Bicycle Playing Cards “Jacked Up” – classic games with a digital twist!

Bicycle Playing Cards – Jacked Up

From the time I was a little girl, I remember playing cards with my friends. Playing cards could keep me entertained for hours, as there were so many choices (including playing alone, when nobody was around or available. Solitaire anyone? ). As I entered my teen years, my mom and I would play a really fast-paced game called “Nertz”. Oh, the hours we would spend trying to beat the other. This was also our favorite game to play when I was expecting my son – I would go over to her house and we would sit at the kitchen table and talk, laugh and play cards. I will always treasure these memories.

I was delighted to discover that my in-laws also loved to play cards!  Every Friday night, our preferred “outing” was going over to my husband’s parent’s house to have dinner and settle in for a few hours of “Nertz”.  It was always guys against girls, and SO much fun.  His mom was also a Canasta whiz, and taught us how to play that as well.

When my own kids were little, my husband and I played card games with them frequently and it was always something they looked forward to. The game “Go Fish” was an all-time favorite of the whole family. As our children have grown older, we don’t get to play card games as much as we would like, unfortunately. We did, however, enjoy some family time this weekend, while playing some fun new Bicycle Card games.

Family game night is a little more exciting these days, when classic games are combined with today’s technology. We sat down for an evening of fun and laughs, thanks to Bicycle Cards “Jacked Up!” decks.

What is Jacked Up!? Well let me tell you all about it! At first glance, the cards look pretty much the same as traditional cards, but there is a twist. Each deck has severalcards with a code that is scanned on your smart phone. When you flip over a card with the code, the Joker will give you an instruction to follow.

For instance, while my daughter and I were playing War, one of the instructions was to “take two cards off of the top of your opponent’s deck”. Another instruction was for us to perform “War”. Then we were each directed to take the top card from our decks and hold them several feet in the air. We were then to drop them, and the player whose card landed the closest to the war pile, got all of the cards. It was quite entertaining! The Jacked Up! app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes store.

Since kids these days are pretty much attached to their phones, this is a great way to incorporate traditional games with technology. The combination of these two definitely keeps kids interested and, in essence, more willing to participate in family game night (especially as they grow older). Too often, parents are busy and kids are involved in their own projects. Bicycle Playing Cards wants to bring the family together again to enjoy quality time, while bonding and enjoying fun and laughter together.

When I showed my best friend the games, she was really excited too. She has a 7-year old daughter and a 15-year old son, and she is looking forward to some quality time with them, doing something they can all enjoy together, in this technological world.

If you want to bring game night back into your home, look no further than Bicycle Playing Cards “Jacked Up”!

*This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bicycle Playing Cards. The opinions and text are all mine.