Snap. It’s where a lot of us begin our game playing with kids. Â No strategy, a little observation – and a lot of opportunity to shout loudly! Perfect.
Snap is a good game with kids because it’s a level playing field. Either side can do well if they can spot the matching cards quickly enough. That tends to encourage kids to keep going – and me too.
1) Know your moves to win
Here is the question: what is the move that gets you a win? Is it shouting ‘Snap!’ Is it banging your hand down on the matching cards?
It’s a moot point. Â I go for the former; Dan goes for the latter. Â House standard has therefore headed towards doing both, which makes it even more frenetic.
Junior player loves this, of course. Â Sometimes combining your game-playing backgrounds means that the outcome is even better.
2) Disqualifying your opponent if they get the moves wrong
Pernickety game playing can start as early as snap. Â I have seen serious arguing erupt – that a ‘Snap!’ was overruled because it wasn’t made with the correct move(s).
It is up to you whether you are a stringent rule keeper here or not. Mind you, junior players can be even more vigilant than adults, I find…
3) Pans!
I used to live near three sisters, elderly gentle ladies in the best terms. Â They all lived together, and had a great sense of humour. Part of the humour included shaking things up a bit: you only won if you shouted ‘Pans!’ (ie ‘Snap’ backwards).
You may not get as many takers for this, but it can be good to see if others can adjust to a rule change for a round – and remember which thing to do to win.
4) Choosing your packs
The other nice thing about Snap is the opportunity for variety while essentially playing the same game. We played a Jungle Animals one a lot for a long time – it was essential packing for train journeys.
That’s part of the fun of simpler games – you can play them many times over, and they still work for you. If they’re familiar, that can be encouraging for those who find it hard to lose – because the cards may also remind them that they win too, at times.
We also picked up a large format set of cards with pirates on, at a school fair. These have alliterative names, so we learn a bit about language along the way. Plus it’s quite fun to say the names as we play the cards, particularly if it takes a while to get a matching pair.
5) When to stop
It’s a moot point. Â Playing as a twosome, it’s rare to get to a point where one person wins all the cards. Â Sometimes you feel it’s fairer to stop. Â Sometimes junior player wants to risk it, even though they’ve not got many cards left to play.
It’s learning about games along the way, risking – or deciding to limit the damage. (It’s also a chance to count the cards to see who’s won, for a little more stealth maths.)
Snap. Pans. Any other suggestions?