24 Fun Card Games For Teens

Card games are generally faster-paced and take less time to play than board games.

There are so many different card games to try. Some can be played with a standard deck of playing cards, while others require special cards that you can purchase online. We will discuss both of these options below.

For store-bought games, consider games like Exploding Kittens, Spot It!, Unstable Unicorns, and Blink.

Standard deck card games for kids include Go Fish!, Pig, War, Crazy Eights, and BlackJack.

If you’re looking for some fun games for your kids to play, then check out these card games for teens.

Store-Bought Card Games For Teens

Moose Master Card Game

Moose Master is a hilarious game for all ages that will have you all laughing out loud.

Age: 8+

Number of Players: 3-10

How To Play Moose Master:

Shuffle the card packs.

Choose two rules for the game randomly from the Moose rules pack.

If anyone breaks one of these rules, call them out, and they will need to take a Penalty card.

If you have 7 penalty cards, you are automatically out of the game.

The first player turns over the first Moose Master card and does whatever the card does. This leads to hilarious actions by players.

There are many rules relating to the Master cards but don’t worry; these are on the instruction sheet in the game.

You can watch a quick video on how to play Moose Master here:

Exploding Kittens Card Game For Tweens

Exploding Kittens is a strategic Russian roulette card game similar to Uno but with goats, magical enchiladas, and kittens that can kill you.

Age: 7+

Number of Players: 2-5

Duration of Game: 15 minutes

How To Play Exploding Kittens:

To play, each player picks a card until someone picks up the exploding kitten.

When you pick up an exploding kitten, you either die a very swift death and get eliminated or if you’ve picked up a helpful card along the way, you can use that to deactivate the elimination card. Using a diffuser card, you can deactivate the exploding cat by pointing at it and rubbing its belly.

There are fun action cards that let you skip your turn or attack others.

Not Parent Approved Card Game For Teens

Not Parent Approved is a hilarious party game where you fill in the funniest answer to a statement.

Age: 8+

Number of Players: 4-10

Duration of Game: 6-60 minutes

How To Play Not Parent Approved:

Everyone draws seven red answer cards.

Have a burp-off! The winner becomes the Burp Boss – who draws the first blue question card and reads it aloud.

Everyone then picks the craziest answer from their red cards and slides it face down to the Burp Boss.

Burp Boss reads each answer and chooses the winner – then it’s on to the next round.

Note: there may be some inappropriate cards for younger players, but you can remove these before play starts if you wish.

Unstable Unicorns Card Game For Teens

Unstable Unicorns is a strategic card game set within a magical world of unicorns.

There are two versions of this award-winning game. One for kids 6+ and one for older teens 14+.

Number of Players: 2-8

Play Time: 30-45 minutes

How To Play Unstable Unicorns:

The game begins with you having your own baby unicorn.

Your goal is to grow your Unicorn Army of 7 unicorns as quickly as possible.

There are many magical unicorns to collect, too!

Other than protecting your unicorns, you’re also supposed to find revenge on other players using the power of magic.

A dragon expansion pack also adds another layer of fun to the unicorn battle, with dragons, magic, and exciting new unicorns.

Watch how to play Unstable Unicorns for Kids here:

TeeTurtle Here To Slay (Base Card Game)

TeeTurtle is a strategic role-playing card game for older teens and adults. If you enjoy Unstable Unicorns, this is definitely a game to add to your collection.

Age: 10+

Number of Players: 2-6

Duration of Game: 30-60 minutes

How To Play TeeTurtle:

The goal is to be the first to slay three monsters or have a complete party of six classes.

Roll the dice and try to slay a monster, use magic and item cards to your advantage, or build a party of noble heroes.

With so many roles to choose from and over 130 cards, every game is sure to be unique.

Another game that I found from the creators of Unstable Unicorns is Llamas Unleashed. This is a whimsical barnyard-themed card game for teens 14+.

Skip-Bo Card Game For Teens

Age: 7+

Number of Players: 2-6

How To Play Skip-Bo:

Each player is dealt the same number of cards. The more players you have, the fewer cards each player gets. For example, if you have 2-4 players, each player can get 30 cards, and if you have 5-6 players, each player receives 20 cards.

