The Top 10 Fun Card Games for Adults

The great thing about card games is that there’s something for everyone.

Whether you’re looking for a relaxing family night where you and the kids can bond over some shared hijinks, or you’re searching for something a little more mature, there’s a game out there for you.

Today, we’re focusing exclusively on adult card games.

Much more than just an aggressive game of monopoly, adult card games are designed to cover raunchy topics and even insult other players in the pursuit of an unforgettable night of fun.

Think of these games as a chance to let your hair down and unwind with some playful bad behavior, and maybe a couple of glasses of wine too.

What Are Adult Card Games?

Although many groups have made up their own adult card games through the year, the demand for this kind of recreational option began to increase after Cards Against Humanity sparked a revolution for somewhat offensive and NSFW ways to play with friends.

By transforming the concept of “Apples to Apples” into something much cruder, Cards Against Humanity changed the way that we look at card games for good, and the marketplace responded with a flood of new and exciting ideas.

To help you choose some Friday night staples from the influx of options out there, we’ve browsed through the top-rated titles to find the best fun card games for adults.

Here are 10 top picks to get you started!

1. Cards Against Humanity

Let’s start by looking at one of the adult card games that began the trend.

Cards Against Humanity is a simple yet fantastic game that uses the Apples to Apples format to transform people into “terrible” people (as the game says).

Ultimately, this is the game for you if you don’t mind getting a little bit dark at times, and laughing at the somewhat shadier aspects of art, life, and pop culture.

Depending on how confident you feel with your circle of friends, you can always remove some of the more offensive cards from the deck.

The game works like this. One person selects a black card which proposes a scenario, and the other players in the group present a white card to respond to it.

For instance, the black card might say “What is that strange smell?” and the rest of the players must attempt to give not only the most absurd answer, but also the one that they think the head player (the person with the black card) will find the funniest.

It’s all about using shock humor to make your friends laugh and collect points.

There are various rule-sets to choose from depending on how you want to play and extension packs for extra cards.

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2. Bad People

Another fun card game for adults, if you don’t mind a little playful banter, is “Bad People.”

This game might not be the best one to play with new friends, as it depends on you having deep (and hopefully unbreakable) bonds with the other players in your group.

Ultimately, the game claims to show people what their pals think about them.

It works like this – you choose an “identity” card, then answer questions relevant to that identity.

For instance, a question may be “Whose funeral will have the smallest attendance?”, and you would need to argue the case that the smallest number of people will attend the funeral of the identity you’ve chosen.

This is a game that’s all about sharing stories, embarrassment, and mutual bonding.

If your bonds of friendship are deep enough to survive a few insults, you should find that these adult card games leave you with a lot more information about your nearest and dearest.

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Want more bar game ideas? Check out our list of the 40 best games for a great night out.

3. What Do You Meme?

Though “What do You Meme” is a game that fits into the fun card games for adults category, it’s not nearly as offensive or raunchy as games like Cards Against Humanity.

Instead, this game is all about having a good time with your internet meme knowledge.

If you’re always connected to the online world, then there’s a good chance you’re frequently sharing memes with your friends and colleagues.

“What do you meme?” asks you to compete with your friends to create the funniest memes using familiar pictures from the web.

One player acts as a judge and places a photo card on an easel, while the rest of the players choose captions to go alongside that photo.

Like with CAH, the idea is to pick the caption that the judge will deem the funniest.

This is a fantastic game that can be played with a large group of friends, although it’s best to choose players who already know their memes.

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4. The Voting Game

How often do you sit and think about your friends?

Do you know which of them would be most likely to lose an election because of the way they behaved in school?

Who would struggle to talk their way out of an admission to an insane asylum?

The voting game helps you answer those questions and more.

Like many adult card games, the premise is simple enough.

The box comes with 160 question cards and each player votes for the person amongst them most likely to fit the question’s description.

The players then guess who voted for them, and if they choose correctly, the votes are revealed.

As with a lot of the suggestions on this list, the best people to play this game with

are friends who you don’t mind laughing at your expense.

Expect to have some embarrassing tales told about you, so you might not want to bring easily-offended family members along!

