The 7 best dedicated deck card games for the pub or game night at homesa

These games are easy to learn, quick to play, and fun in groups

Let’s say you want to pass some time with a group of friends while you are sitting around a table at home or outside at a place like a pub, bar, or cafe. Sure you could reach for your old reliable deck of cards, but you have all played those games a hundred times already. Besides, why constrain yourself to the same old traditional 54 card deck when you have literally all of human creativity at your disposal? As it turns out, there are thousands of clever, zany, and innovative card games out there. Since you can’t play them all to find out which ones are worth your time we have assembled our personal top list of dedicated deck card games that you can play in any social situation with even the most casual of players. When making this list we focused on games with the following characteristics.

Simple rules

The hardest part of introducing a new game is, of course, explaining the rules. Especially in a social situation where playing games isn’t the main focus. You’re supposed to be talking to each other. Telling everyone to be quiet while you spend 10 minutes explaining a game can be an absolute buzzkill. Players with little or no experience with tabletop games should be able to join in and have fun on their first round after a brief explanation.

Short game rounds

Another difficulty of introducing a new game is that players are often reluctant to invest a large chunk of their time into an unknown activity, especially if there are other things they could be doing. The games we have picked can all be played in around 15 minutes so casual players can drop in and out of the game and no one will feel like they might get stuck playing a game they don't like.

Portability, set up time, and table space

If you are taking these games with you to a friend's house or an outside establishment, it is important that they are compact and easy to carry. Most of these games can fit in your pocket or a small bag. It is also important that the game takes up minimal table space since you will most likely have drinks and food on table at the same time. Unlike board games, these card games require minimal set up time. Just shuffle the deck and deal.

Fast and interactive gameplay

Once you have gotten past the initial barrier of introducing a game and explaining the rules you have to keep players engaged and interested. Turns should be fast so that no one gets bored while waiting for other players. But most importantly the gameplay has to be interactive. For this reason we looked for games that feature bluffing, lying, and sabotaging.

Best bluffing game

Skull

• Category: Bluffing
• Game Time: 5 - 15 min
• Players: 3 - 6
• Rules Complexity: Very Simple
• Pocket Sized: No

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Skull is a very simple bluffing and bidding game featuring beautiful ornate discs. Each player has 3 rose discs and one skull disc. At the beginning of the round a disc is placed faced down in front of the player. Each player may then choose to play another disc or to begin the bidding. Once bidding starts a player states how many discs they can flip over before finding a skull, but they must first flip all of their own discs.

When a player bids a number higher than the discs in front of them they are implicitly saying “All my discs are roses”. This means another player can safely flip those discs, after they flip their own. But what if you have a skull in your pile? Now the player who took your bait risks losing the round. On the other hand, if everyone accepts your bid, and you were bluffing you are forced to flip over your own skull.

With all the features listed in the introduction in mind, it is not hard to see why Skull is on the top of our list. Skull has by far the simplest rules of any game in this list and rounds are lighting fast. The anticipation of watching a player slowly flip discs over one by one while bracing for a skull to pop up adds a thrilling element to the game which makes it an instant favorite for everyone who plays it. The only negative I can mention about this game is that it's almost too simple (you can’t have your cake and eat it too). Once players find a play pattern they are comfortable with, the game can become a little repetitive and predictable. At that point you can move on to some of the other games in this list. For this reason Skull is a great icebreaker game to get the night started.

Best hidden traitor game

Saboteur

• Category: Hidden Traitor
• Game Time: 20 - 30 min
• Players: 3 - 10
• Rules Complexity: Moderate
• Pocket Sized: Yes

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In Saboteur you play as a team of dwarven miners looking for gold. The game is played by placing tunnel cards on the table until a path is created to the gold card on the opposite side. However, one or more players are actively trying to prevent the gold from being reached. This is done by either placing dead-end tunnel cards or breaking the tools of other players.

Saboteur is a hidden traitor game in the same vein (pun intended) as Mafia, Werewolf, and Among Us. It takes the winning formula of these classic hidden traitor games and repackages it into a fast and streamlined game without sacrificing any of the excitement of betraying your friends when they least expect it.

Is Saboteur the best hidden traitor game out there? No, far from it. But it is perfect for a quick round with casual players. The game doesn’t require anyone to close their eyes or turn around. Players are never completely removed from the game, only temporarily disabled, so no one gets bored while waiting for the round to end. In comparison to other games in this list, Saboteur requires a fair amount of table space, so you will have to scoot your drinks and snacks to the side.

Best drafting game

Suhsi Go

• Category: Drafting
• Game Time: 10 - 15 min
• Players: 2 - 5
• Rules Complexity: Simple
• Pocket Sized: Yes

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Sushi Go is a drafting game where players try to win points by picking cards from rotating piles of cards. At the beginning of the round each player is dealt a hand of cards. They pick one card from their hand and place it face up in front of them, then pass their hand face down to the player next to them. This process repeats until all cards have been placed face up. Each card type is scored in a unique way. For some card types you have to have the most amongst all players, others score in pairs or triples. As the hands are passed around, you have to be mindful of what combinations others are going for, and which ones you can get yourself.