These cards must be placed face down and will be their stockpile.

The top card of everyone’s stockpile is flipped up and placed on top of the stockpile.

The remaining cards are set in the center of the table, face down.

The aim of the game is to be the first player to play all the cards in your stockpile.

Once everyone has their stockpile, the first player draws 5 cards to hold in hand and play with.

The game starts when a player can place a 1 in the center of the table. There are four available building piles that all players use.

Players take turns to build the stack sequentially.

Each player also has their own four discard piles, where they can place cards from their hand in any order at the end of their turn.

Here’s a quick video showing you how to play Skip-Bo:

Uno Card Game For Kids

Uno is a classic game for the whole family where you race to get rid of your cards.

Don’t forget to pack your Uno tin for your next road trip as well.

Age: 7+

Number of Players: 2-10

Duration of Game: 10-15 minutes

How To Play Uno:

Each player matches a card from their hand with the card displayed on top of the deck either by color or number.

Various special action cards, such as Skips, Reverses, Draw Twos, Color-Changing Wild cards, and Draw Four Wild cards, help you defeat your opponents.

You must draw from the center pile when you cannot make a match.

As soon as you have only one card left, shout “UNO!” The first player to get rid of all the cards in their hand wins.

If you don’t have Uno in your game room then it’s definitely a classic card game that you should add to your game collection.

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza Card Game

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza is a simple, fast-paced card game that will unleash your competitive spirit.

Age: 8+

Number of Players: 2-6

Duration of Game: 10-15 minutes

How To Play Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza:

Deal all the cards out evenly to all the players.

Each player keeps their stack facing down.

Everyone takes a turn putting a card in the middle while saying “Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese or Pizza” in that order.

If the picture in the middle matches the word you say, you slap your hand on the pile.

Whoever’s hand is on last has to take the stack in the middle.

The person who has no cards left and is the first to slap a match wins the game.

Watch the video below to discover what the extra three special cards do and to check out the rules:

Spot It! Fast-Paced Card Game For Kids

Spot It! is a fast-paced classic card game where kids match symbols to win cards. Spot It! is a perfect game for players of all ages.

Age: 6+

Number of Players: 2-8

Duration of Game: 15 minutes

How To Play Spot It:

Players don’t take turns but race to spot a matching symbol and grab the card.

There are five various ways to play Spot it! which are really easy and super fun for all ages.

There are several different versions of the game, like Junior Animals, Disney Frozen II, 1-2-3, and Camping, so have a look and choose your favorite.

Sleeping Queens Card Game For Tweens

Sleeping Queens is a fantasy strategy card game made by a 6-year-old, where you use strategy and elementary arithmetic skills to wake up the sleeping queens.

Age: 6+

Number of Players: 2-5

Duration of Game: 15 minutes

How To Play Sleeping Queens:

A spell has put twelve Queens to sleep, and they can only be awoken by a king.

The Queens can, however, go straight back to sleep if the sleeping potion card is played. While the potion can be broken with a wand that casts a spell, the Knight can ruin the happy ending.

There are also dragons and the Jester to keep things interesting.

A fun family game, Sleeping Queens, will take strategy, quick thinking, and a little luck.

Bears vs. Babies Card Game

Bears vs. Babies is a strategic card game for teens and adults where you build monsters, battle babies, and compete with the other players to win the most battles and score the most points.

Age: 10+

Number of Players: 2-5

Duration of Game: 20 minutes

How To Play Bears V’s Babies:

The game’s goal is to build magnificent bears and other monsters that eat the mean babies. The player that consumes the most babies wins.

Start with a head card to build a monster, and then add any body parts to create crazy monsters. Just make sure the stitches on the cards match up to create your monsters.

You can create land (green), sea (blue), or sky (red) monsters.

Add up the numbers on the cards to calculate the strength of your monsters.

Babies also have strengths related to the numbers on their cards.

As the game progresses, babies will be stacked face down in the center of the game.

Watch this video to see how the battles are played:

You’ve Got Crabs Card Game

You’ve Got Crabs is an entertaining and fast-paced team-based card game where players must collect four of the same cards and secretly signal to their partner so that they can shout out, “You’ve got crabs!”.

