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Managing anger is a crucial skill (I know from firsthand experience how difficult it is for some children). Anger management card games can be great for parents and at school. They enable to address the “anger” problem in a fun and non-threatening way for the child – and also help develop communication & problem-solving skills.
I found 20 anger-management card games – suitable for school, home or therapy. The most useful ones address not only the signs and consequences of anger but aim at also preventing anger by addressing its causes, for example by using a CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) inspired approach.
I particularly recommend “Mad Dragon – An Anger Control Card Game”, and “CBT School Counseling” which is the most universal among 7 games I recommend.
Anger Management Card Games Comparison Table
Among these 20 games, I recommend the following 7. To make it easier for you to find the one that will fit your needs, I compared them in the following table.
| Game | Age | Players | Price | Avoid anger situations | Express feelings appropriately | Target | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mad Dragon | 6‑12 | 2-8 | $$$ | X | X | Home, School, Counsel | ★★★★☆ |
| Anger Card Game | 6‑12 | 2-4 | $$$ | X | Home, School, Counsel | ★★★☆☆ | |
| Controlling Your Anger | 6‑12 | 2‑4 | $$$ | X | X | Home, School, Counsel | ★★★☆☆ |
| Roll a Role | 6‑10 | 2‑8 | $$$ | X | X | Counsel, Therapy | ★★★☆☆ |
| Chill Skills in a Jar | 12+ | 2-6 | $ | X | X | Counsel, Therapy | ★★★☆☆ |
| Anger management | 6‑14 | 2‑6 | $ | X | School, Counsel | ★★★☆☆ | |
| CBT School Counselling | 6‑10 | 2‑6 | $ | X | X | School, Counsel | ★★★☆☆ |
Remark: these 7 games all teach how to understand and control anger, so I did not include these competencies in the table
Before detailing each game, I want first to say that a more general approach is to use one of the 5 “sentence completion games” that I mention in the post “30+ Games About Emotions For Preschoolers And Kindergarten
”. They are not explicitly targeted at anger management but address it among other aspects of emotional control… and they are extremely easy to use and therefore very popular with children.
5 Recommended Anger Management Card Games
Mad Dragon: An Anger Control Card Game (Therapy Game HQ)
★★★★☆
Age: 6-12 (or more) | Players: 2-8
Target: teachers, counselors, parents
Mad Dragon – An Anger Control Card Game includes 100 cards. Children practice 12 techniques to manage anger successfully. They will understand anger as an emotion and learn how to notice its cues, avoid situations that provoke it as well as express it in a healthy way that won’t hurt anyone.
Mad Dragon’s rule is similar to “UNO”: players have to get rid of all their cards in order to win (they put their cards on the pile in the center if the card has the same number or color). While racing with others to win the game, players learn to control anger and express it healthily.
The game comes with an instruction booklet that includes rules, tips and tricks. Half of the cards have instructions on them (and a dragon). The others help accelerate the game and make it less intimidating:
- 24 Training Your Anger red cards: “Name 2 things it’s not OK for you to do when you’re angry.”
- 24 Understanding Anger green cards: “Who made you angry this week?”
- 24 Avoiding Anger blue cards: “Who is the happiest person you know? Do they get angry a lot?”, “Tell about a time you were very patient.”
- 24 When I Control My Anger yellow cards: “Describe a time when getting angry got you in trouble”.
I highly recommend this game:
- It is easy to use
- It can be played at home and school (especially by school psychologists), or as a therapeutic game.
- It helps children open up about what bothers them or makes them angry. They share their experiences, help each other, discuss and learn actively.
- Since it is similar to Uno, you can take a break from the discussion about anger and let children relax and play the classic game.
Note that you can change the phrasing of the instructions, to make them less personal. Just transform “Tell about a time you were very patient” by “Tell about a time the dragon was very patient”.
Roll a Role: A Game Of Anger Control (Childswork / Childsplay)
★★★☆☆
Ages: 6-10 | Players: 2-8
Target: counselors, therapists (possible at home but not ideal)
Roll a Role: An Anger Management Games Cubes and Cards is a role-playing game that teaches anger management techniques as well as ways to express emotions. The idea of the game is to practice everyday situations that usually provoke anger.
The game contains:
- 50 Problem cards, for example, “You get a bad grade on an important test”
- 24 Think About It cards
- 18 Solution cards: Players have to choose one for each situation and win points if they have found a positive one
- 6 Number cards, 100 Chips, Instructions
There is also a version with 3 large dice (which enable to draw the problem cards, each having 6 problem cards placed into pockets on its faces).
Note: the cards are really oversized, which is OK with a group of children but much less so at home.
