What do you serve for an evening of card games?

July 6, 2015 6:17 PM

My grandmother taught me that a game of bridge can be vicious and cut throat, but she didn't teach me what it takes to host a card game. A couple of friends are coming over Saturday night to play cards (probably bridge, but we might play hearts euchre) and I don't know what to provide other than paper for scoring, a table, and a deck of cards. What food or drinks should I serve?

I realize this is a silly question, but in searching the AskMeFi archives and asking friends it seems like there is a lack of information on this. I guess this is why my grandmother always had a box of bridge mix at her house? I need to bridge the generation gap.

So what are good foods/snacks/beverages for a bridge or similar (not straight gambling) card game? I'm not sure if we're doing dinner or playing after dinner, so suggestions for dinner type snacks or snacks that can make a meal are helpful. It should also be noted that my partner and I are vegan and the other pair are not, so things we can all enjoy are appreciated.

Any other advice for hosting a good game of cards is also appreciated. I feel like I'm entering new territory. Is this part of growing up?

posted by kendrak to Food & Drink (16 answers total)

Crudites in bite-size pieces, hummus on tiny crackers, and yes, bridge mix is perfect. You want things you can eat literally in one bite to minimize fussing with food and to keep the cards clean.
posted by she's not there at 6:28 PM on July 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Legend has it that sandwiches were literally invented for this.
posted by blnkfrnk at 6:31 PM on July 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

Best answer: You should clarify if folks are expecting dinner - that's the biggest question. What time are they arriving?

You can ask them: "Was thinking light snacks and dessert...or would you guys rather eat dinner together before playing? I'd be happy to cook."

Or you can just decide: "Come on over at 6pm and I'll cook dinner before we play." "See you guys at 8pm on Sat. I'll have desserts and coffee!"

I'd bake a pie or make warm cookies, and have hot tea and decaf coffee as well as both red and white wine and an averagely-stocked bar on hand. If you don't keep a stocked bar, pick up a bottle of each and a six-pack of beer.

Alternatively to baking, serve fresh fruit and very nice chocolate.
posted by amaire at 6:35 PM on July 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

My grandparents drank vodka on the rocks while playing cards. No sodas, no water, no tea.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 6:35 PM on July 6, 2015 [3 favorites]

Oh yeah, and have music playing quietly in the background!
posted by amaire at 6:35 PM on July 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Avoid anything that's greasy or oily, or leads to finger licking. It'll get all over the cards.

Our game night group LOVED it when someone brought pretzels (in this case, Snyder's minis) with a bowl of spicy brown mustard for dipping. None of us could stop eating them.
posted by zebra at 6:37 PM on July 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

My grandma plays a lot of cards. They always do snacky finger foods that aren't greasy or overly "dusty" with flavoring. Pretzels, nuts, cookies, that kind of thing.

When she was younger (and had more ability to stand in the kitchen to prep) they did little tea sandwiches or a tray with cheese, crackers, and sliced summer sausage.

When my family is all together we generally have at least one card game evening, and for that my mom usually boils up some cocktail shrimp and I make an elaborate cheese plate, because we'll use it as an evening meal/snack on a day when we've all gorged ourselves at lunch.

I actually just today did some shopping specifically for card game snacks since I'm going to be seeing my grandma this week and I expect cards. I don't know how much ability I'll have to prep things there so I went to Trader Joe's and grabbed a couple bins of fun candies, some unusual cookies, two pretty easy-to-please cheeses, and a box of fancy crackers. There's no TJ's where she is so I figure the novelty factor will carry the evening.

It all depends on what kind of hunger level your guests will be coming with and how much labor you want to put into it.

The main takeaways are that nothing be too messy and the foods can be eaten one handed.
posted by phunniemee at 6:44 PM on July 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Seconding pretzels. Popcorn and chips that aren't too greasy. Tortilla chips are good for this. Nuts. Cheese on crackers.

If you're doing dinner, you can always serve dinner beforehand. I often host card nights and I make some sort of easy dinner that feeds a lot of people. Example: baked ziti, garlic bread, salad. I will usually serve dessert once the card game is in session -- some sort of cake or pie. After that most people are full but I still bust out some snacks. Little bowls of Doritos (not great if you want to keep your hands and cards clean but my friends always eat them) nuts, crackers (like flavored Triscuits), etc.

Drinks: bottled water, Coke, Diet Coke, 7-up or ginger ale, iced tea should cover it as far as non-alcoholic drinks go. Beer and wine can never hurt if your friends and family drink.
posted by Fairchild at 6:50 PM on July 6, 2015

Classic cocktails! Gin and tonic, martinis, negronis, sidecars...bottled beer. If you drink wine, keep it light- pinot grigio, sancerre, maybe a slightly smoky sauvignion blanc, or light reds- Eluon pinot noir, charles and charles red blend, anything but a big heavy cab or merlot.
posted by vrakatar at 6:52 PM on July 6, 2015

Growing up it was always chips + salsas plus soda (or alternative beverages for grownups). Cards was an afternoon/evening pursuit, though, and we typically broke for actual meals at lunch or dinner time.
posted by bookdragoness at 7:42 PM on July 6, 2015

Popcorn is definitely good, as long as it's not coated in anything too greasy. (Microwave popcorn sucks for this.)

Pretzels, rye sticks, crackers, animal cookies/crackers, GORP-like snack mixes, almonds, wasabi peas...

A pot of coffee may not go amiss, depending on the crowd.
posted by brennen at 7:56 PM on July 6, 2015

Schmancy cheese, semi-soft or firmer. Do not fear hard cheeses! A really good Parmesan or Pecorino, cut into small cubes, is delicious and not messy. Avoid soft or crumbly cheese, though.

Fruit is a wonderful accompanyment.
posted by BrashTech at 7:36 AM on July 7, 2015

If you're doing cheese cubes or any kind of meat, stick toothpicks in them for easy, mess-free snacking. Good for fruit, also.

Sounds like it's a fairly small group; I'd cater the drink options (tea, coffee, sodas, booze) to things you know they like.
posted by emjaybee at 7:45 AM on July 7, 2015

Best answer: I think the cheese people above (lord knows I'm one) are missing the "two people are vegan" note.

Here are a few things I bookmarked when in a similar situation (non messy finger food + vegan). I never did try either of them though.

Grilled Artichoke Pesto bites on Zucchini

Puff Pastry Sticks with Creamy Onion
posted by travertina at 8:10 AM on July 7, 2015

Wasn't this meant for cards games, Bridge Mix. In my house it was rye straight or mixed with ginger ale. And maybe some Salisbury Steak afterwards.
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:05 PM on July 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions! I checked in and we're doing dinner before cards, so we'll probably keep it simple and light. We'll get some pretzels and maybe make some cookies or a pie.

I was going to make some homemade lemonade, but I don't know if it would be appreciated. In addition to being vegan, we also don't drink but I told them to BYOB. We have lots of malta on hand.
posted by kendrak at 9:04 AM on July 8, 2015