Best 4 Player Card Games

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Card games provide quality entertainment whether you are playing alone, with friends, associates, or family. They come in various kinds, with different objectives and gameplay. In this post, we have compiled a list of card games that can be played by four players at a time. Some of the games can be played by fewer than four players, and some can accommodate more than four players per game. Also, while some of these cards games can be played as individual players, some are team games. Find out the 4 player card games that made it to our list.

  1. 99 Card Game

The 99 card game is played in rounds using a standard 52 card deck. Each player is given 3 tokens at the start of the game and must try not to lose them. In each round, players try not to be the one to take the value of the discard pile above 99. Once a player plays a card that takes the value of the discard pile above 99, that round is over. The player responsible for taking the value of the discard pile above 99 must lose a token and a new round starts. The game continues until only one player is left with a token(s). That player is the winner of the game.

  1. Apples to Apples

This fun card game is suitable for social gatherings such as game nights and family occasions. There is both an adult version and a junior version of the game. The game is played using 2 apple card decks; a Red Apple card deck and a Green Apple card deck. Apples to apples is played in rounds. In each round, 7 Red Apple cards are given to each player, after which the judge draws the top card of the Green Apple card deck.

The judge reads out one of the words written on the selected Green Apple card, and all the players quickly look through their given Red Apple Cards to see which one best matches the word on the Green Apple card. They all play their best cards and the judge selects the winner. The player with the best matching card for each round is awarded the Green Apple card for the round. To win the game, a player must collect the required number of Green Apple cards that is determined by the number of players involved in the game.

  1. Uno

Uno is a popular card game globally. The game is fun and easy to play. It is fast-paced as players try to get rid of their cards. On each turn, a player must play a card that matches the top card of the discard pile in colour, number, or symbol. If a player is unable to play a card on the discard pile, that player must take a card from the draw pile. The first player to discard all their cards wins the game. The game is played using the Uno card deck. There are various adaptations of the original Uno such as Uno Flip, Uno Attack, and so on. The gameplay for all these games remains mostly the same with minor differences.

  1. Rummy

Rummy is a popular card game with various other card games designed after it. Rummy is played using a standard 52-card deck. The objective is to be the first player to use up all your cards by forming melds. A meld can be of two types. Runs which is three or more cards belonging to the same suit, or Books which is three or four cards of the same rank.

  1. Euchre

Euchre is played by four players in two teams. The game is played using the standard 24 card euchre deck that consists of 9’s through Ace’s. In the absence of the standard euchre deck, the regular 52-card deck can be used but the deck is stripped of other cards leaving just 9’s through Ace’s. The game is played in “hands” and each hand lasts five “tricks”. The first team to score 10 points wins the game.

  1. Canasta

Canasta is a popular rummy-like card game. It is usually played as a team game for four players, split into two teams but other versions are possible. The game is played in rounds, using two card decks with jokers. For the standard 4-player version of Canasta, each player gets 11 cards from the dealer. Players earn points by combining 3 or more cards of the same rank to form Melds. At the end of each round, players are scored and the total for each team is calculated. The first team to score a total of 5000 points or more wins a game of Canasta.

  1. Five crowns 

Five crowns is another rummy-like game featured on this list. The game is played in 11 rounds. Two standard card decks with jokers are used to play the game. Players can only play cards in combinations known as “Books” and “Runs”. A “Book” is a combination of 3 or more cards of the same suit that are in sequential order e.g. 3 of Hearts, 4 of Hearts, and 5 of Hearts. A “Run” is a combination of 3 or more cards of the same rank irrespective of suit e.g. 3 of Hearts, 3 of Spades, 3 of Diamonds. Players earn points at the end of each round. Also, the number of cards given to each player varies per round. At the end of the 11th and final round, the player with the lowest total score wins the game.

  1. Peanuts

Peanuts is also known as Nerts, Nurtz, Nurts, Pounce, and Solitaire Frenzy. It is a form of multi-player solitaire. The game is fast-paced as all the players play simultaneously and try to empty their draw pile by building on the four cards laid horizontally in front of them and also on the foundation piles.

The game is played in rounds. A round of Peanuts ends when a player uses up all the cards in their peanuts pile and yells “Peanuts” to notify the other players. That player wins the round. Players are scored at the end of each round and the first player to score 150 points wins the game. Up to six players can be involved in a game of Peanuts at the same time and a standard deck of 52-cards is needed for each player involved in a game of Peanuts. Each card deck must have a different back design.

  1. Phase 10

Phase 10 is a rummy-like card game for two to six players. Players have to complete 10 different Phases, with each Phase requiring different card combinations to win the game. The game is played in rounds and a player can only complete one Phase per round.

The Phases must be completed in arithmetic order, starting from Phase 1 and ending at Phase 10. The first player to complete Phase 10 wins the game. The game is played using 108 cards that are of four different colours (red, green, yellow, and blue). The cards are also numbered from 1 to 12, and there are two cards for each number for each colour.

