History of Card Games

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First Playing Cards

The earliest playing cards are believed to have originated in Central Asia.

In the 10th century, the Chinese used paper-like dominoes, shuffling and dealing them in new games.

First Playing CardsPlaying cards existed in China before 1000 AD. Such cards would have been narrow slips of paper, essentially dominoes with dots imitating the different combinations possible with the throw of two dice. Paper was in fact the original material for dominoes; wood and ivory came later. Domino cards are still known, as is another early Chinese type: money cards, so called because the suit signs are Coins and variations (Tens of Coins, Myriads of Coins.) The use of coin emblems may have derived from the association of cards and money in gambling.

Introduction of Cards into Europe

Islamic cards were introduced into southern

Europe about 1350. The suit signs—Coins, Cups, Swords,

Sticks—were variously adapted. The Polosticks, still

unfamiliar to Europeans, were changed to Scepters, Batons or Cudgels. (Note

that one of our own suits is called "Clubs.") An early

Swiss report, c. 1377, says that Europeans

experimented with different kinds of courts, sometimes

as many as six (King, Queen, Knight, Lady, Valet, Maid). "Moorish" card, 14th century (?)

(Instituto Municipal de Historia, Barcelona)

 

First European Playing Cards

The first European playing cards date from 1370 and come from Spain, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.

No cards from this time period survive. The earliest surviving cards come from

around the 15th century - cards were hand-painted and only afforded by the wealthy.

With the invention of woodcuts in the 14th century, Europeans began mass-producing cards.

First European Playing Cards

By 1500, three main suit systems had evolved: Latin (Spain, Italy,

and Portuguese) Germanic

(Germany and Switzerland)

French (France) These three suit

systems became the basis of standard national patterns.

The Ambras Court Hunting Pack (1445)

Evolution of German Cards

Among the early card makers of Europe, surely

the Germans were the most imaginative in revising and multiplying suit signs and courts. German cards also

tended to be decorated with lively scenes and

caricatures. The German national pattern finally

settled on four suits (Leaves, Hearts, Acorns and Hawk Bells) from which the

Queen was banished. German deck, Nüremberg, 1813

Evolution of Tarocco

Divinatory Tarot cards by Etteilla, Paris, 1789

Italian card makers preserved the Queen, along with a King, Knight and Valet, for use in a

new game, c 1420, called Tarocco. Also added were a wild card (the Fool) and 21 special cards, mystical symbols that served as trumps. Among the Florentines, the trump suit

expanded until their Tarocco totaled 97 cards. The game

spread northwards, called Tarot by speakers of French. The

Tarot did not acquire its modern use by fortune tellers until the 1780s when French scholars

interpreted the old Italian symbols as "hieroglyphs" from

ancient Egypt, the reputed source of Western magic and

occult philosophy.

French Playing Cards

It was the French who were instrumental in bringing the pleasures of card play to people in Europe and the New World.

French cards soon flooded the market and were exported to England first, and then in the British Colonies of America.

Evolution of Cards - FrenchFrench card makers, c. 1470,

invented the familiar suit signs of Spades, Hearts, Clubs and Diamonds (which the French call Spearheads, Hearts, Trefoils and Squares). The first three are presumably adapted

from the German Leaves, Hearts and Hawk Bells. The first European cards

were hand-painted and therefore reserved for the nobility who could afford to hire special designers and craftsmen. Popular demand led to mass production through the new technique of the woodcut. Designs

for whole sheets of cards were drawn and carved on woodblocks, then

inked and printed on paper, finally separated and glued on cardboard.

Card IndicesAfter 1860, Europeans and Americans came to accept card indices, markings on the faces that declared their values. Early indices included:

• Triplicates, when the standard card face bears miniature faces in two corners

• Border indices, when numerals and suit signs line the edges of the card

• Numerals inscribed within the suit signs

• Large numerals dominating the card face

The most popular indices proved to be the small markings in diagonally opposite corners, or, less frequently, in all four corners.

History of Modern Suit System

Our modern suits are from French designs that designed a four-suit system.

These suits of spades, clubs, diamonds and hearts, and the use of simple shapes and flat colors helped facilitate manufacture.

The king of hearts represented Charlemagne, the king of Diamonds was Julius Caesar, the king of clubs was Alexander the Great, and the king of spades was King David from the Bible.

Early French Suits

Paris pattern, double-ended, 1806

Hearts Spades Diamonds Clubs

King CHARLES

DAVID CAESAR ALEXANDER

Queen

JUDITH PALLAS RACHEL ARGINE

Jack LA HIRE OGIER HECTOR JUDAH

Suits and Patterns – Swiss French

History of the Saxony Pattern

Suits and Patterns - Italian

Suits and Patterns – Spanish

American Playing Cards

Americans started producing playing cards around 1800.

