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Family game nights are fun and easy when you gather around the table with a pack of playing cards. Card games are easy to learn, fun to play, and they are portable, so you can even take them along on family trips.

When the kids are very young, you may be limited to games like Go Fish, Old Maid, or Memory, but as they get older, there are a lot more family games to choose from. Many games can be played with a standard pack of cards, but specialty card sets are usually only $5-10 and come with easy to follow instructions for hours of fun.

Here are five great family card games to try:

Uno
2-10 Players
(age 7 and up)

Uno is a classic family card game. Seven cards are dealt to each player. The deck becomes the draw pile and the top card is flipped to form a discard pile. Cards can be played if they match the top card on the discard pile in either number or color. If you can't play a card, you have to draw one.

The object is to be the first to play all of your cards. But watch out, you have to say "Uno" when you have only one card left. If you don't, you'll have to draw two penalty cards. Special cards, like Wild, Draw 2, Skip, and Reverse, keep the game exciting.

Phase 10
2-6 Players
(age 8 and up)

A rummy game played in ten (or more) rounds. Phase 10 comes with a list of ten phases (melds) to be reached. For example, "2 sets of 3" or "7 cards of one color". All players start out on Phase One and anyone who makes that meld goes on to the next phase. Those who don't have to try again.

Phase 10 is challenging and fun, but it can make for a long game. Luckily, when time is short you can easily play a quicker game, simply agree on how many phases to play before you begin.

Poker
2-10 Players
(age 7 and up)

Some people may think of Poker as an adult game, but it's great for kids and families too. Poker is played with any standard 52-card deck and you can buy inexpensive plastic poker chips at toy stores or online. It also helps to print out a list of ranking hands with short descriptions for reference.

There are many varieties of Poker, but you can start by learning basic 5 Card Draw. Some other easy Poker games are 7 Card Stud, Anaconda, and Criss Cross. Texas Hold'em and Omaha are also popular games. Knowing several versions of Poker lets each person pick the game when it's his or her turn to deal.

Target
2-4 Players
(ages 8 and up)

This rummy game has a challenging new twist. In addition to the playing cards, there is a deck of "target cards". Five target cards are dealt face up on the table. Each target card describes a meld, such as, "3 of a kind" or "4 cards in sequence including a 6" and shows the number of points it is worth.

Play passes in turns as each player draws and discards, trying to make the melds shown. When a player makes a meld, they pick up the target card and replace it with a new one. This makes the game challenging as the goals are always changing. The object is to get the highest score (adding the points on collected target cards).

Quiddler
1-8 Players
(ages 8 and up)

This card game is different than most because it's a game of words. Each card lists a letter or letter combination (TH, CL, ER) and the points for that card. Players are dealt 3 cards on the first round and each following round has one card more. There are 8 rounds total, with the final round having 10 cards dealt to each player.

The object is to draw and discard until you can try to make the highest scoring word or words. There are bonuses for having the longest word and the most words, but you also lose points for any cards you don't use.

Whatever game you choose, cards give your family a great opportunity to laugh and play together. Try playing with your family and you may decide to start up a weekly game night.

Learn more about this author, Susan Quilty.
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