Brain Ripples (easy games)
Games on this page:
Time's a Ticking
Tic-a-Long
Easy classic games with TIC cards
Games on this page:
Time's a Ticking
Tic-a-Long
Easy classic games with TIC cards
Time's a Ticking Explainer Video
Time’s a Ticking
Difficulty: Easy
Number of players: 2 to 5
Age range: 7 and up
Length: One round takes 5-10 mins
Point Tallying: No
Please refer to ‘TIC Card Principles’ to understand the concept of ‘Commonness’ between TIC cards.
Objective: To discard all your cards, or as many cards as possible, as quickly as possible.
Setup: Lay 5 cards face-up in the middle of the table. They can be in a row or arranged in a star shape. All players must be able to see and reach the 5 cards. Then divide the entire remaining deck among the players equally. Any spare cards are put to the side. With 2 or 3 players, playing with a reduced deck is also possible to decrease the number of cards that must be played.
Play: On a ‘go’ signal all players start looking at the cards in their stack to try to lay Tics on the 5 face-up center cards, as fast as possible. In other words, a player can play a card on top of a center card if the cards have two properties in common. Cards that do not play immediately are held back until they play. The first player to play all of their cards wins. However, if all the players cannot make anymore Tics, then the player with the least number of cards in their stack wins. It is fun to play several rounds. A player that wins a round gets 1 point, and the game fully ends when the first player reaches a predetermined score such as 5 or 10 points etc.
Other rules or comments: If someone catches a player playing a card that is not a Tic, the penalized player must stop playing until the next 5 Tics have been played by opponents before they can resume play. Note: playing cards that do not make Tics (cheating) can be a strategy to win at this game, but do not get caught!
It does not matter how a player manages their stack of cards. They can flip one card at a time, a few cards at a time, or try holding large hands.
Difficulty: Easy
Number of players: 2 to 5
Age range: 7 and up
Length: One round takes 5-10 mins
Point Tallying: No
Please refer to ‘TIC Card Principles’ to understand the concept of ‘Commonness’ between TIC cards.
Objective: To discard all your cards, or as many cards as possible, as quickly as possible.
Setup: Lay 5 cards face-up in the middle of the table. They can be in a row or arranged in a star shape. All players must be able to see and reach the 5 cards. Then divide the entire remaining deck among the players equally. Any spare cards are put to the side. With 2 or 3 players, playing with a reduced deck is also possible to decrease the number of cards that must be played.
Play: On a ‘go’ signal all players start looking at the cards in their stack to try to lay Tics on the 5 face-up center cards, as fast as possible. In other words, a player can play a card on top of a center card if the cards have two properties in common. Cards that do not play immediately are held back until they play. The first player to play all of their cards wins. However, if all the players cannot make anymore Tics, then the player with the least number of cards in their stack wins. It is fun to play several rounds. A player that wins a round gets 1 point, and the game fully ends when the first player reaches a predetermined score such as 5 or 10 points etc.
Other rules or comments: If someone catches a player playing a card that is not a Tic, the penalized player must stop playing until the next 5 Tics have been played by opponents before they can resume play. Note: playing cards that do not make Tics (cheating) can be a strategy to win at this game, but do not get caught!
It does not matter how a player manages their stack of cards. They can flip one card at a time, a few cards at a time, or try holding large hands.
Time's a Ticking Example
Tic-a-Long Explainer Video (same as homepage)
Tic-a-Long
Difficulty: Easy
Number of players: 2 - 8
Age range: 7 and up
Length: One round is 5-20min
Point Tallying: No
See the Quick Start Video on the Home Page for this game if you don't want to read this!
Commonness: For this game, you first need to know that a "Tic" is when cards have two properties in common. For example, cards could have the same number and shape but a different color, or they could have the same number and color but not the same shape, or they could have the same shape and color but a different number. Additionally, you need to know that a "Single" is when cards have a single property in common. For example, the cards could have only the number in common, or only the shape in common or they only have the color the same. For picture examples, please see the back of the TIC card box, or refer to the ‘TIC Card Principles’ page.
Objective: To be the first player to discard all their cards.
Setup: Each player is dealt 10 cards. If young kids are playing, or if playing with many players, reduce the number without going less than 6 each. For longer games, try dealing up to 14 cards each. The deck is placed in the middle of the table, face-down. Flip the top card over and place beside the deck. This center face-up card is the discard pile.
Play: The player to the left of the dealer starts. Play moves clockwise. A player can play a card if it Singles or if it Tics with the centre face-up card. If a Single is played the turn ends and it is the next player's turn. If a Tic is played the player gets to go again. A player continues playing if Tics are achieved. If a player plays a Tic, but then cannot play at all, they must pick up a card from the deck. If a player cannot play at all on their turn, they must pickup from the deck. When a player plays their last card to ‘go out’ and win, it either must Tic or be a Single played in succession with a Tic. In other words, a player cannot go out by playing only one card that Singles on their turn. In this case, they must pickup a card from the deck. Finally, if a player ends their turn by playing a card with stars, the next person must pick up cards from the deck equal to the number of stars on the card.
Add-on rules: To increase the fun, try having players take turns (on successive rounds) choosing a particular type of card to affect the play prior to dealing. Here are two rules we like: 1) When someone ends their turn by laying a card that is yellow, they are permitted to give one of the cards in their hand to any opponent of their choice. However, one cannot get rid of their last card this way to go out and win. 2) When a player ends their turn by playing a card with circles, the next player misses a turn. There are many other rules that could be used too.
