Card Games Books

Jude Goodwin's 'Table Talk' bridge cartoons have appeared for more than 30 years in the American Contract Bridge League's Bulletin - so if you recognize them and are an avid player, you'll love having them all under one cover at last. Humor is dependent on an understanding of bridge basics and such an audience will relish the zany moments and fun commentary imbedded in these cartoons.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I see quite a few kids in my work as a therapist. I have found that the kids who are old enough to understand the rules (usually 5+) really love this game. This game, in my experience, can benefit kids who are learning their letters, learning to read, and/or kids who are working on their speaking abilities. They like it since it's a fun way for them to practice and learn without it feeling like school or homework. I would actually recommend this to parents and I'd say you should set aside some time a couple nights a week to play this and other (educational) games with your kid(s) since part of what makes the kids like it is that you're there playing with them. It's a great way to encourage and support them as they learn. Also, this doesn't have to just be about the letters since each card has an animal on it and the type of animal written out below so it can also help with reading. For example, I'll ask the child, "Do you have an 'A' as in 'Alligator'?" and they will have to do the same on their turn so they learn to associate the picture of the animal with the word. And, of course, they love to win and then count out how many pairs they got (good for learning/practicing counting too!). Basically, I can't speak highly enough of this game. It encourages learning, practicing numbers, letters, reading, speaking, and healthy competition, and gives them some always needed attention at the same time.
P.S. - For kids who don't get the rules just yet, it can be played as a matching game!

This is a great game for kids and adults. I always have a great time playing with my family and teaching them how to pronounce the names of the fish!

The trouble with Bridge is that it's a complicated game. Unless Bridge is your number one priority in life, you keep forgetting little things that seemed sensible when you read about them two years ago but which have remained unused in your finite memory. Which is good news for authors, because it means there's always a market, even if they're recycling ideas which they only wrote about two years ago.

Bidding books tend to be a waste of effort, unless both you and your partner agree to read the same book. If you learn a new convention and your partner doesn't, it can only do damage to your partnership and scores. Stick to a simple system: Acol or Five-Card Majors. There is no absolute best bidding system. The best bidding system for you is the one that both you and your partner understand.

But bridge play is a different matter. Apart from the matter of who can see each hand, the game is identical to whist, a far older game. In most situations, experts can work out the best play at the table. Guidelines such as '3rd hand plays high' and '2nd hand plays low' still apply in many situations.

This book clearly lays out these guidelines, and gives examples of where they apply and where they don't. The good news is that there aren't too many of these guidelines. But it's left to the reader to understand the specific hand layouts and draw conclusions about the general applicability of the advice.

Like bidding, defence is a partnership activity. This is a great book, and I'll be trying to persuade my partner to read it.

This is yet another installment of the highly successful Munchkin series of card games. As with the others, it can be played as a stand-alone or mixed in with the others for extra humor.

My gaming group plays a lot of Munchkin, and between the 6 of us we have purchased every set. Most of the time we play a "genre" by itself, then switch for variety. But sometimes we mix them up.

What else can I say? If you like puns, this is a great game. If you like card games with an extra dose of humor, you'll like this game. The gameplay takes a little while to learn, but it gets fast once you've played a few games.

Be sure to know your cards on the table! Many times I could have gotten out of a situation by simply remembering what I had down or in my hand.

Goren really improved my bridge with this book. Aimed at people with some playing experience, this book treats every aspect of bridge bidding, including opening bids, responses, pre-empts, strong and weak 2s, and slam bidding in an easy-to-follow manner. Complete with sample deals and organized in a convenient, natural order.

Buy this book. It inspired my bridge playing, and will do the same for yours.

This is the only deck I have ever been able to "read" without having to read the book first. Chesca Potter's illustrations are inspiring and are full of hidden depths.

The deck uses what might be termed pre-Celtic {?} British religious symbols, such as images of animals, landmarks and gods and goddesses, including the Green Man . The four suits are Wands, Arrows, Cups and Stones, each aligning to a different season and element on the Wheel of the Year, around which the deck is based.

The major arcana is also different in that some cards have been changed from the normal format. For instance, The ancestor takes the place of the Heirophant, The Archer replaces the Chariot, Balance is there instead of Temperance, The Greenwoman instead of the Empress, The Greenman as the Emperor, The Blasted Oak as the Tower, and there are a few other surprises, too.

The artwork is extraordinary and I am sorry that this deck is no longer in print. It is a great loss.

Although I am not quite sure this is indeed the right book for those making greeting cards "for the first time" as the title suggests, this is indeed a charming, very creative Greeting Cards book.
The strength of "Greeting cards for the first time" stems first and foremost from the great pictures which give you a host of new ideas, even without bothering to read the instructions. I first went over the book and started digesting the images, the materials, the colors and the different combinations suggested and only then started going over the instructions more thoroughly.
Not all the materials were familiar to me (a good example would be the Dauber Duos inks I met here for the first time) and not all of them are presently available for my usage, but this was a good way to learn about the new materials in the market and their usage.
One of the minuses of "copying" other people's work is that you feel you must repeat exactly what you see in the picture, a feeling that can be frustrating at times when the stamps used are no longer available or if you lack a cardstock in the exact specific color... but if you overcome this craving the suggestions can start a whole new range of ideas.
Regarding my previous comment, although I have been making Greeting cards for a long time, some of the techniques used in the book were not regular or easy, and you do need some scrapbooking or craft usage experience in order to enjoy the writer's suggestions to the most, although the writer is very orderly and percise in her instructions. People with some crafting experience however, can more easily enjoy the instructions..
I loved the addition of "what to say" in every greeting card shown in the book. The writer words were always very sweet and to the point ("How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?)

Ron Klinger has written a very thorough, easy-to-understand, yet concise book that teaches declarer play and defense very well. And the quizzes at the end of the chapter serve to clarify the concepts. I cannot recommend this enough. This was selected as the Book of the Year by the ABTA in the year it was published.

If you like the .hack TCG then this is a MUST!!!This brings 30 PACKS!!!That is alot of packs. You will get many cards here.