  1. Hand and Foot

This fun card game has North American roots and is related to the popular Canasta card game. The game is commonly played by 4 people split into two teams. 5 to 6 standard card decks including jokers are used to play the game. At the start, each player is dealt 11 cards. The players will form melds of three to seven cards of the same rank to get rid of their cards. Players must first get rid of their “Hand” cards before moving to the “Foot” cards. The game is played in rounds, usually four rounds. The teams are scored at the end of each round with the team with the most points at the end of all the rounds declared the winner.

  1. Thirty-One

Thirty-one is an easy to play card game for two to nine players. The game is played in rounds. In each round, players try to build the cards in their hand to have a value that is as close to 31 points as possible. A hand that is worth exactly 31 points is the best and that player wins the round. The player with the lowest hand at the end of a round loses and must give up one of his/her tokens. Players are given three tokens each at the start of the game. The last player with token wins a game of thirty-one. Thirty-one is played using the standard 52-card deck.

  1. Thirteen

Thirteen is a Vietnamese card game where it is called tiên lên. The game is typically played by four players but can be played by at least two players and up to six players. A game of thirteen is fast and easy to play and the game rules can be adapted as players wish. At the start of the game, each player is given 13 cards by the dealer. The players then try to discard the cards while keeping to the rules of the game. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins a game of thirteen. Thirteen is played using a deck of 52-cards.

  1. Palace

Palace is another fun card game that you can enjoy with a group of friends. The game can be played by at least two players but not more than 5 people can be involved in a game of palace. The game requires a simple strategy and a little bit of luck to win. Palace is played using a 52-card deck but if more than 2 players are involved in the game, 2 decks of cards are used. The objective is to be the first player to get rid of all of the cards in your hand but note that some rules guide how players discard their cards.

  1. Golf

Golf card game is known by other names such as Polish, Polka, and Polish Poker. There are also variants of the game depending on the number of cards used in playing. There is the 4-card, the 6-card, the 8-card, the 9-card and the 10-card Golf game. The different versions of the game have some similarities but the rules and gameplay for each differ. The game is played over 9 or 18 deals (rounds) which correspond to 9 or 18 holes in the regular golf game. In each round, players try to improve their score by drawing new cards and discarding unwanted ones. The player with the lowest score after 9 or 18 deals wins the game. Minimum of two players is needed to play a golf card game.

  1. Kemps

Kemps is a fun card game. The game is played in pairs, with a minimum of two teams needed to play. The players try to create a four-of-a-kind (four cards of the same rank) hand. Anytime a player does this, they signal to their partner who must yell “KEMPS”. That team is awarded a point and the game continues. The first team to score five points wins. A standard 52-card deck is used for playing kemps.

  1. Pit

Pit is a fun card game designed to recreate the frenzied atmosphere of the marketplace. In this game, players carry out blind trades in an attempt to collect as many cards of the same item as they can. The game is played using the Pit card deck. There are 9 cards for each commodity. A round of the game ends once one player has all 9 cards of one commodity. The player has cornered the market and won that round. The first player to score 500 points wins. 3 to 7 players can be involved in a game of Pit.

  1. President

Playing the President card game is so much fun. It is another 4 player card game featured on this list. The game is a great choice for social events like game nights. The game is played with a 52-card deck and can accommodate between four to seven players. The game is played in each round, with the first player to get rid of all their cards emerging as President. The second player will be the Vice-President while the last player with a card(s) in each round will be the beggar. The President at the end of each round gets 2 points, while the Vice-President gets 1 point. The first player to score 11 points in a game of President wins.

  1. Sushi Go

In Sushi Go, players try to create the most valuable food they can by combining food cards. The game is played in 3 rounds and each round, players take turns to pick a card from their hand, place it face-down in front of them and pass the rest of their hand to the player to their left. Players continue to pick a card and swap hands until each player has 10 cards in front of them. Players are scored at the end of each round and the player with the most points after 3 rounds wins the game. The game is played using 108 Sushi Go cards.

  1. Skulls

Skull is a bluffing game with simple rules. Players place cards face-down in front of them and try to win bets. One player will issue a challenge to open some cards and the other players will also place bids. The player who bids to open the highest number of cards wins the bidding round and must now open the number of cards they bid. If the player opens the cards successfully without revealing a skull card, they win the bet. The first player to win two bets wins the game. The game is played with 6 packs of cards. Each pack has four cards with identical backs. Three of the cards are rose cards while the fourth one is a skull card.

  1. Rack-O

This is a very simple game to play. Players try to stack their cards in their rack in numerical order from the highest to the lowest to win a round of the game. Points are awarded to each player at the end of each round with the first player to score a total of 500 points winning the game.

Those are some fun 4 player card games you can try out on game night with friends or family.