There are two main elements of gameplay to note. On one hand Sushi Go is a memory game. As the hands get passed around you must remember what previous hands contained in order to make decisions on what cards to take. You don’t want to commit to taking a certain card type which requires multiples to score unless you know that there are more of them in the rotation. The second, and more interesting, aspect of the game is “couter-drafting”. Since all players have their picks face up, you can look at what pieces your opponents are trying to assemble and intentionally deny them access to those cards by taking them yourself.

Best for large groups

Cockroach Poker

• Category: Bluffing
• Game Time: 15 - 30 min
• Players: 2 - 6
• Rules Complexity: Simple
• Pocket Sized: Yes

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Cockroach Poker is a simple bluffing that gets better in bigger groups. The goal of the game is to make your opponents pick up cards. A player passes a card face down to another player and makes a claim about what type of card it is. The receiving player has the option to accept the card, challenge the claim, or pass the card. When the card is passed, the player who is passing the card looks at it and makes a new claim, and chooses a new player. That player now has to choose between the three options. When a claim is challenged, the loser of the challenge takes the card. Once a player has picked up eight cards of the same type they are eliminated.

Cockroach Poker is a great introduction to bluffing games for casual players. The rules are simple and the gameplay is smooth and fast. As players begin to accumulate cards of the same type the tension of the game builds up and the mind games begin. The game provides a unique touch by creating a mechanism where each player can bluff about the same card. The only drawback to this game is that the game rounds in Cockroach Poker can go a little too long if everyone decides to always pass, and you are playing in a big group.

Best social interaction game

Liar Liar

• Category: Truth and Lies
• Game Time: 20 - 60 min
• Players: 3+
• Rules Complexity: Very Simple
• Pocket Sized: No

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Liar Liar isn’t technically a card game but it is a great game to play at a party. At the beginning of the game each player draws a set of categories. Each round, one player is secretly designated the liar. Each player reveals a category card in their hand and says something about themselves related to the category. The liar must make up a fake fact. The group can then interrogate each other about the statements they made and then vote for who they think the liar is.

Liar Liar might just be the greatest icebreaker game ever made. But it's not a game that requires strategy, thinking, or luck. It is purely a social activity. As such it lacks the replayability of those other games since you can’t play it over and over again with the same people and develop deep strategies, but in a room full of strangers that just met each other it is an absolute banger.

Best game for two players

Spicy

• Category: Bluffing
• Game Time: 10 - 15 min
• Players: 2 - 6
• Rules Complexity: Simple
• Pocket Sized: Yes

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Spicy is a fast bluffing game with trick taking mechanics that rewards fast and risky bluffing . At the start of a round, a player places a card face down and announces its type and rank. The next player must now play a card of the same type but higher rank face down, or pass and draw. As they place the card they announce the type and rank. Any time a card is placed, any player can challenge the claim made and call out which they think is false, the rank or the type of the card. A lost challenge results in two cards drawn. The goal of the game is to empty your hand.

The simplicity of Spicy makes it a very smooth and fast game. It almost feels like a speed game when everyone is in the rhythm. The rounds just fly by and you never get bored waiting for other players. The game is inherently risky and the constant challenges provide steady excitement. The game's biggest flaw is that it doesn’t provide many ways to draw inferences about what cards your opponents have which makes challenges feel a bit random. The upside to this is that it encourages bluffing all at the time. You almost assume that the other player is always bluffing but you can't quite be sure and the penalty for being wrong is balanced enough that you have to think twice before calling a challenge.

Best strategic game

Coup

• Category: Bluffing
• Game Time: 10 - 15 min
• Players: 2 - 6
• Rules Complexity: Moderate
• Pocket Sized: Yes

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Coup is a bluffing game with deep strategy where every action feels like it matters. Players start with two cards. Each card grants a specific action, and can also block a specific action. Each round a player claims to have a certain card in order to use its associated action. Any opponent may now block this action by claiming to have the specific card which blocks it. Anytime a player claims to have a card, that claim can be challenged. When a claim is challenged, the player making the claim must reveal the claimed card. The loser of the challenge must remove one card from play. Once you have lost both cards you are eliminated. The actions granted by the cards usually provide players with coins, which are used to remove cards from other players, or the ability to remove cards directly.

What sets Coup apart from other bluffing games is that you very rarely draw new cards. You have to figure out how to win with the cards you have, but it's usually not actually possible to win with just the two cards you start with, so you have to bluff and you have to get away with it. But be careful, one wrong move can lock you completely out of the game as your opponents gradually accumulate the resources they need to take you out while you are helpless to stop them.