I notice that a lot of people are searching the internet for free card games. Tens of thousands of people. I’m guessing that most of these people are looking for interactive computer card games such as Hearts which comes standard with Windows on PC computers.
But there is an alternative source. Just follow a few simple steps to find free card games the old fashioned way.
STEP 1. Find a deck of playing cards.
There may be a computer application that is equivalent to a deck of playing cards, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about a standard deck of 52 playing cards, the kind you can hold and shuffle and deal.
You could buy a deck of cards in a store, but it wouldn’t be free. So I would start by looking in your junk drawers and storage boxes. A deck of cards might have found its way into one of them at some time or another.
Or ask relatives, Mom and Dad and Brothers and Sisters and Aunts and Uncles and Cousins, if they have an extra deck of playing cards that they can spare. Or you can ask your friends the same question. You might offer to show your appreciation by playing a card game with them sometime soon.
Or offer to do some work in exchange for a deck of playing cards. Offer to mow a lawn, or paint a fence, or rake some leaves, or wash a car. It might take several lawn mowings to earn a deck of playing cards.
(If all else fails, you can always ask for a deck of playing cards as a birthday or a Christmas present.)
STEP 2. Find the rules of a card game.
Go to your local library and find a book that contains a collection of card game rules. Check the book out, and find a game that interests you. Look for a card game played by two or more players. You can hand-write the rules. This is virtually free, just the cost of ink and paper. You could also copy the rules using a copy machine, but this would cost you money.
Or ask friends and relatives if they have a book of card game rules that you can borrow. If so, borrow the book, find a game that interests you, and record the rules.
Or go online to look for card game rules. If you don’t have internet access at home, ask friends or relatives if you can use their computer for a little while. Or you might be able to access the internet for free at a local library or school. If you can get online, go to a search engine and search for ‘CARD GAME RULES’. Or just go to a website featuring card game rules such as ‘www.pagat.com’. Once again, find a game that interests you, and record the rules.
(If all else fails, ask a friend or relative to teach you a simple card game that you don’t know or that you have forgotten such as Crazy Eights, Fan Tan, I Doubt It, or Oh Pshaw, or even Go Fish.)
STEP 3. Get some people together.
You will now have to find people to play cards with. That means asking friends or relatives if they would be free some evening or sometime during an upcoming weekend to play cards. If so, set the date.
If you experience resistance, try a little begging. Try to cry if you can. That works sometime.
(If all else fails, wait for a family gathering and bring your playing cards and rules. You might be able to play a card game with someone there.)
STEP 4. Then with the cards and the rules and the people, you play a card game.
Seat the players around the table, and place the cards and anything else necessary to play the game (maybe a pen and a score pad) on the table. Then, referencing the rules that you recorded, play cards.
STEP 5. Evaluate the card game.
Was the card game fun? Would you like play it again sometime?
At the same time you should ask yourself one other thing. Did you enjoy playing cards with friends/relatives? Playing cards is like playing board games or playing video games or playing parlor games like charades with other people. There’s a lot of interaction.
You can find out what’s new, and what books people have read and recommend, and how the weather is. You can smile when you have succeeded in choosing the right cards to play. You can offer some praise when someone else has scored some hard-earned points. That’s what the PC game of Hearts lacks. You can’t turn to Sally and ask, “What’s your favorite TV show?”, and expect a reply.
If you didn’t like the card game, follow the above steps to pick another card game and get together with friends or relatives and play that game. And if you did like the card game, then gather some friends or relatives together sometime soon and play it again. Free card games.
