Top games playable with a standard deck of cards
Sonja Elen Kisa
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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Playing card games! All you need is a regular, plain ole deck of cards! Games sorted by rank.
Instead of spending all our money on fancy Euro games, sometimes it's beneficial to have a look at all the highest rated game options we have from something as simple as a common deck of playing cards.
Too many of these popular games are unranked, because they don't even have the minimum 30 ratings votes. If you've played any of these games before (and I'm sure you have!), by all means take the time to rate them!
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For those interested in Werewolf (aka Mafia) game mentioned earlier on, I highly recommend The Resistance. It fixes some known issues in Mafia, such as player elimination during first night (someone is out from entire duration of the game), and first day accusations based on no grounds. The other thing that's great about The Resistance is that it can be played with as little group as 5 players. So, if you have 10+ people in your group I would suggest going Mafia/Werewolf, but below 11 players The Resistance is your friend
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Published edition is not that expensive and offers some plot cards, which just make it even more fun. But the basic gameplay is easy to achieve with just usual deck of cards (see discussion here), just an example:
Dracil wrote: Face cards for role cards. Aces+Joker for assigning team members. Thumbs for voting. Red/Black cards for mission cards. Voila, The Resistance P&P.
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2.
Board Game: Bridge
[Average Rating:7.50 Overall Rank:175]
Sonja Elen Kisa
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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Definitely a classic!
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Clayton Ingalls
United States
Kaneohe
Hawaii
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We play this with a plain deck of cards. You just take out the Aces, jokers, and face cards. We also only hold 6 cards. The main difference is that this takes a little less time to play. I'm glad we saved the $20.
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Poochie D
Canada
Winnipeg
Manitoba
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Very good game for two or three players. The special crib board is convenient, but not necessary.
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Big Lebowski
Germany
Unspecified
Unspecified
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May not be what you were looking for - but it's definitely a great game we play with standard playing cards.
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6.
Board Game: Wizard
[Average Rating:6.85 Overall Rank:454]
Ed Carter
Spain
Groton
Massachusetts
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The artwork on the German version is superb, but the US version is really just a set of standard playing cards with a couple of extra jokers
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7.
Board Game: Poker
[Average Rating:6.77 Overall Rank:470]
Sonja Elen Kisa
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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Technically, you may also want poker chips for this. This one was a favourite among the crew of the starship Enterprise 17701D.
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Sonja Elen Kisa
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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I'm pretty sure this one includes card games.
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9.
Board Game: Spades
[Average Rating:6.80 Overall Rank:668]
Sonja Elen Kisa
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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10.
Board Game: Skat
[Average Rating:7.31 Overall Rank:738]
Sonja Elen Kisa
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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Very popular in Germany!
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11.
Board Game: Euchre
[Average Rating:6.78 Overall Rank:736]
Sonja Elen Kisa
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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I know a cute girl in Toronto for whom this is her favourite playing card game.
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12.
Board Game: Mus
[Average Rating:7.86 Overall Rank:753]
Mike Adams
United States
Brigham City
Utah
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If you remove some of the cards to bring it down to a 40 card deck, you can use a standard deck of cards instead of one with Spanish suits. (The Spanish suits are so cool, though.)
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Sonja Elen Kisa
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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It's asshole!! (also known as President, Presidents and Assholes (P&A), Kings and Assholes, Janitor, Warlords and Scumbags, Scum, or Revolution) Probably the standard card game I've played the most as an adult. Interestingly enough, in my experience, this is a favourite in both in Canada and in Europe (the two places I've lived). This particular "Great Dalmuti" deck is just a fancier version of the layperson's classic.
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Sean Ross
Canada
North Vancouver
British Columbia
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Use two combined standard decks - preferably Bridge or Canasta decks - they have smaller cards and 16 cards is a lot of cards to hold. Remove all of the Diamonds and all of the face cards from both decks. The suits will rank Spades(Green) < Hearts(Yellow) < Clubs(Red). Remember 1 < 2 < 3: Spades have 1 point on top which is less than the 2 bumps on top of Hearts which is still less than the 3 bumps on top of Clubs. Keep one Queen of Spades to act as Green Phoenix; one Queen of Hearts to act as Yellow Phoenix; and one King of Clubs to act as Red Dragon. You'll need to remember that the face cards cannot be used in flushes but the gap between the 10 and Queen should be enough to remind you that they also cannot be used in straights or straight flushes. The Queens can form a pair, and can be used in full houses. Finally, you can use an Ace of Diamonds to serve as a multi-colored One and that's it - you now have a 64 card Gang of Four deck.
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15.
Board Game: Hearts
[Average Rating:6.44 Overall Rank:972]
Sonja Elen Kisa
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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Richard Irving
United States
Salinas
California
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You forgot this one. (Well tchnically you need 2 decks (A-9).
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Richard Irving
United States
Salinas
California
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Another precision trick taking game.
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Sean Ross
Canada
North Vancouver
British Columbia
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Doppelkopf (or Doko) is development of Schafkopf using two shortened decks of cards (only 9,T,J,Q,K,A are used); it is a member of the Schafkopf Group of point trick games. The game is played by 4 with variable partnerships.
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Andy Parsons
United Kingdom
Chelmsford
Essex
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Cosmic Eidex is a terrific game for three. It's a trick taker, with trumps randomly decided and playable at any time. At the end of each hand, points are awarded for winning all tricks, plus card values collected relative to the other players. There's frequently a need to alter your objectives during the hand, based on others' play.
It is playable with a shortened standard deck 6-10,J,Q,K,A and the rules translation here on the 'Geek. However, the Fata Morgana/Abacus deck (suits: stars, lizards, ravens, hearts)is so pretty, amusing and cheap that you will want it.
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Sean Ross
Canada
North Vancouver
British Columbia
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Let one player use the red suits (hearts and diamonds) and the other use the black suits (clubs and spades); give each player all of 2-10 cards in their suits, use either the Queens or the Aces for "Ladies-in-Waiting", the Jacks for "Ministers", Jokers for "Jesters", and one King for "The Duke". This requires decks with 4 Jokers. If you have only 2 or 3 Jokers, you could use the Jokers as "Dukes" and let either the Jacks or Kings act as Jesters; or use whatever other configuration you prefer.
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21.
Board Game: Rook
[Average Rating:6.38 Overall Rank:1184]
Sonja Elen Kisa
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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Mark Mahaffey
United States
Columbia
South Carolina
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Works just as well with regular playing cards. 4 colors = 4 suits. M/F cards = R/B cards. To keep it exactly the same, you'd throw out the royalty, but having them on top makes for an even bigger game.
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Richard Irving
United States
Salinas
California
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Here's another card game--the best of the Precision trick taking games.
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Robert Zurfluh
United States
Cranbury
New Jersey
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A Bavarian game. Played with 3 or 4 players - 4 is better.
Very, very good game.
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25.
Board Game: 500
[Average Rating:6.88 Overall Rank:1485]
Richard Irving
United States
Salinas
California
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Though the deck here is non-standard, this deck is only required for six players. A standard deck can be used for up to 5.
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As to the complexity of various bidding agreements, most of those have sprung up by those of us that play tournament bridge, where every trick won (or lost) is crucial and making razor thin decisions is important.
really? is SHE a 'friend' of yours? Can YOU hook US up? Tell HER that I 'play' the Michigan 'brand' with or without the 'sandbaggin' Rules! Here, give HER my 'number'~#1 and have her give me a 'ring'-preferably the 'bath-tub' kind! 
