Inside: Everything you need to know about the fun family spoons game and winning.
Have you ever heard about the Spoons game? I grew up playing this with my large family around the dinning table and it was great fun! This is one card game that you are going to want to have under your belt. It’s perfect for anyone from kids to grandparents to play together.
There are so many fun ones out there to choose from, but none are quite as simple and fun as this one. You need very few supplies, it’s easy to understand, and everyone will enjoy it.
I don’t know about you, but there is nothing that I find quite as stressful as a complicated card game. I didn’t play a lot of them growing up, but this one was always a hit!
This game is so breezy the fun starts as soon as you start playing! It reminds me of my favorite game show party games. So I thought I would walk you through the ultimate guide to playing the spoons game. Are you ready? Let’s let the good times roll.
Table of Contents
How to Play the Spoons Game
I think the best way for me to explain how to play this game to you is to just bring you along through a play-through. This way, you can understand how to play and what your game should look like. I told you, this is super simple. You really only have to read these rules once, and you already know what you are doing.
What You’ll Need
1. Deck of Cards (with 52 cards)
A standard deck of cards is perfect for this game. It allows you to have up to 10 players since there are so many cards. I am going to play with my favorite deck. It has little photos of flowers all over it! I recommend using a deck that has a theme because it makes it feel more fun.
2. Spoons (one less spoon than the number of players you have)
Let me explain this a little further. Let’s say that you have six people playing; you are only going to need five spoons. Any old spoons will do. You can use ones out of your silverware drawer, or you can use plain plastic ones as long as you have spoons!
Alternatively, you can use any slender object that is a similar size as a spoon as well. I know the game is called spoons, so it may feel a little counter-intuitive, but the reality is anything can work in a spoons place for games like this. I once used pencils!
3. At least six or more players
You can play with up to 10 people, but no less than 6. This is because the game works best when there are at least six players. Otherwise, it’s just too obvious when someone grabs the spoon.
The Goal Of The Spoons Game
The goal of the game is to get a spoon and stay in the game. In order to get a spoon, you have to collect four cards of a kind. Then you can try and secretly grab on from the center without getting caught. This doesn’t seem that hard, right? Well, remember how there is one less spoon than there are players?
That’s what makes this interesting.
As soon as the first spoon is drawn, it’s a free for all. Everyone tries to grab a spoon, and the person who is not able to get one ends up being the loser; then, the match restarts again with fewer players.
Step One
First, you are going to place the spoons in the center of your group of people. You could be sitting on the floor or at the table, but the spoons need to be in the center, visible to everyone. I recommend sitting on the ground because then everyone can have an equal distance to the spoons and the cards.
This is also the time to shuffle the cards. Make sure that they are good and mixed. We don’t want to have anyone lucking out on the first round. This actually happened to me the first time I ever played this game. Someone lucked out on the first round and got all four cards during the first go. No one expected it!
This is the perfect card game teens will love.
Step Two
Next, you are going to want to pass out four cards to each player. In order to start playing, you will look at your cards and see if there are any that you want to pass to the next player. The goal at this point is to get four cards of the same number or kind. So discard the one that doesn’t match the next person.
The next person gets the card and then looks at their hand. They can decide which one they want to pass on to the next person. This chain continues on until it gets to the last person. That person will choose to discard a card into a discard pile that is somewhere on the table.
Then this cycle continues again, the first player grabbing a card and choosing which to pass on.
Step Three
You play the last cycle until someone gets four matching cards. But here is the thing: Once you get the matching cards, you don’t alert anyone to them. You have to find a way to sneak one of the spoons. Nothing really happens if they catch you, but this adds to the fun. Because once everyone notices that the first spoon has been taken, it’s a free for all.
This means that everyone needs to scramble to get a spoon. The sad part is that there isn’t enough for everyone, and that’s why this is a competition to see who can get their hands on one first. The person who is left without a spoon is the loser and has to exit the round.
Step Four
After everyone has their spoons and the loser has exited the round, you can now begin the next round. You are going to essentially do everything the same as you did during that first play-through, except this time you have fewer players. So the spoons will be slim pickings!
The winner will be the last person holding a spoon. That’s all there really is to the game. You now know everything you need to know to be able to play. How exciting!
The spoons game is just one card game of many that you should have in your gaming arsenal. Not only is it super simple to understand, but it is super fun. You never know who is going to be the winner. It isn’t a battle of wits but a battle of speed!
This is my new favorite game to play with my family whenever we need some quality time together because we always end up in fits of laughter, and that is my favorite.
If you are on the hunt for more card games, you should check out these college card games. They are loads of fun!