Sevens

Also known as Card Dominoes, Parliament or Fan Tan, this is an exiting card game which is simple for children to learn quickly.

Number of Players:
2+

Age Range:
6+

Cards:
Standard 52-card deck.

Instructions:
The entire pack of cards is dealt clockwise and face-down around the group.

The players then sort their cards into sequences in each suit. The player who holds the 7 of diamonds starts by placing this card down in the centre. The game then continues clockwise, with each player, if they can, adding a diamond card to the sequence. This can either go up (8, then 9, then 10 etc) or down (6, then 5, then 4 etc). Any cards played are placed on either side of the 7, as appropriate, so that the diamonds form a row. A player can also start a new sequence in a different suit by placing any of the other 7s below the 7 of diamonds so that a new row can be built in that suit. If a player can do neither, they simply skip a turn.

The winner is the first player to use up all his cards, although if you wish you can continue to play until all the cards have been used up and all four rows are complete.