Today we’re taking an in-depth look at some of the best, most fun card games that are, or might as well be, “made for 2020.”
Millions of people are spending much more time at home than ever before this year. Families and roommates have become more acquainted than perhaps they would have liked, and entertainment has needed to be in-home. It’s 2020, so naturally that means plenty of Netflix and video games, but electronics can get old. What’s the tried and true form of entertainment that’s older than even grandma?
Card games. Fun card games, to be exact.
Now, in this wonderful COVID-19 world we find ourselves in, getting together with a group in close enough proximity to play a card game isn’t always ideal. But within a household where you’re all stuck with each other’s germs anyway, it can be a great way to unplug and remember that you’re still a human being (at least logistically).
What are some of the games that best encapsulate what we’re all experiencing in this weird, objectively horrendous year filled with suffering and pain across the globe?
Here’s three of the most fun card games that will hopefully do their job in keeping you from doom-scrolling Twitter and give your mind a reprieve.
3 Fun Card Games for 2020
Game of Phones ($20 on Amazon)
Everyone has a phone, and everyone has a secret.
All your need is three or more people and modernity. Whomever has most recently received a text is the first Influencer. Each round, the Influencer takes the top card and reads it aloud, sharing the round’s challenge with the group. There are four challenge types – Like, Unfollow, Download and Upgrade – and they all play differently. Each round will have a winner, and they keep the challenge card. The Influencer rotates clockwise, and they repeat the process. First to win five challenge wins.
Some challenges require taking silly selfies. It may be mandatory to send messages to friends, family or enemies. Others force your roommate to reveal their camera roll.
Want to learn things about your friends and family that only Google and the government know about them? Then this is the game for you.
Exploding Kittens ($19.99 on Amazon)
It only takes two to tango when it comes to Exploding Kittens.
The miniscule amount of players necessary makes this game a great one for 2020, though more can be added in on the fun.
The game is simple: draw an exploding kitten card, and you lose. Last man, or woman, standing wins.
But there’s a way to save yourself. If you have a defuse card in your hand, you can play it can spare your poor self from exploding. Put the exploding kitten card back into the deck without the other player(s) knowing and continue the game, leaving them vulnerable and anxious while you cackle at their stress. That is, until someone plays a shuffle card and you’re back to sweating along with them.
The rest of the cards help players mitigate risks and make life harder on opponents, like shuffle cards. You can play as many cards as you want on your turn, but you always have to draw at least one, leaving you vulnerable every time you’re up to bat.
If I Was President – 2020 Edition ($20 on IfIWasGame.com)
“These clowns? If I was president …” is a phrase commonly heard in America every four years in the fall. As we inch closer to November, they get even louder. But every election cycle, only one person out of more than 300 million get to enact their definitely-not-at-all cynical spin on what they would do if they were president.
Now with If I Was President – 2020 Edition, you can hold an election at your dining room table with real situations and unfiltered responses that mimic what the candidates really meant.
This has been a year to remember, and the 2020 Presidential Election will be one to remember, too. Not really for good reasons, but nevertheless memorable. That’s where If I Was President comes in.
There are three categories: Domestic Issues, Foreign Affairs and Press Conferences. Before the start of the game, players decide who will serve as the two candidates, leaving the rest as voters (thus requiring an odd number of players and no fewer than three players). Candidates take turns choosing which category they’d like to discuss that round and are then tasked with responding to a real event or realistic question a 2020 presidential candidate could expect to field using the cards in their hand to do so.
After each round, voters provide the polls with their preferred candidate, and he/she keeps the Situation Card as proof of their victory in the polls. At the end of 30 rounds, the election is held, proving the polls to be as meaningless as they are in real life. Whichever candidate wins the election at the end of the game wins, polls be damned, and is crowned the next king – I mean, President of the United States.
Think you have what it takes?
These three fun card games are just the beginning. There are sure to be more games entering the market soon. CONTACT US to let us know if you come across any good ones, and we’ll add to this list!