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Latest articles from the gaming world
Top 10 Best Christmas Games to Play with Your Family
Christmas is the perfect excuse to slow down, gather everyone in one place and actually do something *together* – beyond scrolling on separate screens. A couple of well-chosen games can turn a regular evening into one of those cosy memories you talk about for years: grandpa arguing over Monopoly trades, cousins whispering clues in Codenames, kids proudly spelling out words in Alphapet. In this guide, we’ve picked ten Christmas-friendly games that work for real families – mixed ages, different energy levels and limited patience for rulebooks. Whether you want a big party game, a calm word game or a long board game session that stretches through the afternoon, you’ll find something here to bring out on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or any winter night you’re all together.
How to Play Skip-Bo with Regular Cards (Using a Standard Deck)
Skip-Bo is designed to be played with its own special deck – but what if you don’t have it handy? Maybe you’re travelling, visiting family, or your original Skip-Bo cards have gone missing. The good news: you can absolutely approximate Skip-Bo with one or more standard decks of playing cards, as long as you agree on a simple mapping and a few house rules. This guide walks you through a clear, playable variant: how to play Skip-Bo with regular cards (also searched as “Skip-Bo with a normal deck” or “Skip-Bo with a standard deck”). It’s not an official version of the game, but it’s close enough to scratch the same itch.
Best Games for Couples
This guide gathers some of the best games for couples – from classic board games and quick card games to party, drinking and conversation games for date nights and double dates.
How to Play Uno with a Regular Deck of Cards
No Uno deck? No problem. You can mirror the feel of **Uno** with a standard 52-card pack (optionally add two jokers). This guide covers card mapping, setup, turn flow, action effects, scoring, and house rules so you can start in minutes.
Catan Openings for New Players: Placement, Ports, Tempo
Openings decide your production, your expansion lanes, and how fast you turn resources into points. If you already know the basics of Catan, this guide gives you three beginner-friendly opening patterns and simple checklists for the first two placements, early road plans, and port timing.
Office-Friendly Party Games
Need a fast morale boost between meetings? These games are office-safe, quick to teach, and easy to scale. Each pick links to full rules on Playiro so you can start in under a minute. Browse more ideas on our curated party games.
How Great Players Manage Risk - Lessons from Blackjack and Bridge
Every card game is built on risk. From a casual hand at home to a professional tournament, the outcome always depends on how players read uncertainty. Great players don’t try to eliminate risk - they manage it. Whether the goal is to outthink an opponent in Bridge or calculate the odds in Blackjack, mastery comes from understanding when to take a chance and when to hold back.
Symbols, Suits and Meaning – The Language of Cards
A deck of cards is more than a tool for gaming. It’s a pocket-sized record of human culture - an object that has carried meaning, symbolism and artistry for centuries. The four suits, the face cards and even the colors of red and black have evolved through time, blending myth, design and mathematics into a universal language. Each shuffle, draw and deal echoes hundreds of years of tradition.
The Best Party Games for Every Group Size
A great party game can turn a quiet evening into something unforgettable. Whether you’re hosting a dinner with friends, a family get-together or a big celebration, the right game brings everyone together through laughter, teamwork and just the right amount of chaos. The best part?
The Psychology of Cheating - Why Some Players Bend the Rules
Cheating is one of the oldest and most universal aspects of play. From secretly moving a token in Monopoly to exploiting a glitch in an online game, nearly everyone has witnessed or even participated in some form of rule-bending. While cheating is often condemned, it offers an intriguing window into human psychology — revealing how we respond to competition, temptation and social pressure. Understanding why people cheat doesn’t excuse the behavior, but it helps explain the complex relationship between fairness, emotion and the desire to win.
Counting Cards in Blackjack - Skill, Strategy and Legality Explained
Few casino strategies have captured the public imagination quite like card counting. Immortalized in films, books and popular culture, it’s often portrayed as a secret method to “beat the house.” In reality, counting cards is neither magic nor cheating—it’s a sophisticated application of probability and focus. While the technique remains legal, its use in professional gaming environments raises questions about ethics, skill and fair play.
The Psychology of Board Game Addiction – Why We Keep Playing
Board games have a unique power over us. Whether it’s the thrill of victory, the frustration of defeat, or the simple joy of social play, something about these colorful boxes keeps us coming back for more. But what is it, exactly, that makes board games so addictive? Let’s explore the psychology behind why we keep rolling the dice - again and again.