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The crew! Both versions of it allow for replayability as you have different objectives every game. It is a trick taking game, so they might be a bit familiar with it due to other games like bridge. And it is cheap. Only thing that might take them a bit to get used to is that it is coop.
Another simple one would be take 6 (nimmt 6).
The crew looks interesting, will check it out. Thank you
I would recommend The Crew: Mission Deep Sea over
The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, same idea, but with more polish.
The crew is amazing, you could play this with about any card deck as long as you have the missions somewhere.
Good suggestions.
Although Frantic might not be elderly friendly due to the card design being quite hard to read at times. Huge Roman numerals with tiny text in front is just a terrible design choice.
Bohnanza is a modern classic.
Scout is supposed to be great.
Tichu is a bit more complex (and somewhat similar to Doppelkopf, which as I am just learning is apparently rather specific to Germany).
Arboretum is also nice, somewhat similar to Lost Cities.
We often play "6 nimmt" with our Grandma. That is always a blast. Simple to learn, quick to set up and a lot of Schadenfreude from my Grandma when she tricks somebody into taking cards!
Exploding Kittens is always a winner when I break it out.
I would also echo the Crew is great, especially for people that are familiar with traditional card games.
"No Thanks!" is super easy and fun.
But I've also found with a lot of oldies that they actually like playing the same old games. They often have more depth and complexity than you might think at first glance, and it's difficult to learn a new game of similar complexity later in life and might be dull to swap out for a simpler game. Like, if some whippersnappers were to go "granny, put those delvers and cantrips away and come play some fun Cards Against Humanity with us" I'd probably immolate myself on the spot 🤷🏻♀️
Card games that aren't too hard to learn:
Second Love Letter. You can learn to play in 10 min, a game is over in 20 min, but you'll play for hours. By name, it doesn't grab you (me, anyway,) but I genuinely don't know anyone that doesn't like it. Also, Sheriff of Nottingham
Both of these break the traditional mold, are crazy simple to learn and are way more fun than they have any right to be.
I introduced Love Letter to some friends and we all had a blast playing it during the lockdown. Before playing it sounds kind of bland and unstrategic, but the more you play the more tactics and things to look out for you see (like the closer you are to the ending the more likely someone is holding the princess).
I have so many good memories of this game, friends shouting at me "DO YOU HAVE THE PRINCE?" even if the prince was already revealed.
Our current favourite The Crew was already mentioned.
Phase 10 used to be the staple to bring out at gatherings, both with family and friends. I personally have outgrown it a bit, but it's easy to learn and it's probably the game in our household that has been played for the most hours.
Sushi Go, Hanabi, Coup
Sushi go is one of my favorites!
Uno has many variations. My current favorite is Uno Flip.
Cribbage is often paired with a board & pegs, though doesn’t technically require one as it’s meant for tracking points and sometimes victories.
CRIBBAGE!!!!
I had fun with regicide: https://www.regicidegame.com/ You can buy it or just download the rules nad play it with any old poker deck.
With the right group of elderly, it could be fun
There's also a free app that's very helpful for tracking the health/damage of the cards.
By card game, is that with a standard deck? Or something custom like “Monopoly Deal” which is one of my favourite card games!
"Monopoly Deal" is SO MUCH better of a game than any of the far-too-many flavors of Monopoly
I would say any card game. The idea behind "card" game it that it might be easier for them to digest compared to something with a map and figures, etc.
Point Salad has been a big hit and I’ll back up what others have said about Bohnanza.
I’m tempted to recommend Cat in the Box as a new take on trick taking but I haven’t had the chance to introduce it to non boardgamers yet. It’s a very cool concept but the abstraction of suits could be a bit much for some folks.
I'd suggest L.A.M.A.. It's been a hit with non-gamers (because it has simple rules and great flow) and gamers (because after a few rounds you realize there's more to it than getting lucky).
^^ especially for groups of 4-5 and with people who don't want to learn a bunch of rules
31 is simple, and you only need a standard deck of cards.
Checkout Dutch Blitz, it's kinda like multi-player solatire. Up to 4 people.
Love Dutch Blitz. Also, you can get an expansion up to 8 people, but imo 4 is the sweet spot. More than that gets too hectic and the rounds end too quickly with that many piles to play on.
As a side note, it's the laziest expansion I've ever seen. Was hoping for different images on the backs or different colors, but they just switch up the color-image pairings.
The games I've had success with elderly players are:
Lotus (play petal cards to complete the flowers)
L.L.A.M.A. (colourful, be the first to play all your cards)
and
Illusion (visual game, which card has the most of a chosen colour)
Other possibles are: Calico (cats and quilts)
or if a pirate theme is acceptable, I'd highly recommend Port Royal(pirates, ships and treasure)
Also, Morels (find mushrooms in the forest) or Kanagawa (make Japanese paintings) have great themes and solid gameplay.
Coloretto is one of my favorite card games. It's simple, but there's a lot of fun strategy in balancing 'protect my interests' and 'watch out for others getting something too good or taking what I want' with the limited single action per turn
Medici the card game. It's basically blackjack with a twist.
Nyet, a tactical trick-taking games. Best at 4 players.
Also, I love Cold War: CIA vs KGB. Just take care of the errata. It's blackjack with secret goal. It's a duel game, but hand-free.
Something a little more different but still a card game: High Society. It's a simple biding game with simple rules. I like it a lot, but first I'd go for the classics like The Crew, Bohnanza and maybe Scout also..