Bicycle StandardPrice: About $5, roughly.
Our house deck
The deck most people picture. Poker size, standard faces, shuffles well. If you buy one deck, make it this.
All gamesFamilies
Pick a game. We’ll set the table.
From five minutes of Pig to an evening of Canasta, one step at a time.
Pips are the spots on every card and every die. Every game follows the same seven steps, played out on a table that moves as you scroll. Tap a dotted word to see what it means.
Five minutes, tops.
Popular games
All 27 games →How every game is explained
Same seven steps, every time- At a glanceWhat the game is about, in two lines.
- SetupWhat you need, players and seating.
- The dealWho gets what, or who rolls first.
- A turnWhat you do when it is your go.
- Special cards and rollsWilds, trumps, special rolls and exceptions.
- ScoringHow points are counted.
- WinningWhen the game ends, and who wins.
Decks we like
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Copag 1546 plastic, double deckPrice: About $25, roughly.The best plastic deck
Two 100% plastic decks in a hard case. Washable and hard to bend, and a double deck is what Canasta and Spider need.
CanastaRummyGame nights
Bicycle Jumbo IndexPrice: About $6, roughly.Easiest to read
Extra-large numbers and suits. Readable across the table, for kids learning their first game and grandparents alike.
KidsSeniors
theory11 MonarchsPrice: About $40, roughly.The one to give
A luxury deck with a navy and gold tuck box. The one to give, or to bring out when the good whisky is poured.
GiftsCollectors
Piatnik 100% Plastic, bridge sizePrice: About $15, roughly.Perfect for bridge
Two plastic decks in the narrower bridge size, 58 × 89 mm. Easier to hold when your hand has 13 cards or more.
CanastaWhistSpades
Know the table
Knowledge base →- Story
A short history of playing cards
How a pack of painted paper travelled from China through Egypt to Europe, lost its cups and swords, gained a joker, and ended up in almost every home.
- Basics
Anatomy of a deck
Fifty-two cards, four suits, thirteen ranks and a couple of jokers. What everything is called, and a few details you have probably never noticed.
- Basics
How to shuffle and deal
Three ways to shuffle, how many shuffles you really need, and the small table manners of cutting and dealing.