Card Games You Can Play in Bed (while sick with a Chronic Illness)!

In June, I wrote an article for a new online CFS Magazine debut but somehow it did not make the debut. I am not sure if the editor plans to use it in a future issue (she requested it from me) but I have been waiting to post the info here is case someone searching the internet for how to cope with CFS/ME or fatigue or POTS some other illness that requires lots of feet up time can find it.  I really believe finding solo gaming has really helped me to cope with my sudden loss of energy.  

These games are fun for healthy people too (you can play while standing in line or sitting in your car in line to pick up your kids, etc.)

Since writing this article I have found many more in hand games, but these were my first and they are all fun!

 

Did you know there are over fifty card games you can play solo in the palm of your hand while laying in bed?  Many of these are played with a regular 52 card deck of cards, others with a deck you can print and play for a small cost or free, and others you can buy.  The games vary from super simple easy to learn games like Royal Marriage to L'Neuvieme: A 9-Card Chase game that requires more brain power.  I have only played about a dozen of these games, but am planning to check more out now that I know where to find them--each has an entry on BoardGameGeek (BGG) and links to any downloads, reviews, tutorials, and a plethora of information follow each entry.  Let me tell you about a few of my favorites.

The first in hand game I ever heard of was Palm Island.  I purchased this one and watched videos on youtube to learn how to play it though there is a free print and play (pnp) available.  It plays in eight rounds, but can be set aside and picked up again at any time (as many of these games can be). It has seventeen cards which can be flipped or rotated depending on the choices you make along the way.  At the end you note your victory points and try to beat that number in your next game.  The makers of Palm Island have recently come out with Palm Laboratory which is quite similar mechanically, but has end scoring conditions with a different theme and even more amazing art.  

I then found out about Maiden’s Quest and bought it used.  This one is out of print, but readily available in the used market.  In it, you create a deck of cards from those in the box and then turn and flip them as you defeat enemies in the deck.  There is a revised rulebook online which helps clarify some confusion in the provided rulebook too.  I watched playthroughs and it was pretty easy to figure out though.

Numbsters is another easy to learn and easy to play card game from Button Shy.  This one is a quick game with amazing art too.   Each Numbster card features a number and special ability. Your goal is to “eat” as many of the cards as you can by getting the number eight mouth card in between two consecutive numbers or two that can use the special ability. This game is easy to play, but a little challenging to win!  You must get down to just one Numbster and the Mouth for victory.  It is a good starting game if you are unsure where to start.

I recently discovered pnp’s that can be played in the hand as well.  So far my favorites are Elevenses for One, Old Town Road, Galdor’s Grip, and 9 Card Circus. In Elevenses for One you have just eleven cards with all the tea necessities and you need to load your tea trolley for morning tea before the timer card runs out at 11 AM.  Old Town Road is an in hand poker type game in which cards can shoot other cards (then flip to become outlaws) or rob banks.  If you are familiar with poker terms this one makes a lot of sense.  I play this one when I have more spoons to spare. Galdor’s Grip is a more recent pnp, and it is addicting.  In this one you have a core deck and can change out six of the cards in sets, or at random.  This is a solo fantasy card game and you manipulate the deck based on what the cards say and which ones you turn face up.  Another one with great artwork!  9 Card Circus is an in hand resource management game.  There is one video online to teach how to play and it is challenging because it requires you to think ahead on moves you will make in the next season of the circus.  Plan on having several spoons for this one!  As you can see there is a lot of variety in these games.

There are so many more in hand games I have not tried (I have made Alert All Hands on Deck and Handy Brawl which I hope to learn soon).  One of my absolute favorites is really unique.  L'Neuvieme: A 9-Card Chase is a solitaire hidden movement and deduction game.  You have nine turns to move around Nonaville (the cards) and interpret the clues as to L'Neuvieme's movement. However, some of these clues may be misleading, so you will have to use all of your deductive skills to pin down where L'Neuvieme is hiding.  This might be the most challenging one I have played so far, and I use pen and paper to take notes as I play it.

If all of the options above do not interest you, or seem like too much then I urge you to grab a 52 card deck (I found a Sleepy themed deck!) and play a simple game of Royal Marriage in which all you are doing is trying to reunite the king and queen of hearts.  Here are the directions from BGG:

“To set up a game, the King and Queen of Hearts are removed from a deck, which is then shuffled. Afterwards, the King is placed on the bottom and the Queen placed on top. Cards are dealt, one by one, from the top of the deck and played next to the Queen, forming a row that allows all cards to be seen at once.

