The card game Stress is a speed game that is full of fun and is a little… stressful in the best way. It has simple instructions and game play but will entertain kids for hours. I have to say that we laughed so hard the first time we played. And we immediately wanted to play again—and did. It’s no secret that here at FGS, we love speed games—Ruckus, Blink, Spot It and the dice game Fifty—and now we have a new one.
In this post, we’ll cover what you need for the Stress card game, how to play and how to win. Let’s get into to it.
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What You Need for Stress
This card game is for two players. You will need one deck of cards with the jokers removed. If you need some new cards you can find some fun ones here. (Canadians here.) The Disney Princess and Villains ones look really fun.
Playing the Stress Card Game
To start, players need to sit opposite to each other at a table. Next, one player shuffles and deals half the deck to each player. Players leave their cards in a face down pile.
Now each player flips over four cards from their deck and places them face up on the table in front of them. If there are any cards that match in number, then you can place one on top of the other. If there are three or more that match, you again place them on top of each other so that you have one pile for that number.
Once everyone is all set, then each player takes the top card from their deck and holds it face down in the middle of the playing area. On the count of three, both players flips over the card and the game beings.
A player may place a card from their face up cards on the center stacks if the card is either one more or one less than the center card. For example, if one of the cards in the middle is a 4 then either a 3 or a 5 can be placed on top. If you have a stack of the same number in your face up piles, they can all be played as one.
When a player has taken a card from the face up cards, she must replace it from her deck before playing another card.
When neither player can place a card on the middle, each takes the top card from their stack and on the count of three flips it over on top of the current pile in the middle and the game continues.
Stress
When the cards in the middle match, then the stress rule takes effect. When this happens, the first player to place both of her hands on the piles and calls out “Stress” wins the stress. This means that the other player must pick up all of the cards in the middle and shuffle them into her deck of cards. When she has finished, each player flips over the top card of her deck and play continues.
No more cards
When a player has no more cards in her stack, she can choose to pick up her faceup cards and keep them in her hand so that her opponent can’t see what cards she has.
When a player has no more cards in their deck, but still has face up cards, and the play has stopped, then the player with no deck, takes a random card from a pile in the middle to flip over at the same time as her opponent. Play again continues.
When a player wins a stress and has no deck, then she can “borrow” the top card of her opponent’s new deck.
Winning the Stress Card Game
The first player to shed all of her cards in both her deck and face up cards wins.
All Stressed Out
The card game Stress is a fast moving game of speed and observation. It’s prefect for a quick game on a rainy day or when you’re waiting for something.
For more games like Stress, check out Blink, Spot It, Fifty and Gobble. For even more fun, visit our Family Game Shelf shop for tons of seasonal and original games! Including our line of escape room kits for kids—includes everything you need. You can also get the printable rules for Stress here.
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