This post is really about card games.
I love Diwali, and as a proud Indian, I refuse to buy fireworks made in Chinese sweatshops; I only buy goods made in Indian sweatshops, because I’m a patriot, and because Baba Ramdev told me to. Unfortunately, that can work out to be quite a bit more expensive, which begs the question, what do I do with my Diwali guests once we’re all out of stuff to set on fire? Do I send them home? Do I play some music? Do I run away and start a new life in Turkey? All of them sound tempting, but how about we try something a little more adult-ey; a game of cards.
When it comes to a game of cards on Diwali it’s all about nuance. Poker is way too intense and a turn off to people who don’t know how to play, and Black Jack is too trivial and a turn off to people who do know how to play, and searching for new card games online can be irritating because everybody has an opinion these days. Which is why after years of research, and a terrible amount of gambling debt to the Russian mob, we’ve picked some the most fun card games that require the least cognitive strain.
1) Go Fish
- The objective of this game is to get a set of 4 cards, e.g. 4 2s, 4 Aces etc. Every player is dealt an appropriate amount of cards depending on the number of people playing and there’s a pile of cards held in reserve and facing the ground.
- Turns go clockwise and every player has to ask the player on their left for one card (per turn) they require to make a complete set. If their opponent does indeed have the card requested they have to turn it over, if they do not they have to say “Go Fish” and the player will have to draw a new card from the deck.
- Once a player completes a set they put it down in front of them as the set will have been completed. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins the game.
2) Crazy Eights
- This basically UNO for people too cheap to pay for UNO. The rules are simple, players are dealt 7 cards each, and the remainder are put in the centre facing the ground.
- A player picks a random card from the deck and every player must match the card the previous player puts down, either by number or by suit. For example if the player before me puts down a 5♥ I must match it either with a card that has the number 5 e.g. 5♣ or a card which has the suit heart e.g. 7♥.
- If I don’t have a card that matches the number or suit of the preceding player, I have to draw a card from the deck.
- Any 8 cards acts as a wildcard, which means that the player who draws it gets to decide its number and suite. 4 Cards reverse the order of the game and King Cards make the next player lose a turn.
- The first person to get rid of all their cards wins the round.
If you know any card games that we don’t, write to us at bombayreport@gmail.com. We’ll definitely write back, because we’re extremely lonely.
