The Many Benefits of Playing Card Games

Have you ever participated in a card party?

Every Saturday night from the end of October until the end of March, our neighbors get together for a pinochle party. It’s a fun way to pass through the dark days of winter when you live out in the country.

The card party is very informal. The older folks show up in their muck boots and heavy jackets. The younger adults bring their kids. And everyone brings something to eat, potluck style dinner and snacks.

A generation or two ago, card parties were not uncommon. Almost everyone knew how to play a card game or two. It was a great way to pass the time.

Playing card games was the social interaction of the neighborhood. But they can provide much more than a way to pass the time with friends.

Cognitive benefits of playing cards

Let’s start with the obvious. Playing card games is good for your brain. Regardless of your age, card games develop and improve your memory, problem-solving ability, strategic thinking, and concentration.

Most grown-up games require you to remember what has been played and think about your next move. While luck does have its place in card games, playing the right card at the right time could bring on the win.

For older adults, playing cards with friends and family wards off the cognitive decline often associated with aging. While the rules of games such as Bridge, Pinochle, or Cribbage remain the same, the opportunities to use memory and apply strategic thinking are endless.

Getting together for a game of cards is a fun way for seniors to keep their minds sharp and active.

The same is true for the very young. Think of all the math skills children learn when playing cards. Colors, numbers, counting, matching, sorting, as well as those higher level skills related to memory, problem-solving, and planning.

Games as simple as Go Fish, Old Maid, and the rambunctious, Slap Jack, provide an abundance of learning opportunities. While playing card games like Uno and Rummy, kids are learning math and developing cognitive skills without even realizing it. Shhh, don’t tell them!

Social benefits of playing card games

Most card games have built-in social benefits. Because many games require, or allow for, several players, a card party is a great way to get out and spend quality time with friends and family.

Playing cards requires patience at times, good negotiating skills on occasion, and a lot of teamwork. But it usually provides for plenty of conversation and laughter.

Family games nights are also a great time to introduce and play card games. During these times, parents and children can build relationships and improve communication.

Children will learn the rules for turn-taking. Where better for kids to practice the patience required for waiting their turn than under the guidance of mom or dad?

Parents also have the opportunity to model positive interactions between players such as how to give and accept encouragement. Or how to win or lose gracefully.

Although I will admit this can be difficult between siblings. Don’t give up! These are life skills kids will use forever.

Mental health benefits of card games

I’m sure our grandparents didn’t think much about their mental or emotional health as they dealt out a hand of Spades. However, they surely felt a sense of fun and a bit of relief from their daily lives.

Unless you’re playing a high-stakes game of poker (which I am not recommending), playing cards can bring on a level of excitement. But card games also bring on a sense of relaxation. Sounds like total opposite experiences, yet they both invite those “feel good” endorphins.

Of course, relaxing and having fun is easier with people you know. Card parties with familiar participants and game nights with the family provide us with a sense of belonging. Feeling connected to others improves our mood, self-worth, and overall emotional well-being.

Physical benefits to playing card games

So we are thinking better and feeling good inside. What about our bodies? Surprisingly, there are physical health benefits to playing a game of cards.

Children can improve their fine motor skills while picking up and laying out the cards. Adults keep their fine motor skills in working order through shuffling and dealing cards.

Playing card games can help get kids and adults away from sedentary electronic entertainment. That’s an improvement to physical health if nothing else.

And if you’ve ever watched young people play cards, it’s hardly a sit-still situation. I’ve even seen an adult or two jump up with excitement over a hard-won card game.

Other advantages of card games

Cost and Convenience

A few months ago our power went out for two days. We played cards. We didn’t need electricity or internet. It was fun and took our minds away from the fact that our freezer full of food was going to defrost if we didn’t get power soon.

A real advantage of knowing how to play card games is they are not dependent on the weather, the time of year or even the time of day.

You can engage in a card game just about any place. We played cards while camping with friends. I played cards with my grandparents on their deck. And I even played cards in the doctor's waiting room when my kids were young.

It’s wonderful that you can take playing cards anywhere you go. They take up very little room and require no extra parts.

And while some games do require special decks, there are many different games you can play with a single deck of cards.

Card games are not only convenient, they are very inexpensive to buy or replace. Compare the price of a deck of cards to a video game, board game, or set of golf clubs. Just kidding on the clubs. They’re not really comparable.

But, playing card games is a cheap form of entertainment.

Card games are inclusive and memorable

One thing I love about our card parties is the age range among players. From teenagers to over sixty, we all play. Some are just learning, others are teaching. We all benefit.

What other social activity is so inclusive?

There are many popular card games that are appropriate for people of all ages to play together. In fact, these games are a great way to bridge the gap between kids and adults. My favorite memories include my grandfather teaching me the game of Cribbage and playing Go Fish with my daughters.

There are many games you can play, from simple to complex, that allow any ability level to participate. And it is very easy to adapt the rules or procedures of card games allowing physically or mentally challenged friends and family to participate.

What a fun way to build confidence, relationships, and a sense of belonging.

The final benefit of playing card games is the wonderful memories created when two or more people sit down together with a deck of cards and fun in mind.

I’ve already mentioned my memories of my grandfather, but I have many more. Although my children are grown with kids of their own, I can still picture them laughing during a rowdy game of Slapjack.

My youngest grandson takes great pride in beating Grammy in a game of Cribbage. I'm sure he will carry the memory for a long time.

And I will never forget the retired couple that quickly taught me to play Pinochle because they were short a player for their monthly card party. Lots of patience for the newbie, but lots of laughs as well.

Whether it’s a card party or a family game night, we really should take a lesson from our grandparents and return to playing card games. There are just too many benefits not to do so.