The Anger Card Game (Childswork / Childsplay)
★★★☆☆
Age: 6-12 | Players: 2-4
Target: teachers, counselors, parents
The Anger Card Game (Talking, Feeling & Doing collection) is designed to help learn about what bothers children. It motivates and helps children open up and share their concerns, conflicts or anything else on their mind.
You can optionally play the game with the Talking, Feeling & Doing Board Game.
The set contains:
- 33 Talking cards
- 33 Feeling cards
- 33 Doing cards
- 1 Four-sided die
- 100 Chips
I recommend this game as it helps children find suitable words to express their feelings (especially helpful in group discussions). It can be played at home and is a great way to share feelings with your children and bond with them.
The only lack of the game is the similar phrasing on some cards so children may think they have already been asked the same question and get bored quickly.
Chill Skills in a Jar (Free Spirit Publishing)
★★★☆☆
Age: 12+ | Players: 2 to 6
Target: Counselors, Therapists
Chill Skills in a Jar includes 101 anger management cards for teens that help them cool off in stressful situations. There is a version for younger kids (age 8-11) called Temper Tamers in a Jar.
It is great for group discussions during which teens can learn to cope with anger and cooperate to develop social skills. However, it is useful for individuals as well because the cards provide helpful calming techniques that you can apply in day-to-day situations.
The Chill Skills in a Jar set contains four types of cards (101 in total):
- What Would You Do? cards include various tense scenarios. Children need to imagine themselves in the same situations and adequately respond to them (for example: In a computer class, someone asks you to look at a Web page on their computer. The page has a distorted photo of you and a lot of nasty comments.).
- Tips! cards advise on what they can do when they are angry. (for example: Recognize anger triggers. Be on the lookout for the things that usually make you angry. When you see these things happening, take a few deep breaths or try another calming action.)
- Share cards encourage children to open up about their experiences with anger and how they deal with it (for example: have you ever helped another person cool down before he or she acted out in anger? What did you do and how did that help the situation?).
- Act It Out! cards present different scenarios. Children play roles according to the scenario on the card. The goal is to use a positive way of managing anger while acting in a tense, anger-provoking situation. These cards are very useful because they enable to learn from experience, even if it includes an act (for example: Talk it out. You’re having a problem with a friend who likes the same person you do. Rather than get angry or yell at your friend, talk out the situation. Choose someone to play your friend).
I recommend this game. Counselors, psychologists, and teachers can include it in group workshops and sessions to help children open up in front of others. You can also use it as a role-playing game.
However, note that the troubling situations presented in the “What Would You Do” cards are quite intense as some teens have a hard time expressing what’s on their mind.
Controlling Your Anger (Childswork / Childsplay)
★★★☆☆
Age: 6-12 | Players: 2-4
Target: parents, teachers, counselors
Controlling Your Anger by Lawrence Shapiro (Dr. Playwell series) is designed to teach children how to behave in conflict situations, how to find common ground, share their feelings and cool down when they are angry.
I recommend this game because it is engaging and, besides teaching children how to cope with anger and frustration, it also teaches important social, emotional and behavioral skills.
The game consists of:
- 52 cards
- A rock-paper-scissor die
- 12 Cooldown activity cards
- Instructions
You the cooldown activity cards are meant to be used separately as these are not used in the game. There are four different types of cards in the game:
- Anger Button Cards help children learn both what triggers their anger and ways to express this emotion appropriately.
- Let’s Talk Cards motivate children to speak up about how they feel rather than react negatively to a situation.
- Everybody Wins Cards encourage children to think of a positive way of solving a problem that makes them angry. You can use Rock-scissor-paper die to decide who will find a solution to the given problem.
- Anger Thermometer Cards help children coming up with ideas of what could reduce their level of anger and help them quickly cool down.
4 Other Anger Management Card Games
Berenstain Bears Keep Your Cool Card Game
Age: 5-8 | Players: 2-4
The Berenstain Bears game teaches children to control their anger while talking about how they feel and what bothers them. It is played like the game of War. The deck includes 52 “Lost Your Cool” cards with anger triggering situations and 10 “Peacemaking” cards that teach children how to act positively to anger. It is great for young children as they are able to identify with this bear and learn from him.
Catch & Release Your Anger Go-Fish Game
Age: 8-11 | Players: 2-5
With Catch & Release Your Anger, children learn to manage anger and release it appropriately. The set includes two decks of cards (50 cards each deck) with scenarios, meant for two different age groups: grades 5-8 year-olds and 8-11 Year-olds. The game works like a “Go Fish” where you have to answer an open-ended question before getting a requested card. Some cards also explain anger controlling techniques.
