The Essential Family Guide to Card Games - New Poker Variations

This is not a bad collection of game information, howevr it really just wasn't what I was looking for. This being said I would recommend this to people looking to learn some more commonly played games, just don't expect to find alot of information for card games that do not use a French suited bicycle deck. (In other words a poker deck). I was really hoping to find some new games using Spanish suited Baraja decks or German suited Magyar decks.

Waste of time, instructions are archaic and unclear. We've been looking for a good desk reference for card games to expand our knowledge and went with Hoyle's based on reputation. The big games that we knew how to play were clear enough, but the more obscure games that we thought would be worth getting into, and where the real value was were hardly understandable. The rules were scattered, unclear, and often in complete. We tried about three games this way, but always had to go to You Tube for a better explanation. Now we look up a game, then go immediately to You Tube.

I purchased the book as a reference book for popular card games. I had hoped to share with friends a mini-refresher on the rules. This book is not indexed, not alphabetized, and is written with no clear approach to card games in general. Very difficult to use!

I bought the book especially for the rules of checkers. I couldn’t remember if a checker could jump a king, a pretty basic rule. However, for some reason it’s a rule they seem to have forgotten to mention. Getting the answer on the internet was not any easier but I finally found the answer, I think? The answer is “no.”

I was hoping this book would clear up rules about a lot of common games. It is exactly opposite of that. There are surprisingly few games listed and my friends, family, and I haven't heard of most of the games that are listed.

Hoyle's Rules of Games, Third Revised and Updated Edition

There are easier to understand and more up-to-date descriptions of gameplay for most of the more popular games on the internet. The book is particularly weak on diagrams, which simplify understanding of many of the games tremendously. I would consider this book to be useful as supplementary information only; it would not be my first choice for learning a new game from scratch.

I bought this book because, although I love card games, I play pretty infrequently and often forget the rules. This book contains rules and generally clear descriptions of play for an incredibly long list of games. In addition to card games, the book covers many board games, such as Scrabble and chess, and even a few computer games. There is no question that there are books that cover individual games in much more depth, but it's hard to argue with the low price of this volume when it comes to the sheer number of brief descriptions of games that it offers. Highly recommended to have on hand.

Unless you have been part of a weekly poker game, you may not understand why I like this book, particularly the section on "ethics and etiquette," so much. There really is some honor among thieves. Life really is more fun (and chaos more enjoyable) when we adhere to the letter and spirit of the rules.