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It's ironic, but when I was growing up and there were 9 kids in my family, we didn't have things like video games and computer games. We had card games, board games, and ourselves. We could read books, but that's mostly only when we were laying to take a nap or going to bed. We didn't have television. I mean, we had a TV, but we didn't have cable/satellite. We had movies, and we couldn't watch those unless we had been good all week, had done our chores, and only on Sunday afternoon. So, my brothers, sisters, and I played a lot of card games and board games. We had every board game you could think of, and we had a deck of cards for each child.

Since there were 11 members of my family, we played together because it was better than playing by ourselves. Some of the best family card games that come to mind are Go Fish, Old Maid, Memory, Rummy, Gin-Rummy, War, Slap Jack, Phase 10, and Uno. All are easy and kid-friendly. They also don't take a long, which is important if you have 9 children that want to play card games at the same time. Sometimes, we'd divide into 2 groups and compete against each other on teams. That was fun because sometimes our parents would give the winner a prize (a coke, some candy, etc).

Go Fish is played by 2-4 players (and can have as many as 10 players). Each player is dealt 5 cards, if more than 2 players are playing. Each person takes a turn asking the other players if they have a certain kind of card. For example, "Danny, do you have any 2s?" If Danny has any twos, he must hand them over to the one who asked for them. The game ends when all the cards are gone. The player with the most pairs wins.

Old Maid is a fun game that mostly young children, but it can be enjoyed by the whole family. It's played by two or more players. In this game, all of the cards are dealt out. Each player looks at his hand and removes any pairs that are in his hand, if any. Each player takes a turn choosing one card from another player's card that are turned face down. If they have a pair, then they lay it down to the side. If they don't, the next player takes his turn. When you run out of cards, you wait until the other players finish playing. Whoever is left with the Old Maid card at the end loses.

One more game that I will describe is one of my all-time favorites. It definitely keeps you on your toes. It's called Slap Jack. This is the easiest card game I know of that exists, and it scares the tar out of you if you don't slap the jack first. Anyway, this usually is a two-player game, though if you dare, more can play. All the cards are dealt out to the players. If you see a jack, slap it! That's it. Whoever is the first to get all the cards wins. It's so simple and so fun!

The next time you are tempted to go out on the town, just because there's nothing to do at home, consider having a family game night. You can play cards, board games, made-up games, whatever you fancy. Just enjoy yourselves, whether there are only two people in your family or 11 people. Make it complete with a cook-together meal and popcorn and cokes...or whatever. It's a great to bond with other family members and make you relax with the ones you love.

Learn more about this author, Kimberly Chitwood.
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