After I finished my previous post: 12 Players: 5 Games for Big Groups, I realized I completely neglected to mention my most favorite game, Blackout! So I went searching for more games to add to the big group list and collected the below list. Some of these I’ve personally played, and some were told to me by friends and fam.
Palace
“Palace” is a lively and swift card game known by various names worldwide, such as Shed, China Hand, and Ten-Two Slide. It has gained popularity among tourists and travelers for its quick rounds, typically lasting 10 to 20 minutes. The game employs a standard deck of 52 cards (12 players will need 3 decks), with a unique card ranking from 2 as the highest to 3 as the lowest, considering 2s as wild cards.
Seating positions and the initial dealer are determined by drawing high cards. Aces are high, and 3s are low. Special cards like 2s, 5s, and 10s introduce unique elements to the game, such as wild cards, changing the game’s direction, and removing existing piles.
Players take turns placing cards on the discard pile, following the sequence of ‘normal cards.’ The missing cards, known as ‘special cards,’ include 10, 7, 3, and 2, each with distinct rules. Players replenish their hands by drawing from the pile, and the game progresses through strategic card play.
As the game unfolds, players must manage their hand of cards, including three face-up cards and three face-down cards. Failure to play the correct card results in picking up the entire discard pile. The game concludes when a player successfully removes all their cards, declaring victory.
Crazy Bridge
Not related to Bridge at all, Crazy Bridge is a fun card game that adds a unique twist by changing partners for each round, making it an enjoyable way to meet new people!
Crazy Bridge is another trick-taking game in this list, employing a team-based format with a standard 52-card deck (1 deck per 4 players). The primary objective is to accumulate victories, each valued at 100 points. Aces hold the highest value, while 2s have the lowest. Suits are ranked in the following order: No Trump, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs.
To start the game, form four-player groups organized into two-player teams. Teams seat themselves opposite each other around a square table, with each side adopting a cardinal direction for notation convenience. Ensure that each player has a pen and a copy of the score page, as each hand introduces a unique set of rules. Following each round, victorious teams transition to the next table, exchanging partners. The player with the highest point total after 4 rounds emerges as the winner. You’ll need a pen and score sheet for each team. Find a free score sheet & instructions to play here: https://www.learnnewgames.com/playing-cards-how-to-play-crazy-bridge/
Blackout
Blackout is my all-time favorite card game, introduced to us by my brother-in-law many years ago, and it’s our go-to whenever we’re in a crowd. It’s a trick-taking bidding game where players bid on the number of tricks they believe they can take in each round without going over or under.
In this game, each player tries to predict the number of “tricks” they will take at the beginning of each round before the cards are played. Successfully taking a trick means outplaying all other cards in play, and players aim to gather (or not!) tricks to match their predictions. At the end of each round, players count the tricks they’ve taken. If the tricks match their prediction, they earn points. If they go over or under, the possible points for that round are blacked out, hence the name! Apart from bidding, another challenge in this game is that each round reduces the cards in hand by one, so in the last round, you’ll only have one card to play. The player with the highest score emerges as the winner. We’ve played this with kids as young as 11, but they should have a grasp of trump/trick-taking concepts before diving in.”
B.S. (Bullshit)
If you’re of a certain age as I am, you might remember this game from the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with Matthew McConaughey (which I’m watching while writing!). This was a favorite of my kids growing up as saying bullshit was allowed…for the game, of course!
Bullshit is a game filled with courage, deception, and the goal is to empty your hand by playing cards onto a discard pile. Cards are placed face down, allowing players to potentially fib about the cards they’re putting down. However, if their deception is uncovered, they have to pick up the entire pile. and the goal of getting rid of all the cards in your hand. It’s a ton of fun, but watch out for getting caught in a lie!
To play, the person puts down a certain number of cards, announces the count, states the rank, and places the cards face down in a central pile on the table. In most groups, players must truthfully declare the number of cards played. The first player must play aces, the second player twos, the third player threes, and so on up to the thirteenth player with kings. After kings, aces are played again, and the cycle repeats. The rank a player announces doesn’t have to match the cards being played.
If another player doubts the correctness of the rank announced, they call out Bullshit and the announced number of cards is revealed. If the player was dishonest, they must take the entire pile into their hand. If the player was truthful, the person who called out the name of the game collects the entire pile. The game concludes when a player runs out of cards, though some groups continue until only one person remains.
Go Boom
The objective is to be the first to empty your hand in this card game.
In Go Boom, players take turns laying down cards in a clockwise direction, matching either the suit or the value of the first card played. If unable to play, players draw from the pile until a playable card is drawn. The player with the highest card of the initial suit in each round wins the trick, collects the cards, and initiates the next round.
The game continues until one player successfully discards all their cards, securing victory. Optional scoring involves tallying the point value of the remaining cards at the end of each deal. Face cards are worth 10 points. The first player to reach 200 points wins, or when a player hits 100 points, the winner is the one with the lowest score.
There you have it, five MORE games to play in a large group! Do you have a family favorite? I would love to hear about it!
