Spoons

Some call it "Spoons." Some call it "Pig." I call it "fun." A lot of fun. And not just for kids. Frankly, I don't know why so many really fall-down-laughing games are thought of as being for kids only. Well, I do know, but I'd rather not go into it here.

In brief: everybody has four cards. Then the dealer starts adding more cards, which are passed or traded. As soon as someone has four of a kind, that player takes a spoon. As soon as the other players notice that a spoon has been taken, they each also grab a spoon. There are one fewer spoons than there are players. The player who winds up spoonless is the Spoonless One, which is not good. Here's a much better and more detailed explanation of how the game is played, and its variations, one of which is called "Pig."

Fascinatingly enough, there's another game called "Spoons" which is, in fact, a spoonish variation of another not-for-kids-only card game called "Crazy Eights." You know how in Crazy Eights there are certain cards, like, for example, eights, which, when played, have certain special functions. Well, in this Game Called Spoons, the Jack is the spoons card. You can read all about it here.

It does make one wonder how many other card games could be improved with a little Spoonery thrown in. I'm thinking, for example, bridge.