Age: 7+

Number of Players: 4-10 (even number of players in teams). 6 players are best.

Duration of Game: 20 minutes

How To Play You’ve Got Crabs:

Pick a partner and divide the group into teams of two players each.

Then each pair figures out a signal that they both agree on, such as rubbing your eye.

After that, everyone takes turns drawing crab cards.

The aim of the game is to get four of the same cards, which means that you have crabs!

Using the secret sign you and your partner agreed on in private, let your partner know you have crabs. Your partner has to see your signal and yell, “you’ve got crabs! “before anyone else does to get points.

You lose points if an opponent shouts, “you have crabs!” before your partner does.

In this game, points are awarded in the form of crabs, and the team with the most crabs wins.

Dutch Blitz Popular Card Game For Teenagers

Dutch Blitz is a fast-paced card game that’s easy to learn but hard to master.

Age: 8+

Number of Players: 2-4

Duration of Game: 20 minutes

How To Play Dutch Blitz:

Each player gets a blitz pile of cards in front of them and must lay them out in sequential order on the cards in the middle to get rid of all of the cards.

Each player gets their own deck of forty cards. Cards are numbered 1-10 in four colors; red and blue cards show a Pennsylvania Dutch boy, while yellow and green cards show a Pennsylvania Dutch girl.

The backs of the cards have different symbols to help you sort the cards between rounds.

Have a look at the manufacturer’s message, which explains precisely how to play Dutch Blitz.

There is also an expansion pack available if you want to play with up to 8 players.

Blink Card Game For Teens & Tweens

Blink is a fast-paced card game where everyone races to match their cards to the discard pile. You can match based on shape, color, or count.

Age: 7+

Number of Players: 2

How To Play Blink:

Players are dealt all the cards equally, with one card placed in the middle of the table face up for each player.

Each player then takes three cards from their deck in their hands and tries to place them on the stacks on the table. As soon as you’ve placed a card, you can pick up another card from your stack.

Players then race at the same time to try and match the next card in their stack (by shape, color, or count) to the top card on the deck.

Players don’t take turns but race as fast as they can to get rid of their cards.

The first person to get rid of all their cards wins.

Watch this video to see how it’s done:

For more three-player games have a look at 55+ Fun Games To Play With 3 People

Standard Deck of Card Games For Teenagers

Which card games are best for teenagers? Teens love a challenge, so games like Black Jack, Pig, Slap Jack, Spoons, Crazy Eights, and War are great options for some friendly competition.

Go Fish!

Age: 7+

Number of Players: 2 + 

How to Play Go Fish:

Decide who will deal the cards. Each player receives 7 cards if there are two or three players. Each player gets five cards if there are more players.

All the remaining cards are placed facedown in a stack called the “fish pond.”

Players should sort their cards into groups of the same number (i.e., groups of fives or Queens).

The person to the dealer’s left starts the game by asking any other player for cards that will match his hand. For example, if you have two Queens, you will ask another player for Queens. If they have Queens, then they must give them to you. Otherwise, they say “Go Fish!” and you must take a card from the fish pond stack.

The player that said “Go Fish!” can now take their turn to ask another player for cards.

Players who collect all four cards of a set (i.e., all four Queens) puts them face down in front of them.

The winner is the first one to have no single cards left, only complete sets.

If two players run out of cards together, the player with the most sets wins.

Pig

Pig is a similar passing card game where you need to get four of a kind. However, instead of grabbing a spoon, you put your finger to your nose to indicate that you have four of a kind.

Age: 4+

Number of Players: 5 + 

How to Play Pig:

The aim of the game is to be the first player to make a group of four of a kind in your hand or not to be the last player to notice when someone else has done so.

A player shuffles the deck thoroughly before dealing four cards to each player at a time.

After looking at their hands, each player passes one card to the left and picks up the card passed by the player to their right.

Passes are made as fast as possible, making it challenging for players to keep up.

If a player assembles four cards of one denomination, such as four jacks, they should stop passing or picking up cards, and put a finger to their nose discreetly.

The other players must also stop passing and put their fingers to their noses.

The last person to do this is the Pig!

Beggar My Neighbour

A simple game similar to SlapJack, where the goal is to win all the cards.

