If they were telling the truth, the challenger loses a precious card – but if the challenger outs them as a liar, it’s the first player who must discard. The winner is the last person standing with at least one card, so these are a precious resource to gamble with. In each game, you’re dealt two cards in secret, each showing a particular member of a backstabbing royal court in a futuristic dictatorship. Every card also has a unique, advantageous ability – or the power to block opponents from using their own abilities. The following player must then play a card of the same suit if they can, and any card from their hand if they cannot.

Sea, Salt, and Paper is a hand management and set collection game with distinctive artwork and a peppy pace. It takes a few rounds to understand what the cards mean and how they interact, which is a little annoying since it’s the point of the game. Once you get the hang of it, it’s a quick and breezy game to pass the time, but we found it too simple to recommend. Boss Monster is a retro, Nintendo-inspired game in which players take on the roles of classic video game bosses and build dungeons that lure in adventurers and kill them with various traps and monsters. It’s an easy game to teach—and fun to play—but it doesn’t have a ton of replayability. The game continues this way until a player flips over one last card—placed randomly in the deck before the game starts—that reads, “The queen is under attack.

They might flip over one of your face-down cards, blow something up, call in reinforcements from the deck, or let you deploy your next unit anywhere. The fact you share the deck with your opponent means you’ll have some idea of what they’ve got in their hand, but you never know. Of course, there will be plenty of opportunities to push probability in your favor (or screw an opponent over). Ever wished Russian Roulette was a little more family-friendly? Alright, maybe Exploding Kittens is still a pretty grim mental picture – but it’s still a far more family-friendly version of the age-old push-your-luck game. Your choices compound, and your chosen deck-building path might outpace your enemies or leave you in their dust.

This game of deception has quickly become one of our go-tos when friends come round, largely because it's easy to explain but still gripping. While it's not a traditional card game (its cards are circular, for a start), it can rival the very best in terms of appeal. That in itself explains why this should be considered as one of the best card games. Having exploded onto the scene a couple of years back in 2023, it obliterated expectations and became wildly popular with TCG players and Disney fans alike.

Pokémon Trading Card Game

In his free time he enjoys taking photos, running D&D, and volunteering for a youth robotics competition. Arboretum is a pretty and relaxing game that tasks players with building the most appealing path of trees in their own arboretum. The game has a multiplayer solitaire kind of feel to it—it’s exceedingly chill to play—but it’s somewhat spoiled by a fiddly scoring system.

Unless someone ups that bid, you then reveal your own facedown cards before deciding which of your rivals' cards you'll pick. Did you guess that there were five flower cards around the table? Although you can kick off via the single-person starter decks and battle with family or friends that way, I'd recommend grabbing the Gateway box set instead. This is designed for two and will walk you through the rules step by step. That's why the GamesRadar+ team and I have been busy gathering up a list of our favorites.

Silver is a card-based take on the popular Werewolf games (and plays a lot like the traditional card game Golf). It’s an interesting spin on familiar gameplay, but we found that Skull was a better iteration of the “trying to figure out what’s in other player’s hands” dynamic that these games evoke. It means card games for computers will be more fast and accessible with deep strategy. The implementation of AI will help all types of players from beginners to pros. On the other side, AR and VR techs will make the game more immersive. Some single-player games may have optional multiplayer modes (like Monster Train has a challenge mode with leaderboards), but their primary focus is solo gameplay.

Overall, if you want a handy, reliable, and versatile set of cards for game night, then these are the best ones. Each deck is procedurally generated, ensuring that no two decks are alike. This eliminates the need for deck-building and creates a level playing field for all players. The game's fast-paced gameplay and strategic depth make it mtg card a refreshing addition to the card game landscape. It mixes card games and dice-rolling mechanics in one place.

A correct guess sends the card back to you, but getting it wrong means that player keeps the card instead. Cockroach Poker is all about handing your friend an animal card and, with great audacity, declaring it to be something it isn’t. They can then either make a call on whether you’re lying or not, or they pass the card on to the next player. There’s a cosmic communication jam caused by space dust or angry Martians or something, which means you have to play in silence, or at least not discuss strategy. You can only describe your hand to your companions with the help of radio tokens, which indicate whether a card you’ve laid is the highest, lowest, or only card of its suit that you’re holding.

What is a trading card game, or TCG?

The first card and the card played from hand often dictate the direction of the game, with players having to decide if they should play anytime or wait for a more strategic moment. Whether playing with many cards or a limited number, games like Rummy and Poker challenge you to manage your hand wisely. In non-trick-taking games, players aim to make the best possible moves with the cards together in their hand, strategizing the value of each card as it’s played. Some of the more commercially published games like The Mystery or published games like Monopoly Deal add an extra layer of intrigue with complex rules and hidden strategies. You may even decide to play for money in games like Poker or Blackjack where players bet on their chances.

Players build decks with their favorite characters and combat over different locations with unique effects. The game is very easy to learn however, it needs deep strategy, especially with its “Snap” mechanic that allows you to raise the stake during the game. When it comes to card games that you can play with family or friends, the options are endless. Whether you're deciding which card games to play on a casual evening or planning a competitive session, the strategies are key. In many games, players take turns playing a card from their hand onto the discard pile, with each move influencing the flow of the game.

Top Card Games of 2025: A Deep Dive

You’ll then take turns drawing and playing cards from a central supply to grow, improve, and refine your deck; rack up victory points; and screw over the other players. The best card games don’t need to have a weighty deck packed with countless different options to provide a good time. That’s all that’s inside this uber-light, uber-fun classic, which is ideal for the tabletop gamer on a budget (or who’s running low on cupboard room). Friday is a solo deck-building game where players take on the role of Friday, trying to help Robinson Crusoe survive and escape a deserted island.