QUALITY TIME IN SPADES: WHY EVERYONE SHOULD CARRY A PACK OF CARDS WITH THEM

As much as I adore my friends, I completely understand the need to check out for some time during a long hangout and doom scroll for a bit. Yet, it always makes me a bit sad when I’m walking through campus or sitting at a cafe and friends are all just staring into their phones. 

Until recently, I did the same thing when I needed a minute to recharge mid yap-session. This summer though, I discovered that one of my favorite people has this fabulous habit of carrying a deck of cards with her everywhere she goes. 

Sadly, she lives in France and I don’t get the chance to see her often, so when we do connect, we spend every waking second together. When I saw her this summer, we spent the first three days catching each other up on every minute detail of our lives for the past year. By the end of the three days, we found ourselves completely drained from talking while sitting at a coffee shop in the middle of the city. That’s when she pulled out her trusty pack of Bicycles and I found out there is a much more fulfilling-not to mention way more mysterious-fun way to host a brain break.

We spent an hour teaching each other our favorite games, laughing, and trying ridiculously hard to beat each other. It was honestly one of my favorite moments from my entire summer, and even though we weren’t really talking while playing, I still felt like we were able to spend quality time together. I didn’t feel overwhelmed or stressed about being a good conversationalist, and I was able to relax and enjoy my time with her without feeling any pressure to fill every second with jargon. 

I feel like card games are sometimes intimidating to learn, or boring for the first few rounds when you don’t know what you’re doing, so, in the effort to spread the love, I wanted to share some of my fun and easy to learn favorites!

WAR

A classic favorite for you and your favorite person, this game only requires two people and a competitive spirit. Here’s how:

1. Divide the deck in half, give one half to each player. NO LOOKING!
2. Taking turns, each player will turn a card face up from their deck, and the one with a higher card value will take both and put them at the bottom of their drawing pile. (Suit doesn’t matter in this game).
3. If the cards happen to be of the same value, each player has to put down one card face down, and then a second that is face up. Whoever has the higher card wins the war and takes all the cards. If the cards are the same value again, a second war ensues. 
4. The game is won when one person has all of the cards. Warning… this game can go on for ages! My friends and I always just play until we’re bored or feel like socialising again.

SLAP (JACK) – Milla’s and My Way

Another game for you and another person, or a few, is my sister and I’s take on Slapjack, which really just makes for more hand-hurting possibilities. This version has a special place in my heart, as my sister and I have played it together for ages. It’s probably better for a loud environment, as in my experience, it usually results in lots of screaming and slamming sounds. This is how we play:

1. Divide the deck evenly between all of the players. Again… NO LOOKING!
2. Going around the circle (or back and forth) the players will put down a card face up. 
3. If the card is a Jack, or a repeat of a previous value card, the first person to put their hand on the deck wins the pile, and puts it off to the side. 
4. If (for example) a player puts down a three of hearts, and then two other players take their turns and the next person puts down a three of clubs, that is called a sandwich, which can also be “slapped” for. Basically, anytime you see the same number as a previous card, it’s best to slap the table. However, if a player slaps and there are no repeated card values, they have to take all of the cards and add them to their pile.
5. The objective of the game is to have as few cards as possible. The person who runs out of cards first is the winner. 

A Few More

I also love playing Rummy, Gin Rummy, and Blackjack, as well as so many others that you can learn and then teach your friends. Although sometimes they can be a little time consuming to get at first, I feel like learning as you play along with your friends is half the fun. 

While it might take a little more work than an average TikTok bedrotting session, allowing yourself time to recharge in this way not only never makes me feel guilty for needing some space, but also makes you look like the coolest person in the establishment. And hey, if you’re really sick of the people you’re with, you can always learn Solitaire!

• card games
• fun
• mental health