I know this year hasn't exactly been kind to us, but now that Diwali is on the near horizon, things are finally beginning to look up. While the parties this year might be a tad simpler as well as selective with invites, they call for celebrations nonetheless. And you know what a Diwali party is incomplete without? A bunch of close friends, a bottle of wine, and a big deck of cards ready to be played through the night!
"But, I don't know how to play cards!" I have been that one person in my friend circle accustomed to uttering these exact words before every Diwali party. But recently, with all the surplus time in my hands, I resolved to master the art of playing cards. And in the process, I managed to learn 6 super-fun card games, just in time to be the life of the party this Diwali season. Let me share what I gathered, with you!
1. Spit/Speed
The game is a quick flix for your momentarily snoozed reflexes. In about 10 to 15 minutes you'll be as frisky as a horse at work. After splitting the cards evenly among both players stack them in 5 piles as they've demonstrated in the video below and just charge without waiting for your turn. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins.
How To Play Spit/Speed
Image Courtesy: Games lol
2. Spoons
Miss spooning with your beau? Don't worry here's a brisk card game to make you forget all about it for a while. To play this unusual card game all you need is a standard deck of cards and one less spoon than the number of players (For eg: If 5 players are in the game, keep 4 spoons in the middle). Your aim is to draw up any four of a kind set whilst passing the cards picked up from the discarded pile. As soon as you have the set, just pick up the spoon. This is the cue of other players to pick the rest of those spoons and the last one left without it loses the round. When does it end? Watch it to know it!
How To Play Spoons
Image Courtesy: CommonsWikimedia.org
3. Rat-A-Tat-Tat
Rat-A-Tat-Tat is like a pack full of adventure and catches. This game requires four players and each gets four cards to play with. The goal is to have the lowest value addition of your fours cards when flipped up at the end. Yes, you only get a peek of the two outside cards and you might want to remember that as the games heat up. Now for the catch, the face cards (Jack, Queen and King) will have special powers in the game which you will know as soon as you click on the link below. Once you get the knack of it this game is going to be all you want to play.
How To Play Rat-A-Tat-Tat
Image Courtesy: Craft
4. War
A literal duel of cards wherein you can only win over all the 52 cards by the end of the game. Each player has 26 cards face down which they need to throw out as pawns and only pick up if they have the higher card. And this goes on until both the players get the same card and that's when the actual war begins. To fully gear up for this game, watch this video. I don't know about WW3 but if you wish to win the war, make sure you throw the highest card from your pile.
How To Play War
Image Courtesy: YouTube
5. Old Maid
Nobody wants to die an old maid and as far as this game is concerned you don't want to lose like an old maid either. There is no limit to the number of players that can play. But make sure that you evenly distribute the card amongst each other and leave a single Queen card (Old maid) out of the deck so that there is an odd number of Queens in the dealt pile. Now with the cards, you already have set aside the ones that make a pair (as described in the video). Your aim is to make the pairs of your remaining cards whilst drawing the cards from the player to your adjacent life. This goes on until a player is left with that odd Queen card, hence the old maid.
How To Play Old Maid
Image Courtesy: Games For Young Minds
6. I Doubt It
I Doubt It is a lot like another card game called Bluff. A game for three and more players with an objective to dispose of all the cards they are dealt with in the beginning. The good news is you can see your cards right away. The game starts with an Ace, the second player has to throw off his pair of cards face down with a number that comes after Ace, which is 2 and then a pair of 3's and so on... This is where it gets interesting. Since not carrying a pair of that consecutive card is a legit possibility so the player can pass off other numbers and nobody will know as the cards are all faced down until somebody calls on the other player. If claimed doubt is correct all the cards go to the player who broke the chain and if the doubt is wrong, the player who raised it will take in all the cards. The first to get rid of their cards will win.
How To Play I Doubt It
Image Courtesy: Poker
Sometimes when life gives you hardships, you just got to deal with it. Pun Intended!
