Often, parents want their children to play games that can strengthen them academically, yet their children will refuse to have anything to do with an educational game. Top Trumps is the perfect game for parents who want to sneak some education into their children’s’ fun. With the children enjoying the game so much, they will hardly notice that they are learning new information!

Top Trumps has been a popular game since the 1970s. The game was created in the UK and has since become the UK’s number one card game.

How to play the game: This is a game for two to six players, with a recommended age of 6+. The thirty cards get divided evenly among the players. Each player keeps his or her pile of cards for them alone to see. Depending on the version of Top Trumps—and there are over 60—all the cards in the deck will relate to a theme such as skyscrapers, characters from TV or movies, political figures, U.S. states, dinosaurs and more. Each card has five to six statistics/characteristics, all listed in number form. For example, in the U.S. presidents version, the statistics are year of birth, year took office, electoral votes, how far their birthplace is to DC (in miles) and the number of pets that president owned. The player to the dealer’s left starts the game by reading out their most interesting statistic, with all the other players following with that same statistic. In War (the card game) fashion, whoever has the highest number takes all of the other players’ cards and places them on the bottom of their personal pile of cards. The winning player of that round proceeds to read out their chosen statistic on their next card, starting the whole process over again. The first person to get all 30 cards wins.

When asked how Top Trumps develops the ideas for its different versions, Katie Lee, the company’s marketing executive, said, “We will look at the year ahead and often plan out certain topics we think will be of interest, and we will also receive suggestions either via our website, letters sent to our HQ, or simply via social media. We try to ensure there is a mix of titles so that there will be some new titles of interest for everyone throughout each year.”

Lee pointed out that although it is quite similar to the card game War, Top Trumps differs in the depth of the game (by the addition of five or six statistics), the richness of the content and the selection of titles/versions of the game.

For those looking for the trivia factor in Top Trumps, I would recommend the more educational versions such as U.S. presidents or countries of the world, since the statistics in those cards are purely factual and that is where the trivia element comes into play. With versions such as Harry Potter and Shopkins, the statistics are more of a guestimate. However, those versions still maintain the competitive part of the game and are quite enjoyable for fanatics.

Another suggestion I have when playing Top Trumps is after having played a specific version multiple times, try having the players read out which card they have before the next player chooses the statistic that will determine the fate of the round. For example, if playing the U.S. presidents version, have each player admit which president they hold in their hand. Based on this information, the player choosing the statistic for that round might choose one statistic over the other if he has a feel for the information on the other players’ cards. This encourages children to learn the information about the presidents on the cards, so that they can have this advantage when playing.

The game is not difficult, therefore making it a great candidate for younger children. However, since it includes interesting facts, statistics and/or information about a particular topic, older children will enjoy the game as well. The game also appeals to adults, especially those who are young at heart.

To order a game of Top Trumps, visit their website: toptrumps.com/usa.

Top Trumps is a registered trademark of Winning Moves UK Ltd.

By Chani Shulman

 Chani Shulman, a rising sophomore at Manhattan High School for Girls, was a summer intern at The Jewish Link.