Difficulty: Easy
Number of players: 2 - 8
Age range: 7 and up
Length: One round is 5-20min
Point Tallying: No
See the Quick Start Video on the Home Page for this game if you don't want to read this!
Commonness: For this game, you first need to know that a "Tic" is when cards have two properties in common. For example, cards could have the same number and shape but a different color, or they could have the same number and color but not the same shape, or they could have the same shape and color but a different number. Additionally, you need to know that a "Single" is when cards have a single property in common. For example, the cards could have only the number in common, or only the shape in common or they only have the color the same. For picture examples, please see the back of the TIC card box, or refer to the ‘TIC Card Principles’ page.
Objective: To be the first player to discard all their cards.
Setup: Each player is dealt 10 cards. If young kids are playing, or if playing with many players, reduce the number without going less than 6 each. For longer games, try dealing up to 14 cards each. The deck is placed in the middle of the table, face-down. Flip the top card over and place beside the deck. This center face-up card is the discard pile.
Play: The player to the left of the dealer starts. Play moves clockwise. A player can play a card if it Singles or if it Tics with the centre face-up card. If a Single is played the turn ends and it is the next player's turn. If a Tic is played the player gets to go again. A player continues playing if Tics are achieved. If a player plays a Tic, but then cannot play at all, they must pick up a card from the deck. If a player cannot play at all on their turn, they must pickup from the deck. When a player plays their last card to ‘go out’ and win, it either must Tic or be a Single played in succession with a Tic. In other words, a player cannot go out by playing only one card that Singles on their turn. In this case, they must pickup a card from the deck. Finally, if a player ends their turn by playing a card with stars, the next person must pick up cards from the deck equal to the number of stars on the card.
Add-on rules: To increase the fun, try having players take turns (on successive rounds) choosing a particular type of card to affect the play prior to dealing. Here are two rules we like: 1) When someone ends their turn by laying a card that is yellow, they are permitted to give one of the cards in their hand to any opponent of their choice. However, one cannot get rid of their last card this way to go out and win. 2) When a player ends their turn by playing a card with circles, the next player misses a turn. There are many other rules that could be used too.
Tic-a-long Example
Many easy classic card games can be adapted for use with TIC playing cards, giving them a Ticky twist and increasing the fun. For example, Go Fish, War, Old Maid, Memory etc. can all have a TIC version. See just below for a TIC version of Go Fish called Go Ticking. It is easy to adapt other games too. Go ahead and try adapting some yourself.
Go Ticking
Difficulty: Easy
Number of players: 2 to 6
Age range: 7 and up
Length: 10-20min
Point Tallying: no
Please refer to ‘TIC Card Principles’ to understand the concept of ‘Commonness’ and how two cards can make a "Tic". Three examples are also shown on the back of the TIC box.
Objective: To collect and laydown as many pairs of Tics as possible by asking other players for a card with a single property you desire. The player with the most Tic pairs at the end of the game wins.
Setup: All players are dealt 8 cards. The remaining deck is placed in the middle face-down.
Play: Play moves clockwise starting left of the dealer. Players take turns asking any other player if they have a card with a desired single property: a specific number, shape or color. For example, player X may ask player Y “do you have an orange”. If yes, player Y must hand over an orange card. If player X can make a Tic with the new card, they laydown the Tic on the table and they get to go again. If they do not make a Tic with the new card, their turn is over. If player Y does not have an orange card, player Y says “no, go Ticking”, and player X must pick up a card from the center pile. If the picked-up card is orange, and makes a Tic, they get to lay it down and go again. If the picked-up card is not orange but makes a Tic in another way, the player can laydown that Tic, but their turn ends.
There are two different ways to end the game: 1) When the first player lays down all their cards the game ends and players tally the number of Tic pairs they have; 2) When a player runs out of cards, they pick up another 8 cards from the deck and continue playing. The game ends when the entire deck is utilized. Alternatively, because the deck is large, the game can end when a portion of the deck is utilized (i.e. playing with only half the deck, which does not affect the game).
Difficulty: Easy
Number of players: 2 to 6
Age range: 7 and up
Length: 10-20min
Point Tallying: no
Please refer to ‘TIC Card Principles’ to understand the concept of ‘Commonness’ and how two cards can make a "Tic". Three examples are also shown on the back of the TIC box.
Objective: To collect and laydown as many pairs of Tics as possible by asking other players for a card with a single property you desire. The player with the most Tic pairs at the end of the game wins.
Setup: All players are dealt 8 cards. The remaining deck is placed in the middle face-down.
Play: Play moves clockwise starting left of the dealer. Players take turns asking any other player if they have a card with a desired single property: a specific number, shape or color. For example, player X may ask player Y “do you have an orange”. If yes, player Y must hand over an orange card. If player X can make a Tic with the new card, they laydown the Tic on the table and they get to go again. If they do not make a Tic with the new card, their turn is over. If player Y does not have an orange card, player Y says “no, go Ticking”, and player X must pick up a card from the center pile. If the picked-up card is orange, and makes a Tic, they get to lay it down and go again. If the picked-up card is not orange but makes a Tic in another way, the player can laydown that Tic, but their turn ends.
There are two different ways to end the game: 1) When the first player lays down all their cards the game ends and players tally the number of Tic pairs they have; 2) When a player runs out of cards, they pick up another 8 cards from the deck and continue playing. The game ends when the entire deck is utilized. Alternatively, because the deck is large, the game can end when a portion of the deck is utilized (i.e. playing with only half the deck, which does not affect the game).