Can I learn a game from a book?

Yes, but it is easier with a guide first. Start with a Pips guide, then use a book to go deeper or to find new games.

Card Games For Dummies if you are new, the Penguin Book of Card Games for the widest choice, Hoyle's when you need an answer.

They are the books we would put in a friend's hands, each for a different reader. If we would not recommend it, it is not here.

The Book of Cards for Kids: For young players

Our take

More than 35 games for two to six players, plus solitaire, written for children from about 4 to 9. Baby Snap, Go Fish and Concentration, explained so a child can read the rules aloud.

It is a good book to give to a family. Children who can read can run the game themselves, and it takes some of the load off the grown-ups.

Pair it with a jumbo index deck and you have a gift that gets used.

Games it covers

All card games →

Collecting sets · 2 to 6 players
Go Fish
Ask for cards and collect sets of four.
Comparing · 2 players
War
Flip, compare, the higher card takes both.
Collecting sets · 2 to 6 players
Old Maid
Pair up your cards and don’t be the one left holding the odd queen.
Shedding · 2 to 5 players
Crazy Eights
Match the pile, play an 8 when stuck, empty your hand first.
Shedding · 2 players
Speed
No turns: play one higher or lower as fast as your hands can move.

Keep reading

Quick answers

Can I learn a game from a book?
Yes, but it is easier with a guide first. Start with a Pips guide, then use a book to go deeper or to find new games.
Which book first?
Card Games For Dummies if you are new, the Penguin Book of Card Games for the widest choice, Hoyle's when you need an answer.
Why these ten?
They are the books we would put in a friend's hands, each for a different reader. If we would not recommend it, it is not here.