Fun Games to Play With Four People

Game for four people are plentiful, whether it's for two couples or four friends. Games for four exist across the gamut of the game world, from cards to sports. There are even some games that can be adapted to be played by four people.

The iconic card game for four people is bridge, of course. Bridge is a game that doesn't just require four people, but two couples working in partnership with each other. Other card games that require two couples working together are euchre and whist.

A fast and furious game that perhaps never quite caught on because it requires four different decks is quadruple solitaire. In this card game, everyone plays their own hand of solitaire except that all the aces are tossed into the middle and any player can place any correctly suited card onto any pile. Play ends when the first person runs the deck and points in the foundation stacks are tallied by counting the number cards at their value, the face cards at 10 points each and the ace counting for 11.

There are a number of good sports games for four people. Racquet and paddle games, such as tennis and ping-pong, can become doubles play for a foursome. Games in which a net plays a starring part like basketball, volleyball and badminton all take on a special kind of thrill when four players are involved. Two school favorites can make for a high-energy waste of time for four people: dodgeball and tug-of-war.

A hundred years ago, before modern conveniences nearly made them obsolete, parlor games were the draw for groups of four or more people. Some of these games are still quite entertaining for four people to play, especially charades. Charades is often played by large groups, but is ideal for two teams of two players because you can cut out the often anarchic atmosphere of several people calling out guesses at once.

Scrabble, with its square shape, is practically built to be played by four people. Other popular board games, from Monopoly to Risk to the Game of Life, are equally constructed for ideal enjoyment by four players. And Clue is definitely improved by having at least four players.

If four people are stuck somewhere that only has board games better suited to two players, however, consider playing as two-player teams.