Enchanted pen

You know what I would love? A break from people in general and the world. I know I might sound like a standard adult, but I mean it. I want to be with just my family and friends. It’s a cherry on top if we’re on vacation and just enjoying ourselves. Drinks, dining and everything else are fine, but I want to play games, get competitive maybe, have fun and laugh at what happens through the games. The only requirement is to play something where you don’t have to put so much brain into it.

So here is a list of card games which will make your family or friends night more fun.

SLAPZI

Slapzi is a fast-paced 2–10 player game built for quick thinking and matching. There are two decks of cards — one has questions and one has pictures to match them. The rules are pretty simple. If you see something that matches the question card, you should be the first to slap it on the table and the card is yours. Basically, finish all the cards in your hand.

You are given five cards in a round. Let’s say there are six people playing. Your cards have pictures on both sides — it could be a whistle, baseball cap, candy, giraffe or anything for that matter. So if the question says something which you can eat or can eat you, you should be the first one to slap the giraffe on the table. It’s light-hearted, a little competitive, full of laughter and definitely worth playing in teams.

TROPHIES

A fast-paced party game between 2–30 players. It’s more like Taboo but with a twist. A judge has a deck of cards and will announce a topic and a letter. Whoever guesses the matching word to that letter wins the card.

For example, if the letter is M and I pick a card that says “Name a country,” and someone says Morocco — they win the card. And how do we decide who wins overall? The person who collects the most cards wins the game.

SPOT IT! FIRE AND ICE

This is a fast-paced competitive game. Definitely good if you’re dividing into teams and trying to win. It’s a 2–8 player game.

There is a buzzer and a main card placed in the center. The remaining cards are divided among players depending on the number playing. Everyone flips their top card at the same time and tries to spot the matching symbol between their card and the center card.

That’s the core of the game — every two cards will always have one matching symbol. Your job is to find it first and hit the buzzer.

In the Fire and Ice version, you’re spotting hot or cold objects. Hot objects (like fire, volcanoes, fire trucks) act as power plays. If your opponent hits the buzzer for an ice object (like snowflakes, ice cubes or penguins), the game slows down and you lose rhythm. Your objective is to finish all your cards first.

And that’s just one way to play it — there are other variations written clearly in the manual.

EXPLODING KITTENS

A 2–5 player game. It can be a little strategic, but obviously it’s more about luck. Your goal is to be the last player standing — basically, survive.

There are two main cards: Exploding Kitten and Defuse. If you pull out an Exploding Kitten and don’t have a Defuse card, you lose.

But that alone isn’t enough to keep the game interesting. There are other cards too:

• Attack means the next person has to play two turns.
• Skip lets you skip your turn.
• Shuffle is for when you suspect the Exploding Kitten is next.
• See the Future lets you see the top three cards and continue accordingly.
• Favour allows you to ask another player for a card.
• If you have two identical cards, you can play them to steal a card from another person.
• Nope cancels attacks, favours or stealing — but not an Exploding Kitten.

It’s humorous, competitive and perfect for a game night.

That’s about it. Let me know what you usually play on your game nights and if you love any of these suggestions, click on the picture to buy them.