New book ‘Social card games’ coming soon.

Playing cards have been a part of many people's social lives since childhood. You might have played with your parents or with friends at school. Card games for many of us are familiar, even nostalgic. Those that are not raised on such games can be surprised later in life when a pack of cards is introduced to the table and everyone else just seems to know how to shuffle without dropping the cards and the rules to a dozen or more games. Whether you're looking for new games, reminders of the classics or you're just curious what all the fuss is about, Social card games will serve as a guide to 42 of the best card games to play with friends and family.

Beginning with the simple children's game of snap, new rules and concepts are introduced one or two at a time so that each game is quick and easy to learn. The complexity builds up as you progress through the book but if you have played the earlier games then nothing here will feel too complicated as you play. The games have been chosen carefully so that none of them is likely to bring conversation to a standstill and none of them require gambling or drinking to make them fun.

It is a simple matter to carry a deck or two of cards in your pocket, handbag or luggage. Even if you forget them you will have to go some distance to get away from any store that would sell you some and further still before you couldn't get a deck delivered. Many games are easy to teach to new players, even past a language barrier. It is little wonder then that card games are so popular with backpackers and other travellers, or that so many of us remember holidays that have been salvaged from bad weather by a deck of cards. I might even go so far as to say that knowing a few good card games is a valuable life-skill.

Many of these games are classics, some from the author's home nation of England and others from around the world. A few new games have been designed and are being presented for the first time in this book.

In addition to all this, the book contains:

• Compendium matches in which a score is kept across several different card games to add variety to a session of play.
• Short league formats to extend the number of players that can play many of the games – or just mix up the teams in a fixed partnership game.
• Advice on keeping score with pen and paper, counters or cribbage boards.
• Descriptions and illustrations of shuffling techniques.