Do you have three other players and no idea which game to play? Here are my tips for 20 exciting 4-player card games you won’t regret trying.
There are certainly countless great games suitable for four players, including popular rummy games and trick-taking card games, but let me help you find the one that’s truly right for you.
My list will introduce you to a few hilarious games to play with your friends on a game night and numerous family-friendly games for all ages, beginners and seasoned players alike.
Keep reading to find out which 4 player card games made the cut.
Related: 2 player card games | 3 player card games
Easy 4-player card games
ANIMENIA
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 16+.
Length of Play: 15 minutes.
Objective: Be the player with the most cards at the end of the game.
Animenia in a nutshell:
Each Animenia card features a character or scene from a popular Anime; players all play simultaneously and try to match the card in the middle from a draw pile to the card in their hand. There are multiple images on each card, so players need to act quickly.
If a player is the quickest and is correct with calling out the match, they gain that card to add to their hand. Once the draw deck has gone, the game ends. Award victory to the player with the most cards the win.
SEE ALSO: Animenia rules.
COVER YOUR ASSETS
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 7+.
Length of Play: 30 – 45 minutes.
Objective: Collect matching cards to earn wealth to become the richest player at the end of the game.
Cover Your Assets in a nutshell:
Cover Your Assets starts with the assigned dealer dealing out 5 cards each to players and uses the rest of the deck as a draw pile. Players need to draw cards to make a set of 2 matching cards or use a wildcard to complete a pairing.
Throughout the game, other players can challenge pairs in an attempt to steal them for themselves if they’re in a vulnerable position. Once all cards have been drawn, the player with the highest value total of pairs wins the game.
SEE ALSO: Cover Your Assets rules.
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LLAMAS UNLEASHED
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 14+.
Length of Play: 30 – 45 minutes.
Objective: Gain 7 animals in your field first to win.
Llamas Unleashed in a nutshell:
Using its own unique deck, Llamas Unleashed is a charming card game where players need to have 7 animal cards in their assigned pen first to win. Other cards are used to either disrupt other players’ progress or help them achieve their goals. Each of these cards has a different action that can be used in combination with other cards for additional effects.
SEE ALSO: Llamas Unleashed rules.
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PEGS AND JOKERS
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 7+.
Length of Play: Approximately 30 minutes.
Objective: Move all your pegs from the home area to the safe area first.
Pegs and Jokers in a nutshell:
Pegs and Jokers are slightly different from other games on this list as it’s a cross between card games and board games. Players move their pegs around the board but need to draw cards to determine how many spaces each peg moves. Some cards even move pegs backward, so luck is very much a factor in this game.
SEE ALSO: Pegs and Jokers rules.
4-player card games for pre-teens
ANOMIA
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 10+.
Length of Play: 20 – 30 minutes.
Objective: Win the most face-offs against other players to win.
Anomia in a nutshell:
In Anomia, players need to act quickly to spot symbols on a drawn card. Once a player draws a card from the pile that matches another player’s card, they face off with one another.
Both players need to read what subject is named on the other card and compete to guess something in that category first to win the card. Once all cards are drawn, the player with the most wins the game.
SEE ALSO: Anomia rules.
BLACK CARD REVOKED
Players: 4 players.
Ages: 13+.
Length of Play: 20 – 30 minutes.
Objective: Avoid having points deducted by correctly guessing answers to questions.
Black Card Revoked in a nutshell:
Players start with 10 points each in Black Card Revoked and get 4 response cards (A, B, C, D). Take it in turns to ask questions on the question cards, and each player uses their response cards to answer. Each incorrect answer players give results in a 1-point deduction. If there is a tie keep asking until someone is incorrect.
SEE ALSO: Black Card Revoked rules.
WHAT’S YOURS LIKE?
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 12+.
Length of Play: 30 – 45 minutes.
Objective: Manage to correctly figure out the Guess Word in as few attempts as possible.
What’s Yours Like in a nutshell:
What’s Yours Like is a game where players need to work out the hidden word on the card from the vague clues that the player reading the card gives. The player reading the card attempts to make it take longer to guess to improve their chances of winning.
The goal is to get the words in as few guesses as possible and tally up the guesses to keep the score of progress.
SEE ALSO: What’s Yours Like? rules.
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4-player card games for adults
CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 18+.
Length of Play: 30 – 90 minutes.
Objective: Have the most black cards at the end of the game.
Cards Against Humanity in a nutshell:
Probably the most well-known game on this list, Cards Against Humanity is the party game where 4 players pair captions with statements to be as offensive as possible. The black cards have a missing word or phrase, and players use their white cards to fill in the blanks.
The group agrees on which player has the best pairing and is rewarded with the black card. Whoever has the most black cards at the end of the game wins.
SEE ALSO: Cards Against Humanity rules | 28 games like Cards Against Humanity
DISTURBED FRIENDS
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 21+.
Length of Play: 10 – 90 minutes.
Objective: Gain 10 ‘winning cards’ before the other players.
Disturbed Friends in a nutshell:
To win at Disturbed Friends, players will need to answer rude questions as honestly as possible. The other players will need to predict which of the 3 answers the person reading the question associates most with. Whoever guesses correctly what answer the player will give, they are awarded a Winning Card. Most cards at the end win.
SEE ALSO: Disturbed Friends rules.
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DRAWING WITHOUT DIGNITY
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 17+.
Length of Play: 30 – 60 minutes.
Objective: Gain points by guessing your teammate’s drawing correctly.
