Expected reading time: 5 minutes
This wasn't quite how we'd envisioned our week in Malmö: rain, thunder, and bad weather. Our initial plans involved walks, outdoor cafes, and a few more excursions around the city with my partner. But the first few days, the rain has been drumming against the windows almost constantly, and several plans had to be canceled. Instead, it turned into something completely different: a week of card games, fika, and the joy of discovery.
We found an old deck of cards at home and started talking about how strange it is that we grew up with card games without actually knowing many of them. Most people have probably played Poker, Vändtia (Crazy Eights), and maybe a game or two of Finns i Sjön (Go Fish), but behind that worn standard deck of cards lies a whole library of gaming traditions that you rarely stumble upon by yourself.
After some Googling and a post in the Brädspelsforum Facebook group, tips started pouring in. I also had a faint memory that the YouTube channel Shut Up & Sit Down had made a video about classic card games with the fantastic title “Card Games That Don’t Suck”, and from there we got even more ideas to try. We eventually settled on three games: Gin Rummy, Haggis, and Cribbage. All three turned out to be really good in completely different ways.
Gin Rummy – simple, elegant, and a bit meditative
The first game we got hooked on was Gin Rummy, a game that actually reminded me quite a bit of Arboretum. Arboretum was one of the first games my partner and I played together when we started dating, so it was both nostalgic and a bit unexpected, but both games are about reading your opponent, building patterns, and trying to balance risk against patience.
In Gin Rummy, you use a standard deck of cards and deal ten cards to each player. On your turn, you draw a card and then discard one. You can also choose to pick up the card your opponent just discarded, which means you're constantly trying to figure out what the other person is collecting.
The goal is to create runs or sets of at least three cards to be able to "go out." When someone does, you compare the value of the cards left in your hand, i.e., the cards that didn't fit into any combination. The difference in points is awarded to the winner, and then you continue playing until someone reaches a hundred points, or for as long as you feel like it.
It's a very calm game in a way. The rules are easy to pick up, but every decision still feels important. Should you hold onto that card hoping for a run, or dare to discard it before your opponent understands what you're building? It quickly became one of those games where you say "just one more round" several times in a row.
Haggis – a strange name for a truly smart card game
After Gin Rummy, we tried Haggis, and it was definitely a step up in complexity. At the same time, we recognized some of the same DNA regarding combinations and how you thought about your hand.
In Haggis, each player has fourteen cards in hand plus three jokers open in front of them. That's a total of seventeen cards to keep track of, which initially felt quite overwhelming. But after a few rounds, the game really started to click.
The goal is to win tricks by playing runs, sets, or other combinations that are stronger than what the opponent just played. If you can't or don't want to respond, the opponent gets the lead. There's also an interesting mechanic where you can play a "bomb" to break the flow of the game and regain control of the round, even if it costs points.
It's a significantly more intense game than Gin Rummy, and sometimes both of us would sit staring into our hands in total silence while the rain beat against the windows outside. Haggis almost feels like a game you have to learn with someone over time. The more hands you play, the more you start to understand its rhythm.
Cribbage – like playing a piece of game history
The last game we tried this week was Cribbage, and it's probably the one that captured us the most.
Cribbage is an old English card game traditionally played with a special scoring board where you move small pegs forward to keep track of points. We didn't have one at home, so instead, we downloaded an app to our phones which worked surprisingly well.
The game begins by dealing six cards and choosing two to set aside. With the four cards you keep, players then take turns playing cards in front of them while counting the total value up to 31. During the game, you score points for various combinations such as pairs, runs, and reaching exactly 15 or 31.
When all cards are played, the person who played the last card also gets a bonus point. But that's really only half the game.
After the deal, both players count points again by combining their four cards with an upturned card from the deck and trying to create as many scoring combinations as possible. The dealer of the round also gets to use the two cards previously set aside as an extra hand, known as the "crib."
There are tons of little special rules in Cribbage that feel like ancient pub traditions that have slowly become official rules. For example, you get bonus points if the upturned card at the beginning of the round happens to be a jack. Such details make the game feel almost historical when you play it, as if the rules have been honed through hundreds of evenings in British pubs.
And that's probably precisely why the game is so charming.
I confess that I've already started looking at actual Cribbage boards to add to my collection.
A rainy Malmö and a new aspect of the hobby
So, even though the rain put a stop to some of our planned walks through Malmö, it turned out to be quite perfect timing for discovering classic card games instead.
It became a week of small rituals. Making tea and having fika. Shuffling cards. Playing a few hands while the rain pattered against the window. Learning a new game together and slowly starting to understand why people have played these particular games for generations after generation.
Now the sun is finally breaking through the clouds here, and Tusse has started pacing back and forth by the door again, ready for new walks. But this time, it actually feels quite comforting to tuck a deck of cards into my bag before we head out.
Because if the Malmö weather suddenly decides to change again, we'll know exactly what to do while we wait out the rain.
