Every once in a while, taking a break from work is essential to refresh your mind, give yourself a new perspective, or maybe reduce your stress. However, if you play too engaging a game, you might lose track and spend unnecessary time playing.
Good thing there are free, browser-based card games. These games are easy to learn and quick to finish. They’re perfect for taking short, five-minute breaks when you need to refresh your mind.
So, check out these simple card games if you need to rest your mind from the task.
1. Classic Solitaire
It is the quintessential office time waster. Since Microsoft included it in Windows 3.0 in 1990, millions of office workers have used this to take a quick break when they need to refresh their minds.
Unfortunately, companies can opt not to install it on their office computers today. Luckily, if you need to take a breather, you can play solitaire on your browser. This game is simple to learn and master, allowing you to win once you’ve understood it. By going to Online Solitaire, you can immediately get started on one game–no login or installation necessary.
But if you like something even easier, you can play Klondike Solitaire. Its only difference from the classic version is that you only draw one card from the pile instead of three. It almost guarantees you’ll win in every hand of Klondike Solitaire.
2. Spider Solitaire
If you find Classic Solitaire too easy to master, then take it to the next level with Spider Solitaire. This game still has the same goal–clear the board of cards.
But what makes this different is that instead of picking one card from a deck when you’re out of moves, you must place a new row of cards from the deck instead. It adds a more prominent layer of uncertainty since these new cards can block your carefully arranged cards.
However, if you’re great with Solitaire games, you can up the difficulty by playing Spider Solitaire 2 Suits. It is the same as the vanilla Spider Solitaire, but with another suit, making things even more complicated.
3. FreeCell
Another type of solitaire you can play is FreeCell. It is one of the most challenging solitaire games, as no draw pile will save you once you run out of moves. You can already see all the cards in eight rows, and you must clear the tableau with the hand you’re dealt with.
But if you’re tired of playing online games by yourself, there are also several other multiplayer card games that you can play quickly.
4. Hearts
Although the game is called Hearts, your main objective here is to get the least number of it. Four players usually compete and take turns laying down cards on the table. The contender who puts down the highest card, ace, must take all the cards their opponents play.
At the end of each round, each player will count all their heart cards. Each card corresponds to one point, and the player with the lower score wins. However, players can try to play the risky ‘shooting the moon’ move. They’ll aim to collect all the heart cards and the Queen of Spades.
If they’re successful in this bid, the player gets zero points while all their other opponents get 26 points each. But if they miss just one card, they risk losing the round by getting a high score.
5. Uno
This is one of the most popular card games many kids play, and you can play it online for free to reminisce about your younger days. When you start the game, each player gets seven cards, and the rest of the deck is placed in front of everyone.
A card is then drawn from the draw pile, and the first player must place a card with either the same color or the same number. The goal of the game is to clear your hand. If you don’t have more cards to play, you must pick one from the draw pile until you find one.
The most exciting part about Uno is that there are wildcards that can penalize your opponents, give you an advantage, or both. Uno is a fun, quick game that will refresh you after working many hours.
6. Poker
It is a card game for you if you’re more adventurous and risk-taking. Poker is a popular betting card game, although you don’t have to bet money when playing it–especially in the office.
Your goal in Poker is to win as many chips as possible. Everyone starts with an equal amount and ends when there’s only one player left with all the chips. For most people, Poker is a game of chance. But the gifted among us consider this a game of skill–where you must learn how to read your opponents’ faces while not giving yourself away. It is where the term poker face comes from.
During the game, you deal with two cards; the dealer will slowly reveal five cards on the table. The player with the highest card combination will win and take all the chips to bet by each person.
Take a Breather, Play a Quick Card Game
Sometimes, taking a quick pause is all you need to get yourself back into your work groove. That’s why there’s usually a short morning and afternoon break before and after your lunchtime.
And in cases where you can’t function anymore, there’s no point in pushing yourself to work. That’s because you’ll be distracted or space out and stare blankly in front of your computer.
So refresh yourself by playing a quick game or two of these online card games instead of wasting time. Just don’t overdo it, or your boss will complain!