – and the aim is to be the player who wins the most points across 10 rounds.

We cannot stress how fun this was. Some of the challenges seemed really easy at first glance but ended up being an absolute disaster. Others were more physical and ended up with us doubled over in fits of laughter as we all tried to win. We think this would be a game that could be played time and again and would go down a treat on Boxing Day or during New Year’s Eve shenanigans.

Best: For quick thinking

Rating: 7/10

• Players: 3+
• Age: 10+
• Difficulty: Moderate

Think fast! You’ll only have, you guessed it, five seconds to say what comes to mind in this question-and-answer game and trust us when we say some of the answers can be hilarious. Risk getting yourself in a fluster or exposing some deep-seated secrets – it’s all good fun and encourages everyone to think on their feet. We also tried the uncensored version (£14.99, Very.co.uk) which was equally funny, though these questions may be one adults want to save for when the kids have gone to bed.

Best: For adults

Rating: 8/10

• Players: 4+
• Age: 17+
• Difficulty: Very easy

Who else remembers playing “most likely to” as a drinking game at uni? Hopefully it’s not just us, and if that’s the case then you’ll love Drunk, Stoned or Stupid. There are 250 prompt cards that range from somewhat innocent circumstances like “who’s most likely to spend all day interpreting a text?” to far more risqué scenarios.

It’s a game for brutally honest friends as you’ll call upon personality traits, stupid stories, and more than likely some embarrassing memories to make your case as to who should get the card. End up being chosen seven times and you’re the loser – although to be honest, this is a game for drunk, stoned, and stupid people, so there are no real winners. And while you may regret exposing yourself and your friends’ buried memories, we don’t think you’ll regret the fun you have while playing.