Age: 7+

Number of Players: 2-4 (with one deck of cards). Add another deck for more than 4 players.

How to Play Beggar My Neighbour:

Remove the jokers and shuffle the cards. Then deal them out equally to all players.

Players place their cards in a stack in front of them face down.

The player to the dealer’s left turns over the top card from their pile and places it in the middle of the table.

All cards with a value between 2 and 10 have no special significance, and the play moves on to the next player.

Court cards (aces, kings, queens, and jacks) make the game more fun.

If a court card is played, the next player has to pay a forfeit, which involves turning some of her cards over to the central pile.

Upon turning over an ace, the second player turns over four cards one by one onto the pile; upon turning over a king, he must pay three cards; upon turning over a queen, two cards; and upon turning over a jack, one card.

If all the forfeit cards that a player turns over are between 2 and 10, then the player who turned over the court card gets the whole pile and puts it beneath his own.

However, if the player turns over another court card during the forfeit, the debt is deemed paid off, and the player does not have to turn over any more cards.

Instead, the next player pays the forfeit dictated by the second court card and hopes to turn over a court card while doing so or concedes the whole central pile to the next player.

A player is out of the game when they have no more cards left.

The player who accumulates all the cards at the end of the game wins.

Watch this video that explains how to play ‘Beggar My Neighbour’ well:

War

War is a simple game where you need minimal skill level but can still have hours of fun.

Age: 4+

Number of Players: 2-4

How to Play War:

Deal the entire deck face down equally between the players.

Players simultaneously turn one over on the table, and the player with the higher number wins both cards.

In the case of identical cards, it is a ‘war’.

Each player then deals three cards face down followed by one face up. The highest card takes all 10 cards.

The game continues until one player runs out of cards.

Watch here how to play War:

Old Maid

The goal is to get rid of all the cards in your hand, and not to get stuck with the one unmatched Queen or Old Maid. The game is fun partly because there are many winners and only one loser.

Age: 4+

Number of Players: 2-6

How to play Old Maid:

Start by removing one of the Queens from the deck.

Then shuffle and deal all the cards facedown, one at a time to each player in a clockwise rotation.

Each player looks at their cards and removes any pairs, laying them facedown on the table.

The player to the dealer’s left holds their cards face down and allows the player to their left to pick one.

If they make a pair, they place it face-up, and play continues around the table.

Eventually, every pair has been made except for the “Old Maid,” who is stuck with the lone queen.

Play or Pay

Play or Pay is a sequence card game and involves some low-key betting – you can use poker chips or candies (jelly beans or M&M’s) to keep it child-appropriate. The aim of the game is to complete the suits and be the first player to get rid of all your cards.

Age: 8+

Number of Players: 3-8

How to play Play or Pay:

Take out the jokers from the pack and deal out all the cards.

Before each deal, each player places one chip (or jelly bean) into the pot.

It’s best to organize your cards in suits.

The first player lays down any card face up on the table. The first card does not have to be the Ace.

The next player must add the next sequential card in that suit. If they don’t have the correct card, they must put a chip in the pot.

Play continues clockwise, with players adding the following card sequentially.

The player who plays the thirteenth card of a suit may select any card from his hand to begin the next series.

Whoever gets rid of all their cards first wins the pot.

Here’s a slightly different version with 4 players:

Crazy Eights

Crazy Eights is a fun card game for the whole family where players need to get rid of all their cards to win.

Age: 6+

Number of Players: 2+

How to play Crazy Eights:

Each player gets 5 cards.

The rest of the cards are placed face down in the center of the table.

One card is placed face up and beside the facedown pile. This creates a “starter” pile.

Each player must place a card on the starter pile that matches either suit or denomination. For example, if the first card is a Queen of hearts, the next person can either place another Queen or any other heart.

When players cannot play a card, they draw cards from the top of the facedown cards until one can be played.

But note that all eights are wild. Eights can be played at any time in a turn, and the player should only specify a suit for them, not a number.

The first player without cards wins!

SlapJack

A fast passed and physical card game that involves quick reflexes, similar to Snap. It consists of winning cards by being the first player to slap the stack when a Jack is played. SlapJack is one of the funnier card games for teenagers that we’ve played.

