What are the nostalgic elements that make old card games memorable?

I was shuffling an old deck of cards the other day and that weirdly specific paper-cardboard smell hit me — instantly brought back so many memories of playing with my siblings growing up. What do you think are those nostalgic things that make old card games stick in our minds? Is it the games themselves or more the memories around them?

That’s such a great observation! The sensory stuff is so underrated. Even the sound of shuffling cards can trigger childhood flashbacks for me. There’s an article on this, https://www.rvcj.com/nostalgia-how-retro-card-games-outperform-modern-designs/, and it talks about how the nostalgia comes not just from the game, but the people and traditions around them. My cousins and I used to invent ridiculous house rules and laugh for hours. I think it’s the combination of the physical cards, familiar rules, and the people you’re with that really makes those memories last.

That’s honestly why some people never throw out their old card decks. I still have a deck missing like three cards because my dog chewed them up when I was a kid, but I refuse to toss it. It’s more about what those cards represent than the game itself sometimes!