Family card games are fun, easy to play, and perfect for bringing everyone together. They let kids and adults enjoy simple challenges, friendly competition, and plenty of laughs. Whatever your style, some games are fast and exciting, while others let you plan and think carefully about your moves.

Choosing the right one can be tricky, which is why I put together this list of the 12 best card games for families. These titles are easy to set up, quick to learn, and suitable for all ages. Each time you play, you can try new strategies, keeping kids engaged and entertained. Trust me – you can’t go wrong with these fun and unique family card games!

Best Card Games for Families Comparison Table

1. The Best Card Games for Families – Guns or Treasure

Our Rating: 5/5 Stars

One of the things kids often want to be is a pirate, and I totally get why. Pirates are cool – they have their own ships to explore and battle other ships. And guess what? That’s exactly what you’ll do in Guns or Treasure, which is probably the best family card game on this list.

Why We Like It

Guns of Treasure’s gameplay is so simple yet tense and replayable, which is why it’s a must-have! Here, your goal is to first secretly build your fleet and load your ships with treasure or canons, and then battle your enemies.

In combat, you compare ships, and the one with the most canons wins. However, if there is a bomb on either ship, you both lose. Sounds fun, right? This game has simple rules for every family member to understand, it’s bonding, easy to set-up, and super-replayable – It’s fantastic! 

2. The Best Card Games for Families – Rescuing Robin Hood

Our Rating: 5/5 Stars

Robin Hood is always happy to help others, and now it’s everyone’s turn to return the favor. How? Well, the Sheriff has captured him, and now he’s counting on the villagers to rescue him. So, let’s gather the best crew and make sure we don’t let him down!

Why We Like It 

One game in Rescuing Robin Hood consists of five days, four of which you use to save and recruit villagers and collect skill points. On the fifth day, you choose four of these villagers (plus a leader) and attack the castle. 

Rescue Robin Hood, defeat the Sheriff, and you win! But to do so, you must cooperate with your team. And, while not exactly a card game, Rescuing Robin Hood utilized cards a lot, which is why it’s worth mentioning it on this list. 

And the reason why I think this is one of the best family board games is its beautiful design, with colorful cards and fun stories to laugh and learn something from. Plus, it teaches kids teamwork and makes all families work together. So, getting it is a super-good idea! 

3. The Best Card Games for Families – Exploding Kittens

Our Rating: 5/5 Stars

All kids love cats, and this game takes their cuteness to a whole new, fun, and unique level. Exploding Kittens doesn’t just use cats in its design and gameplay – it makes kids love them even more. But how do you actually play it, and why is it one of the best card games for families? Let’s find out. 

Why We Like It 

Exploding Kittens is a family-friendly, Russian Roulette–style game where you never know what you’ll draw. And that’s what makes it so fun, because whoever draws the exploding kitten loses. But don’t worry, there are plenty of cards that can help you avoid it, like ones that let you peek, shuffle the deck, or make your opponent draw more cards.

Easy to set up and quick to play, Exploding Kittens will have everyone laughing, teasing, and having a great time, especially when things get tense and only a few cards remain. It’s made for all ages, so everyone can understand it in seconds and enjoy playing. Few quick sessions or a long gaming night, this is a cool card game you will love! 

4. The Best Card Games for Families – Happy Salmon

Our Rating: 5/5 Stars

Sometimes, the best card games for families are the ones with simple rules, cute designs, and lighthearted gameplay that kids will love. Happy Salmon is exactly that kind of game – and it’s truly a must-have! It’s a fun card game that brings everyone together for a great time.

Why We Like It 

From the same publishers as Exploding Kittens, this is another fast-paced and super-fun game for kids. Happy Salmon is pure chaos, thanks to one unique rule, which says that there are no turns! Everyone plays and calls out their cards at the same time. If two players have a match, they perform the action to celebrate.

Actions include “High Five,” “Pound It,” “Switcheroo,” “Happy Salmon,” and more, making this a hilarious game that everyone will love. After celebrating, you discard your cards, and the first one to empty their hand wins, bonding players and giving them a rewarding sense of accomplishment. 

5. The Best Card Games for Families – Sea Salt and Paper

Our Rating: 5/5 Stars

Do you know what the two most important ingredients for the best family card game are? Sea Salt and Paper! And yes – I’m talking about this wonderful deck that all players will like. And how could they not? It’s a simple set-collecting game with super-satisfying combos!

Why We Like It 

Sea Salt and Paper is a unique family card game with a beautiful origami design, where players draw cards and build their hands each turn to reach seven or more points. When they do, they can either end the round or give their opponents one more turn before finishing. Then, everyone compares hands to see who scores the most points that round.

The player who reaches the total points goal first wins. Full of clever combos, a bit of luck, and plenty of fun actions – Sea Salt and Paper is a game that will encourage creative thinking with kids and present a good challenge for adults. It’s easily one of the best card games for families you can play.

6. The Best Card Games for Families – The Game

Our Rating: 5/5 Stars

Which family member do you think you can cooperate with best? In The Game, teamwork is important – but there’s more to it than that. You also need a bit of mind reading (it’s easier than it sounds), trust, and clear communication – all while following the game’s simple rules, which I’ll explain now. 

Why We Like It 

Wondering how this game works? In The Game, each player gets six to eight cards that they need to discard onto two ascending and two descending piles. On each turn, you must discard at least two cards. For the descending piles, you can place any card lower than the top card, or a card exactly 10 higher. The ascending piles work the opposite way.

