Spice up accom life with some gaming!

When you and your flatmates all gathered in the kitchen with nothing to do, a card game is the perfect way to break the ice and even create a little friendly rivalry. Whether you’re a group of competitive gamers or just looking for a casual way to pass the time, there’s a card game for every occasion. In this blog, we’ll explore some of the best card games to play with your flatmates; games that are easy to learn, fun to play, and guaranteed to bring everyone together for hours of entertainment!

UNO

If you're looking for a fun card game to play with friends, give Uno a try! Each player gets dealt a hand of 7 cards to start. To play, you’ll match one of your cards with the card that's been dealt from the draw pile. The first player to get rid of all of their cards wins the round. This game is a classic and never fails to get dull with rules you can interchange and the levels of competitiveness that can arise.

Objective: Be the first to reach 500 points by getting rid of all your cards in each round.

Setup: Each player starts with 7 cards. The rest form a draw pile. Flip over the top card to start the discard pile.

Gameplay: Players take turns matching a card from their hand to the top card of the discard pile by colour or number. If you can’t play, draw a card.

Special Cards:

• Skip: The next player loses their turn.
• Reverse: Reverses the direction of play.
• Draw Two: The next player draws two cards and skips their turn.
• Wild: Change the current colour to any colour.
• Wild Draw Four: Choose the next colour, and the next player draws four cards (only can be played if you don’t have a matching colour card).

UNO Call: When you have one card left, shout "UNO!" If another player catches you not calling it before your next turn, draw two cards.

Winning the Round: The round ends when a player plays all their cards. Points are scored based on the cards left in others’ hands.

The first to 500 points wins the game!

Joking Hazard

Based on the webcomic Cyanide and Happiness, Joking Hazard has you play cards to make funny comic strips and a judge chooses their favourite punchline or setup each round. This game is super simple to play too, so it won't take too long to teach your flatmates and friends.

Objective: Create the funniest comic strip by selecting cards to complete a three-panel scene.

Setup: Each player starts with 7 cards. One player acts as the Judge each round.

Gameplay: The Judge draws the first two cards to start a comic strip (one for the first two panels). The other players choose one card from their hand to complete the third panel. All submitted cards are shuffled, and the Judge picks the funniest or most fitting one.

Winning a Round: The player whose card is chosen by the Judge wins the round and gets a point.

Winning the Game: The first player to reach 5 points wins.

Exploding Kittens

The objective of Exploding Kittens is to avoid or defuse Exploding Kitten cards to keep them from blowing you up. If you’re the last player standing, you win the game. If you enjoy uno, this will be tight down your street! Things can get quite heated, and once you learn the rules, rounds become fast paced!

Objective: Avoid drawing an Exploding Kitten card. The last player remaining wins.

Setup: Each player starts with 7 cards. Add the Exploding Kittens (one fewer than the number of players) and shuffle the deck.

Gameplay: On your turn, draw a card and follow its instructions. You can also play action cards before drawing.

Action Cards: These let you skip your turn, force another player to draw, or peek at the deck, among other things.

Exploding Kitten: If you draw this, you’re out, unless you play a Defuse card, which lets you defuse the explosion with items like lasers or hairballs.

Defuse Cards: If you play a Defuse card, you can put the Exploding Kitten back into the deck anywhere you like.

Monopoly Deal

Like the traditional board game, Monopoly Deal offers the exciting combo of competition and risk, but it moves a lot faster. Instead of having a board, paper money, and game pieces, Monopoly Deal condenses gameplay into a 110-card deck. It only takes a few minutes to learn the rules and get the hang of it, so you'll be playing in no time.

Objective: Be the first to collect 3 full property sets of different colours.

Setup: Each player starts with 5 cards. Draw cards from the deck to start your turn.

Gameplay: On your turn, you can:

Play up to 3 cards: Place properties in front of you, charge rent, or use action cards (e.g., “Deal Breaker,” “Sly Deal”).Draw 2 cards at the end of your turn.

Property Sets: Complete sets of properties by collecting the required cards of the same colour.

Action Cards: Use these to steal properties, charge rent, or swap sets from other players.

Winning the Game: The first player to complete 3 full property sets wins.

And how about a standard deck of cards? There’s numerous games to play, but here’s how to play two of them!

Crazy 8

Objective: Be the first to get rid of all your cards.

Setup: Each player starts with 5-7 cards. The remaining cards form the draw pile, and the top card is flipped over to start the discard pile.

Gameplay: On your turn, match a card from your hand by number or suit to the top card of the discard pile. If you can’t match, draw a card.

Crazy 8s: If you play an 8, you can change the suit to any other suit of your choice.

Winning the Game: The first player to get rid of all their cards wins the round. Continue until a player wins a set number of rounds or points.

Rummy

Objective: Be the first to form valid sets or runs and lay down all your cards.

Setup: Each player is dealt 10 cards (7 cards for 2 players). The remaining cards form the draw pile, with the top card placed face-up to start the discard pile.

Gameplay: On your turn, you must:

• Draw a card from either the draw pile or discard pile.
• Form sets (3+ of the same rank) or runs (3+ consecutive cards of the same suit) with your cards.
• Discard one card at the end of your turn.

Winning the Game: When a player forms valid sets/runs with all their cards, they can lay them down and end the round. Other players score points based on unlaid cards in their hands.

Scoring: The player with the lowest score after a set number of rounds wins.