Card Games use pieces of information (such as facts, concepts, technical terms, definitions, principles, examples, quotations, and questions) printed on cards. These games borrow procedures from traditional playing card games and require players to classify and sequence pieces of information from the instructional content.

This article explores card games as a training technique. It incorporates the following sections:

Headlines, a sample card game, explained in detail

The structure of Headlines, divided into six steps

Adapting the card game to suit different contexts

Brief descriptions of 10 different card games for training

Headlines: A Sample Card Game

Practice Advice Cards is one type of card games for training (in such soft skill topics such as building trust, customer service, giving feedback, leadership, listening skill, and team building). A Practical Advice Card deck contains 52 cards, each with a useful tip related to a workplace activity. Here are five examples from the deck of practical advice cards on facilitation skills:

Use this sequence during a facilitated session: open the session, discuss the agenda, establish ground rules, generate ideas, make decisions, and debrief.
Encourage and support interaction among the participants. Discourage the participants from talking only to you, ignoring the others.
If several participants want to talk at the same time, List their names in a sequence and assign a number to each.
Clearly explain and demonstrate your neutrality. Don’t shift into the roles of an expert, an advocate, or a trainer.
Divide participants into smaller groups. This increases individual air time and reduces attention-seeking behaviors.

An appropriate heading for a piece of practical advice attracts the readers’ attention and highlights the key elements. It also makes it easier to recall the piece of advice later. This game rewards players who have a talent for writing effective headlines.

Synopsis

Players independently write a headline for a piece of advice. A non-playing judge selects the best headline.

Purpose

To create a meaningful and memorable headline for a piece of practical advice.

Participants

Minimum: 4

Maximum: Any number, divided into groups of 3 to 7)

Best: 5

Time

4 minutes for each round.

Supplies

A deck of Practical Advice Cards
Pencils or pens
Pieces of blank paper

Flow

Appoint a TKJ. Select one of the players to assume the role of a Timekeeper-Judge (TKJ). Reassure the other participants by explaining that everyone will have a turn being the TKJ during the subsequent rounds.

Display a card. Ask the TKJ to pull out a random card and read the piece of practical advice printed on it. Instruct the TKJ to place the card in the middle of the table, printed side up.

Example:

A card from the deck on facilitation skill contains this piece of advice:

Be a flexible facilitator. Shift between being playful and being serious.

Write the headline. Ask the players to write a meaningful and memorable headline for the piece of advice. Ask the TKJ to keep track of time for 30 seconds.

Example:

Here are the headlines written by the other four players:

Be flexible.
Practice bipolar behaviors.
Be flexible—seriously.
Don’t be too serious or too playful.

Select the best headline. After 30 seconds, ask the players to take turns to read the headline they have written. After all players have done so, ask the TKJ to select the best headline and give its author the practical advice card. Remind everyone that the judge’s decision is final, and they do not have to explain the log behind their decision.

Example:

During this round of the game, the TKJ chose this statement as the winning headline:

Be flexible—seriously.

Continue the game. Ask the next player to take on the role of the TKJ and conduct the same procedure. Continue the game until every player has had a chance to be the TKJ.

Identify the winner. At the end of the game, ask the participants to count the number of practical advice cards they have won. The player with the most cards is the winner. Identify this winner and congratulate them.

The Structure of Headlines

Headlines can be used as a template for creating other card games for training. The following game plan outlines the structure of Headlines:

1. Appoint a Timekeeper-judge.

Facilitator: Organize the participants into groups of four to seven. Select one member of each group to be the timekeeper-judge.
Participants: Join your group. If you are selected to be the timekeeper-judge, get ready to carry out your responsibilities.

2. Display a card

Facilitator: Ask the timekeeper-judge to pick a random card from the deck.

Participants: Follow the instructions from the facilitator.

3. Write a headline

Facilitator: Ask the participants to review the piece of advice and write a suitable headline.

Participants: Follow the instructions from the facilitator.

4. Select the best headline

Facilitator: Ask the timekeeper-judge to different headlines and select the best one.

Participants: When it is your turn, read the headline. Listen to the other headlines.

5 Continue the game

Facilitator: Ask the players to take turns to play the role of timekeeper-judge. Continue the game to ensure every has a chance to play role.

Participants: When it is your turn act as the timekeeper-judge.

6. Find the winner

Facilitator: Ask the players to count the cards they won . Identify and congratulate winner.

Participants: Follow the instructions from the facilitator.

Adapting Headlines to Suit Other Training Requirements

Work with other training topics. Write a set of pieces of practical advice and incorporate them in the activity.
Involve the participants in creating practical advice cards. Instead of generating your own advice cards, ask the participants to work in teams to create practical tips.

Make posters of the headlines. Ask each team to prepare poster to display the best headline it selected.

Select the best of the best. Display the same practical advice on the screen. Ask each team to select the best headline related t this piece of advice. Poll all the participants individually to select the best headline from those selected by the teams.