It sounds tricky, but it’s very satisfying to learn as a team and talk about new tactics to win a game. It’s a unique experience to play when you have free time, and it has very few rules for everyone to join in and feel involved. And what’s a better team than a family? 

7. The Best Card Games for Families – Munchkin: Disney

Our Rating: 5/5 Stars

Just like watching Disney movies with your kids, you can now enjoy a super fun and cool family card game featuring their favorite characters, bringing that magic into your home. With easy-to-learn gameplay and a theme both kids and parents will love, Munchkin: Disney is a game you can’t go wrong with!

Why We Like It

Munchkin: Disney has everything to pull players into its world and make them feel like one of their favorite heroes. Face off against Jafar and Ursula, avoid curses, collect treasures, magical items and allies to help in combat, and much more – all to have fun and reach Level 10!

There are even challenges where you can hum or sing Disney classics, adding extra magic to the game. All of that, combined with the Disney theme, simple yet rich gameplay mechanics, and its replayability, makes this one of the best card games for families. So, put on a movie or a song in the background and enjoy this beauty!  

8. The Best Card Games for Families – Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game

Our Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Just like Disney, many kids (and adults, of course) are obsessed with Marvel’s superheroes and villains, which is why their movies are so popular. Now, let me tell you about Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game – a unique family card game inspired by the Avengers movies.

Why We Like It

In Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game, one player becomes Thanos, trying to collect all the Infinity Stones, while the others play as the Avengers, doing their best to stop him. And maybe they will, because there are only a few rules to learn, and each turn is quick and easy to play.

If you like Marvel, you love the Avengers, and probably like Thanos, because he is such a fearsome and cool villain, right? That said, every fan will enjoy this title. And not only because of the theme – it’s also easy to learn, and has tons of replayability, like all the best card games for families should be! 

9. The Best Card Games for Families – Kariba

Our Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

In Kariba, you travel across the savannah to help the animals. It’s simple – every animal is thirsty and needs to find its drinking spot. But you have to pay attention to their relationships: the rhino is afraid of the elephant, the mice can scare the elephant, and don’t even get me started on the ostrich and the zebra. 

Why We Like It 

Kariba is a card game where players use their animal cards to “compete” for a drinking spot by the lake. To play, you draw five cards and place some around the lake (the board), and if you place three animals of the same kind, you collect your opponents’ weaker animals, earning points.

When the deck is empty, the player with the most points wins! Colorful, easy to learn, and accessible for players of all ages. Plus, it will make every player love animals even more and teach kids about the wilderness. Simply put, you can’t go wrong with getting this cute and cool family card game! 

10. The Best Card Games for Families – Tucano

Our Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Now, from the savannah, it’s time to visit the rainforest. Look at you, traveling to such unique locations! Once there, you’ll find plenty of pineapples, bananas, papayas – you name it. In Tucano, your goal is to collect these fruits while making sure they don’t spoil. Oh, and you can even steal some from your opponents’ stash. So, how do you play this game?

Why We Like It 

In Tucano, as you know, your goal is to collect fresh fruit and leave the spoiled fruit for your opponents. To play, you choose one of the three columns, take all the cards in it, and then refill the columns from the draw pile. You can also use the toucan cards, which give you special abilities.

When only one column is left, you count your cards, and the player with the most points wins. And those are the basics of this easy-to-learn game with fruits that has it all to introduce the youngest fans to card gaming. Plus, it’s still fun for adults who think they are a bit older for these types of games. Be aware, however, because it might make you crave a fruit salad! 

11. The Best Card Games for Families – CuBirds

Our Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

While you’re still in nature and in the mood to help animals, why not help some birds? To do this, you will need to move to the countryside, where many birds are perched on fences, struggling to find their way back to their flock. It’s an amazing, fun, and rewarding experience for every player.

Why We Like It

CuBirds is all about flying birds to fences where they can meet new friends and return to your hand to help you build a flock. You then add these birds to your scoring area, aiming to collect either seven different species or two species with three identical birds.

Fun, simple, and strategic, with plenty of cute birds, CuBirds has everything it takes to be considered one of the best card games for families. And, even if it looks simple, its two winning conditions can sprinkle some strategy to make it enjoyable for all players. 

12. The Best Card Games for Families – Bandido

Our Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

A prisoner has escaped, and there’s only one team that can stop them. Wonder who these skilled agents are? It’s your family, working together to do everything possible to catch the escapee. Think you can do it? I’m sure you can!

Why We Like It 

In Bandido, each player gets tunnel cards that they must play along with the others to connect and create a tunnel. But your goal is to work together to play the best cards so that the tunnel doesn’t help Bandido escape. Block his path, and you win.

With very few rules that you can learn in minutes, gameplay that requires teamwork, player interaction, and lots of replayability thanks to the different tunnels in each game, Bandido is a family card game you’ll love. Plus, there’s the Bandida game you can get for even more prison break enjoyment. 

Final Thoughts on the Best Card Games for Families

Playing family card games is a simple way to spend time together and have fun, no matter how old the players are. With that in mind, the games on this list offer a mix of challenges, strategy, and laughter. Some are fast and full of surprises, while others let you plan your moves carefully.

These titles are easy to learn, encourage interaction, thinking, and friendly competition, making each round super-enjoyable! No matter which one you choose, every player will love these 12 family card games. So, gather around the table and have fun on your next game night!