Online card games open up a world of exciting opportunities for kids. In general, card games are great educational tools that your children can use to develop or learn valuable life skills. Being able to play these games online means they can have fun whenever they want – even if the rest of the family is busy.

That being said, some card games are far better than others – and a few should definitely be avoided for kids. You’ll see the top options for your kids to play in this guide, but first, let’s go through some of the main benefits card games present to younger children.

The Benefits of Card Games

Aside from the obvious benefit of keeping your kids entertained on rainy days, online card games help your children develop the following skills:

• Patience
• Problem-solving
• Strategic thinking
• Addition, subtraction, multiplication & other math skills
• Memory
• Pattern recognition
• Cooperation

You could probably extend this list if you wanted, but it shows you just how much a child learns when they’re playing card games. The best thing about this is that it applies to all the card games on our list. Moreover, look at these skills and think about their application throughout your child’s life. They can develop vital skills that help them get through school with fewer struggles – and these skills then transcend beyond that and can assist them when they grow even older and start adulting.

The bottom line is this: card games are beneficial for kids. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the best games they can play for free online right now!

Best Online Card Games For Kids

Let’s start by making something abundantly clear: you don’t want to encourage your kids to play card games involving money. That should be painfully obvious, but we’ll slip it in here just as a reminder. That means any form of poker is off the table – they should play free games with no money involved.

Here are some ideas you may enjoy:

Solitaire

You can never go wrong with solitaire for kids. It’s the ultimate online card game that tests everything from patience to problem-solving abilities. One of the coolest things about solitaire is that it’s widely available online – and Windows PCs come with it pre-downloaded for you to play. That’s the classic FreeCell solitaire that most of us grew up playing, but there are so many other variations, including:

• Pyramid Solitaire
• Spider Solitaire
• Klondike Solitaire
• TriPeaks Solitaire

All versions of solitaire include unique rules that alter how you play, yet at its core, it remains the same type of game. The whole purpose is to sort cards in groups and get through the entire deck. It can be pretty challenging, which is why online solitaire is way better than setting it up with a normal deck of playing cards. Find an easy level for your kids to start at, then they gradually climb their way through difficulties.

It’s one of those games you’ll catch them playing all the time, yet you don’t feel bad about it. It’s a great way to pass the minutes while developing some very important skills.

Spades

Next on the list is spades, which is classified as a partnership, trick-taking game. It’s slightly harder to grasp in the beginning, but it’s one of those games that gets easier and easier the more you play it.

You need multiple people to play a game of spades, though this is why it’s a great online card game for kids. They can play with and against the computer, so there’s no need for anyone else to be involved. It’s a four-player game where two pairs form two teams. Each team “bids” on how many “tricks” they’ll get during a round.

Again, this sounds complicated – it’s a game you have to play to understand. The gist is that you guess how many “tricks” you’ll get and are rewarded or docked points depending on how your team fares at the end of the round. “Tricks” are gained by each play putting a card down – and whoever has the highest value card of the leading suit wins the “trick.” Spades trump all other cards, so they always win a trick if played. However, you have to wait for someone to play a spade during a trick before you can lead with one.

The great thing about spades is that it really gets your brain going. It’s a game that teaches your kids how to think strategically – but there are also elements of matching suits, using math skills to work out which cards have higher values, etc. All in all, a great option for slightly older kids who are maybe approaching middle-school age.

Hearts

Hearts is kind of similar to spades in that one suit is more powerful than all the others. The main difference is that you’re not playing in teams, and there’s no need to bid before each round. It’s a simple case of trying to take as many hearts cards as possible.

The game starts with a player putting down a lead card – this can’t be a heart; you can only play a heart when someone else has used one in a trick. Whoever has the highest value card of the lead suit wins the round.

E.g. Player 1 plays a King of Diamonds, Player 2 plays an 8 of Diamonds, Player 3 plays a 4 of Diamonds, and Player 4 plays an Ace of Diamonds.

Aces are high, so they win the trick. Unfortunately, this gains no points because you only gain points for getting hearts. Now, imagine Player 3 played a 4 of Hearts. Player 4 would still win the round because they had the highest card of the lead suit – but now they can lead with Hearts. They may play an Ace of Hearts, and all the other players play hearts of a lower value. This player gets all the hearts cards and earns a point for each one (you get 13 points for the Queen of Hearts).

It’s not as complicated as it sounds, and it’s a brilliant game for kids to play when they’re bored. They’ll develop some incredible strategic thinking skills by working out the best cards to play, when to save hearts for later, etc.

Pairs

Most of these online card games are for kids in elementary school and creeping into middle school. If you’re looking for great games for pre-schoolers, then Pairs is up there with the best. It’s one of the simplest card games out there, yet it teaches amazing memory recognition skills in very young children.

The concept is simple: cards are played face-down in a grid, and your child needs to click two at a time to turn over. They must remember where certain cards are to try and find the correct matching pairs. It’s something they can play alone or against the computer – you may even find some pass-and-play options for them to play with someone else at home, too.

Unlike the other card games, there aren’t any complicated rules to get around when starting Pairs. It’s super self-explanatory, so your kids can jump right in and start having fun. Also, you’ll find all kinds of themed Pairs games online, which means your children get to enjoy great visuals with cards designed around their favorite TV shows.

All in all, these are the best online card games for kids to develop a huge set of skills. They’re highly beneficial and will keep your child occupied without you needing to worry about what they’re doing.