Description:
Card Games for Dummies bills itself as "the fun and easy way to play and win your favorite card games." The book is broken down into different sections that broadly encompass the types of card games available: card-swapping games (gin and rummy), trick-taking games (whist and euchre), games where you try to score as many points as possible (pinochle), and games where you don't want to score any points at all (hearts). Each chapter starts with the fundamentals--the definition of a "trick," for example--and builds from there, progressing from the simplest games in each category to the more complex. Written by journalist Barry Rigal, Card Games for Dummies is a nice companion piece to the more staid Complete Hoyle's Games. Unlike Hoyle's, Card Games for Dummies not only explains game mechanics, but gives you useful tips for play, provides the lowdown on strategy, and warns of the boneheaded blunders that you'd undoubtedly make if you'd been taught the rules and nothing more. So if you've always wanted to learn cribbage, but never wanted to ask a friend for a tutorial, this is the book for you. One word of warning: if you want to learn how to play bridge, you won't find much here other than a synopsis of the rules and a recommendation for Bridge for Dummies. --Matthew Baldwin
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