Age: 6+

Number of Players: 2-8

How to play SlapJack:

Deal out the entire deck equally among the players.

The person to the left of the dealer turns over one card and places it face-up in the middle of the table.

Each player then plays a card one at a time until someone plays a Jack. When a Jack is played, fellow players must try to be the first to slap the pile of cards in the middle of the table.

The first person to slap the Jack wins the entire pile of cards and adds them to the bottom of their card stack.

If a player runs out of cards, they have one more chance to slap a Jack to get back in the game. However, if they don’t slap the Jack first, then they’re out of the game.

Play continues until one person collects all the cards.

Spoons

Spoons is a fast-paced game where players rush to get four of a kind and grab a spoon. It’s fast, loud and lots of fun. Both my 11 and my 14-year-old sons love playing this fun game.

Ages: 7+

Number of Players: 3-13

How To Play Spoons: 

All you need to play is a deck of cards and one less spoon than players.

In this game, players race to get four of a kind and grab a spoon before they’re all gone.

Place the spoons in the center of the playing table.

Each player gets dealt four cards.

The rest of the cards are placed face down in the center of the table.

The dealer takes one card from the pack and passes a card he doesn’t want to the next player on the left.

Each player then passes a card they don’t want to the player on their left.

The last player will create a discard pile, from which the dealer can draw cards once this main deck is finished.

As soon as a player has four of a kind, they grab a spoon. Everyone else can also grab a spoon at this point. The person who doesn’t get a spoon in time is out or loses the game.

Watch this video to see how to play Spoons:

You can buy the game Spoons if you’d like to have a travel game to take with you:

BlackJack

BlackJack is the same game as 21, where players try to get as close to 21 points to win a round. There is betting involved, but you can use candies or matches to keep it child-friendly. This is one of our favorite family card games.

Ages: 10+

Number of Players: 2+

How To Play BlackJack: 

Remove jokers from the pack.

Each player only plays against the dealer to try and win the round. You win by having more points than the dealer, but no more than 21, or you’re bust and therefore out.

Jack, Queen, and King are 10 points. 2-10 have face value points. Ace can either be 1 or 11 points.

The game begins with each player placing a bet (matches or candy) in the middle of the table.

The dealer deals two cards to each player face down and deals one card face up and one face down to themself.

Each player counts up the points on their cards and decides if they want another card (tap the table to hit) or not (wave your hand to stick).

The dealer then flips over his cards and decides if they want more cards or not. The dealer has to hit if their cards equal 16 or less. The dealer has to stay if his first two cards equal 17 or more.

A player must have more than the dealer to win their bet, but no more than 21, or they’re bust.

If a player has BlackJack, the dealer pays out 3 chips for every two chips bet.

If a player wins their hand, the dealer gives each player a chip for every bet placed.

If a player loses, the dealer takes all the chips they bet.

Watch this video to see the rules of the game and a quick demonstration of how it’s played:

Solitaire

Ages: 8+

Number of Players: 1

The game is famous because of its single player requirements, anyone, anywhere can be Solitaire. The game is simple: you must arrange your cards and build the deck into a sequence and by suit from ace through king. The game is won when the whole deck of cards is built into the foundation.

How to play Solitaire:

The objective of the game is to create four piles of cards, one per each suit in ascending order. 

Since there are several variations of Solitaire that are popular, it is best to research the specific rules for the game (such as Freecell) you are playing. 

Cribbage

Ages: 8+

Numbers of Players: 1+

The fast-paced game is won by scoring 121 points through a series of card combinations. While traditionally multiplayer, the online version offers a single player mode. Additionally, Cribbage is offered in easy, standard, and pro modes.

How to play Cribbage:

In Cribbage, the dealer has an advantage over the non-dealer. Typically a dealer is chosen by drawing a card from the deck.

Players must set up the deck face down, the dealer gives each player 6 cards.

Once players look at their cards, they must discard 4 face down into the “crib” pile. A player must cut the cards and the top one becomes the starter card. After this, a series of rounds commence, with various scoring patterns. Players can also earn points at the end of a hand, which is called “the show”.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our favorite card games for teens, and that you’ll have as much fun as we do playing some of these popular games with your teenagers.