Card Games, Ranked

The global standard for skill-based card play, blending odds, betting and psychology; the World Series of Poker has run since 1970 and draws thousands of entrants.

The deepest partnership trick-taking game; its premier world championship, the Bermuda Bowl, has been contested since 1950 and it is now governed by the World Bridge Federation.

Launched in 1993 as the first modern trading card game; still the deepest, with a pro circuit and a booming secondary market.

Offers among the lowest house edges of any casino table game under basic strategy, and can genuinely be beaten by card counting.

A hugely popular US partnership game that blends bidding, teamwork and the high-risk nil bid into tense trick-taking.

A trick-avoidance classic where ducking penalty cards and the all-or-nothing 'shooting the moon' create constant tension.

A two-player staple dating to the 17th century, uniquely scored on a pegging board by counting combinations to 15 and 31.

The best-selling branded card game, sold in the hundreds of millions since 1971, and the near-universal family game opener.

A fast partnership trick-taking game beloved across the US Midwest and Ontario, played with a stripped 24-card deck.

The definitive two-player rummy, popularized in early-1900s America; quick, sharp and rewarding of memory and timing.

The default single-player card game, bundled with Windows since 1990 and known to millions simply as 'Solitaire.'

One of the best-selling card games ever made, with rare vintage cards fetching six-figure sums at auction.

A 2011 release funded by a runaway 2010 Kickstarter; it defined the fill-in-the-blank adult party genre, hilarious in the moment but thin on strategy.

The shedding-game ancestor of Uno; simple, portable and playable with any standard deck, but light on depth.

A gentle kids' matching game built on memory and asking; charming for children but almost trivial for adults.

A two-player race to empty your hand as fast as your reflexes allow; frantic fun with very little decision-making.

A matching game decided almost entirely by luck of the draw and a poker face, offering minimal real choices.

Once the deck is dealt the outcome is fully determined; players make literally no decisions, and games can drag on interminably.