Positively Managing My Anger (Whitney Roban)
Age: 7+ | Players: 2-6
Positively Managing My Anger is another “Go-Fish” like anger management game. The set includes 52 cards (Situation cards and Thought/Behavior cards), a wipe-off pen and 2 blank cards. The game is suited especially for use at school and during therapy sessions.
Anger Alert!
Age: 7-12 | Players: 2-4
Anger Alert helps to identify anger warning signs (like trembling or clenching fists) and use 10 strategies to calm down. They react to anger-provoking situations but have to wait 7 seconds first, learning to think before reacting. The game also comprises a poster with the anger warning signs.
Flashcards & Card Sets for Anger Management
Anger Control Problem Solving Cards (Childswork / Childplay)
Age: 6-12
The Anger Control Problem Solving Cards help children develop behavioral and problem-solving skills. The set includes instructions and 24 cards with drawn realistic (but difficult) situations (that include school and home setting).
Strategies for Anger Management Cards
Age: 13-19
Strategies for Anger Management Cards is especially suiting for group sessions but it can be played with children individually. Besides developing anger management skill, the game develops conflict resolution skill as well. It includes 72 cards and instructions.
Anger Management Skills Cards
★★★☆☆
Age: 15 and up | Players: 4-14
The Anger Management Skills Cards can be used for large group discussions as they are designed for up to 14 players. The deck includes 72 cards and instructions.
Printable Anger Management Card Games
Printable games are especially used in school. The printable card games I could find comprise basic guidance for children who need to cool down like “writing”, “getting a drink”, etc or scenario/situation cards. They do not include a coding of the types of actions (except the level of difficulty for “Anger Task cards”).
There are two exceptions though as you can see below!
Anger Management Card Game (WholeHearted School Counseling)
Age: 7-14 | Players: 2-6
I recommend this printable game which can be used by school counselors or at home. As always with “WholeHearted School Counseling”, the game is well-designed and the content well thought-out. The game comprises 75 sentences to complete, “true or false” statements and questions. Players try to get rid of their cards to win the game (like in Uno).
Cognitive Therapy (CBT) School Counseling Game for Anger (Social Emotional Workshop)
★★★☆☆
Age: 7-10 | Players: 2-6
I also recommend the CBT School Counseling Game for Anger. It comprises tools for assement, follow-up and going further, as well as the 5 following types of cards (60 cards in total):
– Emotion identification and evaluation cards
– Negative thought challenging cards
– Coping skills cards to calm down
– Situation assessment cards to take perspective
– Solution cards to solve problems and make a situation better
3 Printable Card Games With Basic “CoolDown” Techniques
The following games are the most notable I could find:
- The Anger Task Cards (One-stop Counseling Shop) are designed to look like trading cards, and go with several rule proposals: Go Fish, War, Spoons… They feature 18 basic cooling down ideas, but with an attractive design and with full-page explanations for each card.
- The Coping Strategy / Anger Management Choice Cards (Kylie The Creative Social Worker) is a collection of 42 illustrated cards with basic ways to control anger such as “Watch nature”, “Ask for help”, “Stretch” or “Cry”.
- Anger Management for Kids (Liz’s Early Learning Spot) is a set of 185 cards with ideas to calm down. They are
3 Printable Card Games with Situation or Scenario Cards
The following games are sets of situations cards that can be used to trigger discussions with children:
- Anger Management: What Would You Do Cards (The Helpful Counselor) comprises 22 situation cards for teens and 8 for primary school students (some school situations are included) such as “Your teacher never lets you work with a friend”.
- Anger Triggers (Social Emotional Workshop) comprises 48 “What makes you storm” scenario cards such as “When we have to wait a long time” or “When I’m in trouble with my parents”.
- Anger Control Cards (Carol Miller -The Middle School Counselor) comprises 52 scenario cards that involve third parties, like “Jessica overheard her friend Shannon say that she was stupid. She felt like she never wanted to talk to Shannon again. What would be a better thing to do? This is a nice way of involving the children without making it personal.
Other Types of Games for Anger Management
Board games are a great way to engage a group of children at school, home or at a therapeutic office. As anger management is closely related to conflict resolution, you can read more about the conflict resolution games in this post: 7 Conflict Resolution Board Games For 7 to 17 Year-Olds.
If you are interested in games that teach children how to understand and express emotions, please read the following post: 30+ Games About Emotions For Preschoolers And Kindergarten.
School Indoor/Outdoor games/activities: drawing, writing and doing breathing exercises are great activities children can use at any place and anytime to control their anger.
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