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Looking for something a little tamer? Check out some great two player card games to play.

5. Drunk, Stoned or Stupid

Ready to put your friendships to the test?

Drunk, Stoned, or Stupid is an adult card game similar to the “Voting Game,” as it’s intended to help you determine which people in your group are most likely to “be allergic to everything,” or “spend all day obsessing over a text.”

The idea is that the game will test how well your friends know you, and how you represent yourself to them, by asking increasingly obscure and absurd questions about what you might do in the right circumstances.

The scenarios range all the way from risking your life for a selfie to making out with “absolutely anyone.”

Once the group decides on the person most associated with a card, that player receives the card, and the person with the fewest cards at the end of the game wins!

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6. You’ve Got Problems

“You’ve got Problems” is one of the most imaginative fun card games for adults on the market.

In “You’ve got Problems,” each player attempts to play the best pair of cards possible, while sabotaging the cards that other players choose.

Essentially, you select two good things to happen to the judge, while selecting one bad thing to attach to someone else’s stack.

For instance, you might have 2 cards that tell the judge that they can resurrect the dead and eat as much of any food they want without gaining weight, but your friends will constantly add problems to your stack that make those positives less enticing, like “you can never cross a street again.”

Related: Fun Card Games for the Bar

The judge picks the person with positive cards that outweigh the negative “problems” in their stack, and that person gains the points.

Like Cards Against Humanity, there are expansions for “You’ve Got Problems” if you’d like to customize your deck.

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7. If You Had To…

If you’ve ever played the game “Would you rather?” then you’ll have no problem understanding the rules of “If you had to”.

Basically, the game aims to choose the worst card or the one that the judge would “least” like to do.

For instance, you and your friends might present cards that ask the judge to choose between all children under the age of 6 constantly trying to kill them or having to sleep in a bucket every day.

If the judge chooses your card as the one that they simply couldn’t do, then you win the point for the round.

The first person to get to 5 points wins, but you can play to as many points as you like if you want to make the game last a little longer.

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8. Search History

Search history is one of those adult card games that play on an exciting idea – the fear that all teenagers have about someone getting into their internet browsing history!

Search History was created by “Player Ten,” and it works like this.

Everyone playing receives half of a potential search term, and the rest of the group needs to guess how the term would end.

So, each round, a player reads the first half of a search query from a card, such as “How many times should I…” then they write the correct answer on a piece of paper, shuffling it in with a number of fake responses.

After this, every other player guesses what the end of the search will be.

This fantastic game is great to play with friends, but don’t be surprised if you accidentally reveal some things about yourself that your pals didn’t know before.

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9. Never Have I Ever

Never have I ever is a fun party game that you’ve probably played with friends before using questions that you just made up.

The “Never have I ever” game simply takes some of the stress off your shoulders by giving you 485 question cards to choose from, so that you don’t have to worry about any creative blocks.

As fun card games for adults go, Never Have I Ever is a classic, featuring standard questions like never have I ever “done the walk of shame.”

The only thing to remember is that everyone in your group needs to be honest about what they have and haven’t done, so you might want to avoid playing with anyone who you don’t want to know your most intimate secrets.

Another point to keep in mind is that things can get tense between new couples when things like sexual history are addressed.

Consider removing some of the more risqué cards if you’re nervous.

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10. Unstable Unicorns

Finally, Unstable Unicorns is a brilliant card game that asks people to compete against their friends in a “magical” experience.

Designed by the people behind TeeTurtle, Unstable Unicorns invites players to build their own unicorn army and battle against their friends.

You start with a “baby unicorn” in your stable and start building an army with special powers.

As you play Unstable Unicorns, you’ll receive other cards that prevent players in your group from laying down their cards, which makes the game hilariously frustrating.

You might find yourself getting into a few playful arguments with your nearest and dearest.

The standard game ends when there are no cards left on the table. If no-one builds a full unicorn army, then no-one wins.

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There you have it! Ten amazing adult card games that you can play with your friends and loved ones!

Just be careful who you invite to join you at the card table, these games can get a little offensive at times, and the last thing you want to do is end up in an argument with someone you care about over a deck of cards.