Card Games From the Road

Card Games here means nine single-player card games that each use a standard deck differently, from Russian Durak to solitaire-style quests. The skills they ask for are familiar ones: counting what has been played, holding a card back, reading an opponent's discards, and deciding when to spend a strong card rather than save it. Durak is the plainest test, a last-card-out duel where you attack and defend in the same turn. Card Quest turns the deck into a dungeon crawl, with each hand a set of moves against monsters. 21 Rush strips blackjack to quick rounds of hitting and standing. Ruthless! Merciless Cards rewards the player who keeps track of the discard pile and strikes at the right moment. Start with Durak for the rhythm, then try Card Quest for the longer haul.