Use illustrations instead of headlines. Instead of asking the participant to write headlines and the teams to select the best one, work with suitable illustrations: Ask the individual participants to draw a graphic to highlight the key elements of the piece of advice. Ask each team to select and display the best illustration.

Ten More Card Games

Classification Cards

What’s on the cards: Classification card games deal with training topics that feature different categories (such as communication styles or personality types) or steps (as in performance-improvement or critical problem solving). Each card has a value (such as 10 ) and a statement that can be classified into one of the categories or steps. The playing card values are for reference purposes only: The correct classification for the item on the card is displayed in a table arranged by the card values.

How the game is played: By using the classification category as the suit of the card, we can play any traditional card game (such as Rummy or Euchre). There are several other games designed specifically for training purposes. In Audio Slapjack, for example, each player takes turns to pick up the top card of the shuffled deck and read the item. The first player to slap a buzzer gives the classification category for the item. If this category is correct, the player earns a score point. If incorrect, the player loses a point. The first player to collect seven points wins the game.

Debate Cards

What’s on the cards: Each card contains a debatable statement (such as Customer satisfaction is overrated or Who is more important: Internal Customer or external customer?) related to the training topic.

How the game is played: Players take turns to be the first speaker. After a debate card is turned over, all players get ready to participate in the debate. The first player makes a 2-minute presentation, taking either side of the debate. Other players throw a die and the person who threw the smallest number debates the first player by presenting the opposing side for 2 minutes. At the end of the debate, the other players decide who won.

Emotion Cards

What’s on the cards: The deck contains 52 cards, each with four random emotion words (such as calm, disgusted, loving, and indifferent). The entire deck has a total o 208 different feelings and emotions.

How the game is played: In a game called Emotional Statements, a player is selected to be judge. This player takes a card and reads the last word in the list. Each of the other players secretly write a sentence that a person with that feeling is likely to be saying. After 30 seconds,, each player reads their statement. The judge selects the most appropriate statement related to the specified emotion. The writer of this statement wins a point.

Fluency Cards

What’s on the cards: Each card contains a word or a phrase that identifies a specific category associated with the training topic (for example, behaviors that reduce trust).

How the game is played: In a game called Last Player Standing, a group of players compete against each other by taking turns to say aloud a word or phrase that belongs to the category (for example, lying or breaking promise). Any player who hesitates too long, repeats a previous word, or says an irrelevant word is eliminated and sits down.) The game continues until only one player is left standing. This player is the wins the game.

Graphic Cards

What’s on the cards: Each card contains an illustration, a diagram, or a photograph related to the training topic (such as photographs of safety hazards in an office room).

How the game is played: In this two-player game called Hazard, the players study two different pictures. Then each player picks up one of the pictures and holds it such a way that they can see it but the other player cannot. Players take turn to ask a closed question related to the picture (such as How many devices are plugged into the same outlet?) Each correct answer earns a point. The first player to accumulate 10 points wins the game.

Multiple-Choice Question Cards

What’s on the card: Each card contains a question with four multiple-choice alternatives (labeled A, B, C, and D). Example: Which software package is most suitable for a small business that does not employ an accountant? A. FreshBook, B. Money Dance, C. QuickBook, D. Quicken.

How the game is played: Each person has seven counters. Four bowls marked A, B, C, and D are placed on the table. Players place a counter that corresponds to the alternative they consider to be the correct one for the question on the card. After checking with the correct answer in the back of the card, players take back their counter if it was placed in an incorrect bowl. The chips in the correct bowl are dumped into a paper cup. The first person to get rid of all his or her counters wins the game.

Job Cards

What’s on the cards: Each card contains an activity that is typically performed by professional employees on the job.

How the game is played: In the Job Re-engineering game, each member of a team identifies a specific number of major, medium, and minor functions she performs on her job and writes an activity on a separate card. Later, team members identify activities associated with their ideal version of the job. They re-engineer their job to make it more fulfilling.

Question Cards

What’s on the card: Each card contains a question on one side and the correct answer on the other side. All the questions relate to the same training topic.

How the game is played: Players take turns to read and answer the question. Any other player may challenge the answer if they think it is incorrect. The player wins the card if nobody challenges (even if the given answer is incorrect). If there is a challenge, the person who gave the correct answer wins the card and collects a penalty card from the other player. The first player to collect five cards wins the game.

Quotation Cards

What’s on the cards: Each card contains a quotation, an epigram, a proverb, or a pithy saying related to the training topic.

How the game is played: Each player prepares a 30-second presentation explaining the key points of the quotation and its application to the real world. Players throw a pair of dice and the person with the smallest number makes her presentation. At the end of this presentation, all other players hold up one to five fingers to indicate their rating.

Value Cards

What’s on the cards: Each card contains a value (such as Integrity or Playfulness).

How the game is played: Each player picks up a card and pairs up with another player. The two players discuss the values and decide which one is more important to their team at this time. The player with the selected card pairs up with another player and compare their cards to select the more important value. The player whose value was not selected becomes a spectator and listens to the discussions among the others. At the end of the activity, a set of important values are identified. The participants discuss how these values could be enhanced.