An card game for teaching children the alphabet utilizes a deck of one hundred eighteen cards, each card being associated with a single letter of the alphabet that is displayed on one side of the card, the frequency of cards containing each letter being roughly the same as the frequency with which each letter occurs in the English language, there being more cards containing letters which are more frequently used and less cards containing letters which are less frequently used. A desired graphic design may be placed on the reverse side of each card. Scoring involves only simple addition, which is educational in itself. Points are earned by players as they form sets, runs, and words with the cards initially dealt to them or subsequently drawn from a draw pile or discard pile and held in a hand. Bonus words can be specified at the beginning of play to provide additional scoring incentive.