Cards can be removed one or two at a time, but only when they are bookended by two cards of either the same suit or rank. If all cards save the Queen and King are eliminated, the game is won; if cards remain and no further moves can be made, the game is lost.”

If reading these directions is clear as mud to you, search youtube for the title of this (or any other game) and you will find videos in which people explain the games and/or demonstrate them.  For me, this is much more clear!

I hope I have inspired you to investigate card games you can play in hand in bed on those days when you want something different to do but cannot be up at a table (or even use a hospital table at your bedside as I often do).  Having something fun to look forward to has really helped me get through my CFS/ME and all the changes it has brought to my life.  I feel like one hobby is playing these games, another is making them, and still another is watching youtube learning these games all of which give me some variety on my in bed days.  There are few “perks” to having a chronic illness, but having more time to solo game is definitely one of them!

Has it Really Been Four Months?

My sewing mojo has not been there for awhile.  I did not realize I had not posted since July though!  I really did not do much sewing all summer and into fall.  I have mostly been solo board gaming and reading.  My health improved a titch in May (like it did last year, though it tanked again in the fall last year) so I was able to be upright more and I spent as much time outside playing games as possible.  I think the vitamin D helped too.  

Here are some of the blocks I did manage to get done for the Quilting Life BOM and Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Hazel has started Montessori so now I only have her half days on Friday.  I get to pick her up and she flies into my arms with Lala! every week.  It is a highlight!  I do have Indie two days a week and am really enjoying my time with her.  Most of my energy goes to that but worth it.  I try to nap a bit when Indie naps, but she is a short napper!

Here they are on Halloween this year.  Spider and Elsa though for trunk or treat they were ladybug and Superwoman.

Our budget is limited these days so I came up with an inexpensive ish idea for my honorary daughter and her family in Norway.  I made each of them a print and play game that I love and will be wrapping them today to get them out. Postage is expensive so I made small games and I hope they love them.  For Rachel I made Love Letter, for her hubby Air, Land and Sea, for the teen stepdaughter Mysticana (which I LOVE), teen stepson Doom Machine which is a dice game, for Leon Aqua Rove, Lenny Rove JR, and for the two year old Bandage Match which is a KiwiCo game.  The Rove games are solos as is Doom Machine, and Mysticana has a solo, but also has group games and the others are group games.  Hoping they love them and I create a few more gamers.

I did whip up two more ghost pillows so I could give one to Indigo (since Hazel got one last year) and one to my mom who I got to visit (they bought a new house in Chippewa Falls) in October.  Mom, Aunt Nancy and I went to a craft sale together.  I brought my walker and sat a lot while they shopped.  I should have been in bed but Mom was so excited to get to craft sale with me (it has been YEARS) so I rallied.  Brought a book with me and it was fun though I was worn out the entire time I was there.  

 Not sure if I have mentioned that I go to an online Booktube Besties Reading Retreat a few times a year.  It was really the first social thing I have done since getting so sick (besides sewing online) and after a few of them I found myself in charge of creating a book club.  We call ourselves the Retreat Readers and despite lots of interest to join we wound up with only four of us becoming regulars.  Now a year later and another retreat we found a few more members (seems like maybe three more will become part of the group as the other four interested have  yet to turn up).  It is a great group and we are doing a Secret Santa exchange this year.  

Kathy and I went to Oconomowoc to play Lewis and Clark for a game night a few weeks ago.  So nice to be able to do something social (I rested ahead of time).  We also went to an LGBT game night and dressed as Boo and Piper from Orange is the New Black.  Still pacing, but not sleeping all the time anymore.  Yay.  We hope to make some gaming friends and be able to continue getting to game nights.  Of course, we still try to do a once a month game night with H and J at their house.  We have started playing a game with Hazel before she goes to bed. So fun!  Last time we brought Nana and it was a hit with all of us.  We have gotten into Machi Koro and Machi Koro 2 since both Jeremy and Kathy really like it.  We tried Fuji Flush, but did not get the rules right so it was not a hit.  We realized our error afterwards so will try it again.  

As for sewing, I am excited to get to the next Quiltville Mystery.  I picked my colors but am not super happy with my fabrics (too much distinction between them). Bonnie is starting us the week before Black Friday this year so it is coming up fast!