In the second in our series of card games to play with children, we look at the game of Sevens:
This game develops number recognition, the naming of suits and cards, memory skills and concentration.
Take out the Ace, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of hearts and spades from a pack of cards.
Shuffle these 10 cards and then lay them out, face down in a random pattern.
The first player turns up a card and then tries to find the same card of the other suit. For example, if the 4♥ is turned up the player must find the 4♠ .
If a pair is found the player keeps them and can have another turn. If a pair is not matched turn the cards back over. Play then moves on to the next player.
Play ends when all the pairs have been matched and the winner is the player who has collected the most pairs.
You can vary the game by using clubs and diamonds instead of hearts and spades. Play can also be varied by including cards from different suits, picture cards or cards from the six to the king. It is not a good idea to play with too many cards as the game becomes laborious.