Drawing Without Dignity in a nutshell:
Drawing Without Dignity requires players to pair up in 2 teams 2 and hand out the relevant cards to both teams. This game requires players to pick up a card and roll a die which will tell them which rude drawing they need to draw. Their teammate must guess what the drawing is within the time limit in order to win a point.
SEE ALSO: Drawing Without Dignity rules.
MONIKERS
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 17+.
Length of Play: 30 – 60 minutes.
Objective: Score the most points in your team across 3 rounds.
Monikers in a nutshell:
Teams get dealt 10 Moniker cards each per round and then pick their favorite 5 from the 10 before the game begins. The 10 chosen cards get shuffled, dealt out, and used as the deck for the round.
Teams take turns drawing a card and have to read out the description of a fictional or actual person to their teammate. Each card has a score on the bottom, which indicates difficulty, and teams get awarded that score if they guess correctly.
SEE ALSO: Monikers game rules.
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NEVER HAVE I EVER
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 17+.
Length of Play: 30 – 90 minutes.
Objective: Collect 10 blue cards before any other player.
Never Have I Ever in a nutshell:
The best way to play Never Have I Ever is to play it without keeping score, but you can add a competitive edge if needed. 1 person draws and reads out a card allowed, and goes around the group to see if anyone has done what is written on the card before.
The first person to admit that they have done what’s on the card gains it but has to tell the story behind it. The first to 10 cards wins.
SEE ALSO: Never Have I Ever card game rules.
NEW PHONE WHO DIS?
Players: 4 players.
Ages: 17+.
Length of Play: 30 – 90 minutes.
Objective: Pair cards together to create the best text combinations, and the group votes for the best one.
New Phone Who Dis? in a nutshell:
For a modern spin on a party game, New Phone Who Dis? starts with players being dealt out 7 reply cards to begin the game. Draw an inbox card, and players need to pick the funniest reply to the card. Players take turns to be the judge of the replies and pick which one they like the best. The player with the most inbox cards at the end wins.
SEE ALSO: New Phone Who Dis? rules.
RELATIVE INSANITY
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 17+.
Length of Play: 15 – 30 minutes.
Objective: Collect punchline cards throughout the game, most at the end win.
Relative Insanity in a nutshell:
Relative Insanity is another party game that encourages players to be as crude as possible. Separate the set-up and punchline cards, and deal out 7 punchline cards to players.
Turn over a punchline card, each player needs to pick a set-up card that most humorously pairs with the punchline. A designated judge picks their favorite card and awards it to the relevant player.
SEE ALSO: Relative Insanity rules.
4-player card games with a single deck of cards
BACK ALLEY
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 12+.
Length of Play: 45 – 120 minutes.
Objective: Attempt to win the same number of tricks as your team has predicted.
Back Alley in a nutshell:
A trick-taking card game played in teams of 2, Back Alley, requires players to predict the number of tricks they’ll win throughout the game to begin. Each player gets 13 cards, and each round, they must play a card from their hand. The highest ranking card wins the trick for that round. At the end of the game, the team closest to their predicted trick number wins.
SEE ALSO: Back Alley card game.
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CANADIAN SALAD
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 6+.
Length of Play: 15 – 40 minutes.
Objective: Finish 6 rounds and incur the least number of penalty points within the group.
Canadian Salad in a nutshell:
Similar to other card games for 4-players, Canadian Salad starts with each of the 4 receiving 13 cards each. The game gets played across 6 rounds, with each round having a different goal that players need to abide by. Anyone breaking the rules of that round receives penalty points. The winner is the player with the least penalty points across all rounds.
SEE ALSO: Canadian Salad rules.
HOKM
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 7+.
Length of Play: 20 – 45 minutes.
Objective: Win as many consecutive tricks as possible for your team.
HOKM in a nutshell:
Also known as Rung, HOKM is a good starting point for trick-taking games if playing with 3 card game novices. In 2 teams of 2, players take turns deciding which suit is the trump, and other players need to play a card for their pile, which they believe is the highest value.
Play continues until either team has 7 tricks or if a team can win 7 tricks in a row uninterrupted.
SEE ALSO: HOKM card game.
LOO
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 10+.
Length of Play: 20 – 30 minutes.
Objective: Bet chips, win tricks and collect winnings if you’re the victor.
Loo in a nutshell:
If you’re looking for a trick-taking card game in its most basic form, Loo is that particular game. Gaining flushes is the aim of the game (also hence the name), anyone who gets a flush gets 5 chips from each player. Each round has 5 tricks to be won; whoever wins 0 tricks gets penalized with a 5 chip penalty. The most chips at the end of the game wins.
SEE ALSO: Loo card game.
MAO
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 6+.
Length of Play: 20 – 45 minutes.
Objective: Be rid of all your cards in your hand and figure out the ‘secret rule’.
Mao in a nutshell:
Mao is unusual as the whole point of the game is that the rules are unclear, and need to be worked out as players go. 1 of the 4 players will need to act as the enforcer, who knows the rules and can keep the game ticking over.
The end goal of Mao is to get rid of all cards in your hand, any time a player cannot move they pick up another card, however.
SEE ALSO: Mao card game rules.
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WHIST
Players: 4 players.
Ages: Ages 7+.
Length of Play: 15 – 45 minutes.
Objective: Collect the most points by taking tricks throughout the game.
Whist in a nutshell:
Whist is considered to be one of the easier trick-taking games and the rules are pretty straightforward. Played in 2 teams of 2, Whist allows players to work together to collectively gather tricks and manipulate the trump to ensure the best chance of winning.
Once a player runs out of cards, the game is over and points get awarded depending on the tricks players make.
SEE ALSO: Whist card game rules.
