Decade By Decade 2026

Decade by Decade is a rummy-style card game spanning a century of history, from the 1900s to the 2020s. The 106-card deck is organized across thirteen decades and four categories — World Events, Arts & Entertainment, Science & Technology, and Society & Culture — with two copies of each card and two wild Event cards that can stand in for any decade and category. On each turn a player either draws a card or plays melds from their hand onto a shared table. A run is three or more consecutive decades in the same category; a group is three or four cards of the same decade from different categories. Event wild cards fill gaps in a run or a missing category slot in a group, and can later be swapped out by a real card and reclaimed to play again. Players may also lay off cards onto existing melds to extend them. Before playing freely, each player must establish their timeline — their first play to the table must include a run of at least three consecutive same-category decades. Once established, all future turns allow any valid meld combination. The tension of the opening requirement gives the early game shape: some hands can open immediately, others require several draw turns to find the right cards, and holding a wild Event card is a genuine strategic decision about when to commit it. The first player to empty their hand wins. If the draw pile is exhausted, the player with the fewest cards remaining takes the victory. Decade by Decade is available for Print & Play, so you can print and assemble your own copy of the deck and start playing right away.

—description from the designer