Sequence

With touches of canasta, rummy, and poker, this game could easily become a Friday-night favorite. The object is to get a "sequence," meaning a row of five poker-like chips on the game board. The board itself depicts lines of face-up playing cards. Players place their "crowning" chips on top of the card pictures, and can form sequences by using strategy and knowing which Sequence cards to keep or discard. Since forethought, luck, and backup plans are the keys to winning, this game is probably too sophisticated for children under 7 years old. (But young ones can team up with adults.)