When engineering progress ushered in modern digital technology, the writing was on the wall for the humble pack of cards. As the years passed, it went from a household staple and childhood totem to something the average person only used for simple card tricks or games of poker. Card games never left the gambling world, of course, which influenced how people perceived them.
Money, percentages, and sleight of hand. That’s what the pack of cards had come to mean, which was a real shame for anyone who spent their childhood with a pack always at the ready to liven up evenings or school breaks. Back then kids liked to invent and refine card games. It was one of the key ways in which they expressed their creativity.
Then something terrible happened. The COVID-19 pandemic came along and sent huge parts of the world into lockdown, with people asked (or told) to stay at home whenever possible. But every cloud (no matter how all-encompassing) has a silver living at the edge of your view — so what about the lockdown? Well, that’s easy. It forced us to slow down and think.
Card games in the virtual world
During lockdown, people found themselves with so much more free time than they were used to, and they needed ways to fill it. They could play regular video games, of course, but they tend to be relatively intense — and when they’re not, they veer towards outright placidity. Think about the extremes of Call of Duty and Animal Crossing. Twitchy shooting versus chilled relaxation.
But there are other games in the online world: card games. Yes, this old-fashioned pursuit long ago moved to the digital world. Today, solitaire is online: you may remember Windows computers shipping with solitaire installed, but now you can play from a laptop, your phone, or maybe even your TV. And when you want to mix up the challenge, you can change the game, or simply adjust the rules to suit your preferences.
Keeping housemates entertained
While those who lived alone during lockdown had loneliness to contend with, housemates who got stuck together had a different problem: coexisting during a time of great stress. Some people aren’t big gamers, so it’s tough to get a selection of disparate housemates to bond over a racing game. But what about a card game? Card games are familiar. Comfortable.
It’s generally easy to get someone to play a game of poker. The rules are reasonably simple, but you can get as in-depth as you like. You can play even if you barely understand what’s going on. You can attach stakes, or you can focus on conversation. And then there are extremely straightforward card games like Go Fish that are really just thin veneers for getting people to sit down and spend time together.
Everyone can afford playing cards
Lastly, because so many people lost their jobs (or were furloughed) and struggled financially during the lockdown, the option of just buying new electronic gadgets to liven things up wasn’t available to everyone. Plenty of people just couldn’t afford to buy iPads or PlayStations — and since there’s no end in sight for the pandemic, it’s hard to see economic conditions bouncing back in the near future. But they could afford to buy packs of cards.
Cards are incredibly cheap, yet there’s so much you can do with them. One everyday deck can serve as the foundation for hundreds, thousands, millions of games with distinct sets of rules and challenges. And since the internet is packed with suggestions of card games to play (and guides on how to create new card games), the possibilities can seem limitless.
Card games used to keep kids and adults alike captivated for hours, but technology came along to change things. Being reminded of what it’s like to be stuck at home inspired us to look back at the familiar — and we remembered just how fantastic card games are for bringing people together and providing joy during the toughest times.
(Syndicated press content is neither written, edited or endorsed by ED Times)
