by Tamara Raetz

Created on: March 25, 2008

A great family card game has room for nearly every age and involves a lot of laughing, shouting, disputing, and physical activity. The raucous player finds it as entertaining as the brainy player, and the preschooler has a fighting chance against Grandma and Grandpa. Though I've played many a game of Hearts with double and triple decks, Hearts and similar card games don't accommodate a group of almost any size like a game called Snerd.

Snerd is a BYOD game, or "bring your own deck." The rule is that each deck of cards must be unique on the table, unlike any other. Dedicated Snerd players are always searching for the perfect Snerd deck with a colorful back design and no distracting artwork on the suit side.

Anyone who can master the basic idea of solitaire (black on red in descending order) can play, and beginners are as likely as experienced players to be the first to call "Snerd!" Many families play for points, but others just play each round for fun, with players dropping in and out of the group at will.

Feeling left out? Two can play, or ten. The size of the group is only limited by the size of the table. Smooth, narrow, uncovered tables make the best playing surface, like banquet tables. Tablecloths only slow the play and distract the eye with patterns, so it's best to remove them. Position is everything; put the best players, or the ones with the longest arms, at the ends of the table. Arguing about handicapping is part of the fun.

Allot two feet of space to each player. Each person's cards are laid out with a pile of thirteen cards (the "Snerd" pile) face down with the top card turned up, and four cards are laid face up to the right of the Snerd pile. I have a friend who slowly and deliberately lays down the first three cards of her pile (1-2-3) and turns one face up, placing it to the right of her pile. She lays down another three face down on her pile (4-5-6), and turns the second card face up, moving it to the right of the first face-up card. She builds her Snerd pile (7-8-9), turns up another card, and (10-11-12), turns up her fourth card, then lays the 13th card of the Snerd pile face up on top. She does this to drive us all nuts, because we know she's quicker than spit as soon as the game starts. This is the psych element, without which any game quickly becomes boring.

Once everyone is ready, players hold the remainder of their decks in one hand, with the other hovering above, ready to start flipping at the "Go!" which starts the round. Anyone can start

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