5 Creative Ways to Use Playing Cards With Youth AND Staff!  

BGCA’s Director of YD Learning Development Julie Dube knows A THING OR TWO about easy and fun ideas to use at the Club. With her 20!!! years’ experience at Boys & Girls Clubs she has done it all! Some even call her the QUEEN OF FUN. We are thrilled to welcome her for her first of many posts here on the ClubX Blog. 👑

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If you’ve ever opened a deck of cards in a youth space or training room, you already know: sometimes the cards don’t all come back. 

You may not think so at first, but whatever survived the last game, shuffle, or chaotic round? Absolute gold. Even a half-full, slightly battered deck can be used in your Club to spark movement, connection, reflection, and a little bit of fun organized chaos. It’s proof that things don’t need to be perfect to create magic at the Club. 

Grab your (maybe not full) deck of playing cards, and you can turn any room—whether it’s full of youth during program time or staff in a training—into a high-energy, fully engaged space. 

Here are 5 different ways to use playing cards for your youth or staff: 

Groupers

“1, 2, 3… wait what number was I?”  Let’s switch it up from the famous “count off” method to get youth or staff in smaller groups.

Hand everyone a random card and call out how they should group up.  Here are some suggestions: 

• Same number
• Same suit (for example “Find three others of your same suit”)
• Evens vs. odds
• Red vs. black
• Full suits (for a group of 4): ♥ ♣ ♦ ♠

Any of these options mix everyone up in different ways AND remove the pressure of choosing partners or groups or remembering a number. 

Conversation & Reflection

Use your cards for when you want to get a group talking without the awkward silence of asking for volunteers.  Perfect for emotional check-ins, community builders, and reflection moments.  Here are some great options:

Suit-Based Starters: Everyone draws a card. You display four questions (one per suit). They answer the question tied to their suit. For example: 

• ♥ Something that made you smile today 
• ♣ Something you learned recently 
• ♦ A challenge you’re working through 
• ♠ Something you’re proud of 

You can do this with other cards too, including the numbers or the face cards!  

Music Card Walk: Tape or place playing cards all around the room. Play music and let everyone wander. When the music stops, they answer the prompt connected to the playing card closest to them. Make sure you have the assigned prompts available for all to see—on a paper, on the whiteboard, screen, etc. 

Quick-Draw Icebreaker Everyone gets a card and looks at it at the same time. Highest card chooses the icebreaker question the group will answer. Repeat as needed until the room wakes up. 

All of these options are great because nobody is put on the spot without a prompt. The activities feel structured yet playful, and they get youth or staff talking without it feeling awkward. 

Team-Building Challenges

Yes, you can use cards to create team building challenges and work on communication, teamwork, and collaboration! 

Card Tower Challenge: Break into teams. Give each group a set number of cards (like 26). Set a timer for 5 minutes. Have them build the tallest free-standing tower. 

Spice it up with: Give more or less time, no talking, one-hand only, one “builder” +  one “coach”  

Royal Roles: Everyone draws a card. Roles are assigned by face (or whichever cards you want to use.)  One example:  

• King = Timekeeper 
• Queen = Discussion Leader 
• Jack = Materials Manager 
• Ace = Reporter 
• Numbers can be bonus roles or helpers. 

This method of assigning roles is flexible for a wide range of activities. Randomizing roles means that everyone gets to participate, and no one feels left out or obligated to volunteer for roles, while setting activities up as team challenges creates a fun, competitive atmosphere!

Brain Boosters & Skill Builders

Get creative with your cards and use them as high yield activities, you know, those activities that are fun WITH a purpose! Learning that feels like a game is always a hit!  

Math Match: Pair people up. Give each pair 3 (or more) number cards. Call out a target number. They must add / subtract / multiply their cards to get as close as possible. Optional: share strategies out loud. 

Suit Snap Challenge: Drop a pile of cards on the table or throughout a room. Call out what you are looking for.  First person to grab it wins. You can switch it up with different variations: 

• Math Mode: Call out a math problem and the answer to the problem is the number that needs to be grabbed. For example if you call out 2 x 3, players must grab the 6 card.  
• Memory Mode: Show a card briefly, hide it, then call the number or suit—players must remember where it was. 
• Team Mode: Players form small groups. Groups must collaborate to grab the correct card together. 
• Critical Thinking Mode: Instead of calling one suit/number, call two or three conditions (“Even number, Red, Face card”)—players must scan and strategize. 

It’s always fun to bring in fresh, high-yield activities to shake up our usual routine. These card-based ideas make learning playful and keep the group energized. Believe it or not, you can even do this with staff—what a fun way to showcase what high yield learning activities look like in action! 

Debate & Discussion Mixers

Use cards to create a space to tackle the serious stuff—or just prove who’s right about pineapple on pizza. Randomizing sides keeps things light AND teaches perspective-taking without the pressure.  

Red vs. Black Debate: Everyone draws a card. Reds argue one side, blacks argue the opposite. Pick a topic (serious or silly). Keep debates short, snappy, and fun. You can use the card draws similar to ClubX fav activity Dumb Debates.

So grab whatever deck you have lying around—full, half-full, or missing a few cards—and get ready to spark connection, laughter, and a little organized chaos.

And don’t forget about that UNO deck too! For more ideas using playing cards or UNO decks (in whatever conditions they may be) to help youth build skills, check out this ClubX Blog post:

Have Fun (and Build Skills) With Playing Card Activities

How do you incorporate on the spot fun into your programming? What other activities do your members and staff love? We want to know so we can share! Comment below, on the BGCA Youth Development Facebook page, or email ClubXBlog@bgca.org.

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