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Whole Family Card Game - Five Crowns

Ranked #16,704 in Hobbies, Games & Toys, #270,404 overall

This game is a lot of fun for those of us who like both Rummy and Gin. It uses five suites (clubs, hearts, diamonds, spades, and stars) and progresses from a three card hand to an eleven card hand.

The object of the game is to make sets (three or more cards of the same denomination) or runs (three or more consecutive cards of the same suite), and to lay down your sets and runs before your opponents. Any cards not played count against you.

In the first hand three cards are dealt to each player, and threes are wild. In the second hand four cards are dealt to each player, and fours are wild, etc. This can get confusing, and often a player will accidentally discard a "wild card", which adds to the fun. The deck also contains some jokers as additional wild cards.

A player can be behind for nearly the entire game, and catch up in the last few hands by playing all the cards in her/his hand, and forcing others to get stuck with their cards.

The rules are easy and quick to learn, and the scoring is simple.