Five Crowns Review

Five Crowns is a pretty good and reasonably fast card game that will probably appeal to gin rummy fans. For some reason, this game has 0 appeal for my kids, even though the rules aren't particularly complicated.

In fact, I bought Five Crowns for my daughter for Christmas, and she turned the present down! She told me that it looked like a game for grown-ups, and she just plain didn't want it, and I could have it back.

I did convince my other daughter to at least TRY playing Five Crowns with me one day, but she only played  a single hand with me and then didn't want to play any more.

I think my daughters' reactions to this game probably says more about my daughters than it does about Five Crowns, but think twice before buying this game to play with the eight year olds in your family.

On the other hand, my Sunday night game group and I played Five Crowns, and everyone enjoyed it. They're not all clamoring to play it again, and it doesn't hold the same appeal that Dominion has, for example, but it's still a fun and quick little diversion.

The game has two decks with 58 cards in each of them. The decks have the standard four suits plus a fifth suit: stars. So the suits are as follows:

• clubs
• diamonds
• hearts
• spades
• stars

Each suit has 11 cards in it, ranked 3 through king. The game also includes six jokers, which serve as wild cards.

In the first round, each player gets 3 cards, and 3's are wild. In the second round, each player gets 4 cards, and 4's are wild. This continues until the final round, when kings are wild.

The goal is to get rid of the cards in your hand by making sets or runs. A set is any three cards or more of the same rank. A run is any three cards or more of consecutive, suited cards. (Like a straight flush in poker.)

When you get rid of all your cards, the other players get stuck with points. Each card is worth its face value in points. The wild cards and face cards have point values as follow:

• kings are worth 13 points
• queens are worth 12 points
• jacks are worth 11 points
• jokers are worth 50 points
• the current wild card is worth 20 points

The Five Crowns card game is nothing earth-shattering, but if you're looking for a fun, quick game to play with some other adults, this is perfect. And since it's easy to learn and fast playing, it's not a huge time investment even if you decide you don't like it.

Why I Play Blackjack

Blackjack is the only casino card game I play. (I don't count poker as a casino card game, because I'm not playing against the casino when I'm playing poker. I'm playing against the other players.) Chevy Chase made it a point to explain in Vegas Vacation that blackjack is one of the only games where a skilled player can get an advantage over the house. I'm not sure that he understood that to get that advantage you have to count cards. But I understand that.

Even if you don't count cards though, you can play blackjack and know that you're getting some of the best odds in any casino. If you master basic strategy, then the house edge on any given blackjack bet is less than 0.5%. Compare that with the 5.26% house edge in roulette, and you can see what a great value for your gambling dollar that blackjack really is.

Learning how to play blackjack is deceptively simple too. It's a comparing game, where your goal is to beat the dealer. You do this by getting a hand with a total higher than the dealer's without going over 21. Another way to win is for the dealer to bust by getting a hand over 21.

The point values of each card in blackjack is determined by the card's rank. Numbers are ranked according to the number on the card, and suits are meaningless in most games. For example, the two of spades is the same value as the two of hearts or the two of clubs: two. All face cards are worth ten points each. And the ace is a "semi-wild" card--it can count as eleven, or it can count as one.

Blackjack Point Values

• Face Cards = 10
• Aces = 1 or 11
• All other cards = point value same as rank

Players are each dealt two cards to start. If the hand totals 21 on the deal, then the player wins 3 to 2 on her bet. If the player has less than 21, then she can choose to take more cards or stand pat.

The dealer also gets two cards, and one of those cards is face up. The dealer's face up card can make a difference to a player's strategy. For example, if a dealer has a 4 showing, then a player is more likely to want to stand than if a dealer has a 9 showing. Every total has an optimal play versus every potential dealer upcard.

If you play well, you pretty much break even at blackjack all the time. Or at least come close. And if you use your player card, you can get comped breakfast and stuff like that.

Online blackjack games can be a fun way to learn to play if you want to practice a little bit before playing in a live casino.