What combines speed, fun, and math? Many card games, true; but I’m talking about Clumsy Thief.
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Clumsy Thief is a fast-paced card game having you add two numbers to make 100. There’s not a ton of variety in the cards, so it’s quick to learn and it won’t be long before your kids are faster than you!
How to play
In Clumsy Thief, there are three jail cards, six thief cards, and then cards representing stacks of money. These cards are $15, $20, $25, $30, $40, $45, $50, $55, $60, $70, $75, $80, and $85.
You start with seven cards, and initially make what we call “internal” stacks. Meaning, if you’re dealt two $20, a $30, $50, $55, and two $70, you can make one stack: a $30 with a $70 makes $100, so you put those two cards down together, but you want to pay attention which card you leave on top.
Once all internal stacks are created, then the fun begins! Use the cards still in your hand to steal other players’ stacks, or add on to your own. This is where the order of those initial stacks can really matter. If you placed the $70 card on top of the $30 card, then someone else can steal your stack with a $30 card, but then you can steal it back with your $70 card!
Once stacks start getting big, you want them to stay in front of you. So if you have a Thief card, you can place it on any stack to steal it, but then anyone else can steal it with either a Thief card or a Jail card. Once a Jail card is on a stack, that stack won’t move, but there are only three Jail cards.
Playing Clumsy Thief with younger players
There is also a Clumsy Thief Jr game (compare to I Sea 10), that just has you adding up to 10. This is going to have fewer pairs, and so be simpler for younger players. However, when my kids were younger, we just started with taking turns, or I would play slower. Faster isn’t always better, though, because whoever steals the stacks last keeps them for at least a little longer.
Not only is Clumsy Thief great for fast mental math and making combinations up to 100, but it’s also a super fun and silly game! I call it a winner, whether you’re looking for an educational game OR a fun one!