7 Families - A Card Game for Learners of French

There are multiples ways to learn French while playing this card game! Using the vocabulary lists you can find on this page, we provide a translation for the animals, objects, and actions represented on each of the 42 playing cards. So, you can attempt to mix in some French learning while playing by asking other players for their cards in French or by introducing your own rules during the game, for example requiring users to describe some of the key scenes on the cards in French before claiming the families. Alternatively, outside of playing the 7 Familles game, you can also use our card game in combination with the vocabulary list like a set of flashcards to practice specific words, phrases, and sentence formation.

We think our French card game is ideal for all ages, kids and adults. Kids will love the bright colors, fun animal illustrations, and interactive nature of the Go Fish-like game. Mixing in some French learning helps provide some extra challenge and makes it a really fun game for adults to play as well. When using the game with our vocabulary lists like language flashcards, the card game is ideal for both beginner and intermediate practitioners of the French language.

This French card game consists of 42 cards, divided into 7 families of animals. Each animal family has 6 member cards: a grandfather card, a grandmother card, a father card, a mother card, a son card, and a daughter card. Objective: To collect as many complete families as possible by the end of the game. One player shuffles the deck and then distributes 7 cards to each player. The remaining cards are left face-down in a pile in the middle. The first player (chosen randomly, such as the youngest) starts the game by asking any player of his choice for a specific card, specifying both the animal family and family member, of a family from which the first player already has at least one card. For example: "Thomas, do you have the father in the lion family?" ("Thomas, est-ce que tu as le père dans la famille de lions?”). If the player asked has that specific card, he or she gives it to the player asking for it. If he or she does not have that card, the asking player must take a card from the pile of cards -- if the player picks up the exact card they were asking for, they can say so and are allowed to play another turn. If not, the game continues, clockwise, to the next player who will ask for a card in the same manner. When a player has collected all 6 members of a family, the player announces their success and puts down the family of cards for the other players to see. This continues until there are no remaining cards from the face-down stack. At this point, the winner is the player who has collected/displayed the greatest number of complete families. Cards can additionally be used as flashcards to help in the acquisition and development of language skills. Each card features multiple common objects and can be used to practice simple vocabulary words and also to practice sentence formation by describing the actions and objects seen.