Easy Card Games for Kids: Go Fish, War and Memory Match
Young children can start with card games at around five. These three need no strategy and almost no reading, and adults can enjoy them too.
Go Fish
Each player gets 7 cards (5 with four players). On your turn, ask someone for a rank you hold: "Do you have any 7s?" If they do, they hand over all of them. If not, they say "Go Fish!" and you draw a card. Four of a kind make a book, and the most books wins.
Children practise asking, remembering what others have asked for and recognising ranks. Play Go Fish.
War
Split the pack between two players. Both flip the top card, and the higher card takes both. If the cards match, it is war: three cards face down and one flipped, and the winner takes all. The game ends when one player has every card.
There are no decisions, which makes it a good first game for learning which card is higher. Adults can find it slow, which is why the online version has an Auto-play button. Play War.
Memory Match (Pairs)
Lay the cards face down. Turn over two on each turn. If they match, keep them face up. If not, turn them back and try to remember where they were. On Cheettukali the pairs are the same rank and the same colour, for example K♠ and K♣.
It is a game where children often beat adults, because young children are very good at remembering positions. Play Memory Match.
Which first?
- Age 4 to 6: Memory Match with 8 pairs, then War.
- Age 6 to 9: Go Fish, and Snakes and Ladders.
- Older children: Crazy Eights, then simple trick games such as Hearts or Gulam Chor.
All of these run in the browser with no download and no money involved.
🃏 Try it now: play Go Fish free in your browser, no download, no money.
FAQ
What card games are best for a 5 year old?
Memory Match, War and Go Fish. They need little reading and the rules are short.
Is War a game of skill?
No. It is decided entirely by the order of the cards.
Can children play these games on Cheettukali?
Yes. They are free, with no money involved and no sign-up needed.