The cards had several improvements:

1. Double-headed court cards - no upside down cards

2. Varnished surfaces for durability and smoothness in shuffling.

3. Identifying marks on the borders or corners

4. Rounded corners for extended life

Improvements to Playing Cards

Rounded corners Refined finishes Double-ended

figures Joker was born, we

now know that the Tarot had not yet entered the U. S. when the Joker first appeared. ,

Double-headed courts by Russell & Morgan, Cincinnati, 1885

The Joker

Joker by Victor Mauger, New York, 1875

The Joker seems to have its origins in a special card used in a particular form of Euchre. In

this game, which began in Alsace-Lorraine, two Jacks of the

same color are designated as being especially powerful. When immigrants carried the game to the US, they also brought some

of the specialized German terms, such as Bauer (= Jack). Euchre players still speak of their two

highest cards as "the left and the right Bauer," but the key word is

envisioned as "Bower". Americans added to the Euchre

deck a card even higher than the designated Bowers. It was called the Imperial Bower or the Best Bower. This was the genesis of

the Joker.

Evolution of the JokerAfter the introductions of the

Best Bower into Euchre, Americans equipped other card

games with an extra card (usually as a wild card). Perhaps

this is the stage in which the extra card became known as the Joker—meaning one that changes

character or pops up unexpectedly. Designers would have tried to create some new imagery for this wild card. The choice of a jester is logical, not

only because of his unpredictable behavior, but because he

complements the court cards. In Europe, after all, the royal court

really was home to jesters, jugglers and other entertainers.Nevertheless, it is certain that the Joker card itself was not a

European invention. It is one of America's most picturesque

contributions to the history of playing cards.

Joker by Andrew Dougherty, New York, 1875

The Joker

The Joker originated around 1870

The Joker was known as the "Best Bower"

The Joker was the highest card in the game of Euchre.

The Joker

The most common representation of the joker is a

“Fool”.

The Joker

The stick can be often seen on Joker cards.

The Joker

Sometimes the Joker plays a musical instrument.

The Joker

Sometimes the Joker plays a musical instrument.

The Joker

The Joker is sometimes seen as a female.

The Joker

The Jokers especially in non-standard games can have a special design that has

only little if any resemblance with the fool.

Other Uses of Cards Besides playing

games, cards were also used for: Advertise products

and services Promote ideas Depict famous

landmarks Depict famous

events Depict famous

people

Depict famous people

US-Elections 1963. John F. Kennedy and other persons of the Kennedy-Clan, also politicians from the democratic party.

Advertise products

Left: Original Pattern slightly modified, king holds beer glass in hand; Right: Pattern newly designed, but nevertheless you can see the Bavarian Pattern shimmering through.

Advertise products

Two examples for advertising in free spaces on the card picture Left: Tobacco ad from the 1930s Right: Ad for the newspaper "Der neue Landfreund" ca. 1980

Non-Standard Cards

In this game not only the court cards were redesigned, also the suit symbols

were changed Theme is the "Honey Barrel" a fairy

tale by Lew Ustinow; advertisement for the theatre Altenburg-Gera.

Non-Standard Cards

Here the courts are only stylized. These cards were drawn by the artist Sonia Delaunay.

Non-Standard Cards

This card game represents the four elements. But they do not appear as the four suits; they are

ranks (king = earth, queen = water, jack = air and Joker

= fire).

Non-Standard Cards

The Michelin-Man as playing card court.

Souvenir Cards

Left Example: View of the Canary Islands; right: model trains

Educational Card Games

Types of Card Games

Adding Games In adding games, players play in turns, adding

the value of the cards together as they are played. The goal is to reach or avoid certain point totals.

Fishing Games Each player is given a hand of cards with a

layout of face up cards on the table. Players play one card in turn. If the card played matches the layout card, the layout card is captured and placed in front of the player. If a card does not match, it becomes part of the layout.

Types of Card Games

Matching Games Players take turns playing cards to a

discard pile. The card played must match the previous card or fit with the other card in some way (rank, suit, order). The player who match or fit form their hand are penalized by having to draw one or more cards. The object is to get rid of all of your cards.

Types of Card Games

Card Exchange Games Players have a hand of cards and

exchanging a card or cards with other players. The exchange may be with another player or with a stack of face-up or facedown cards. The object is usually to collect certain cards of set of cards.

Types of Card Games

Draw and Discard Games Players have a hand of cards and two

stacks on the table. The game involves picking up an unknown card from the stockpile or a known card from the discard pile. The player must then discard a card face-up on the discard pile. Players are trying to improve their position to some end goal.

Types of Card Games

Patience, Solitaire and Free Cell Card games you

play with yourself. Traditionally, the

cards were about half the size of regular playing cards.

Variations on Card Games

Fortune Telling Cards

Tarot Cards

Card Trivia

Why are Jacks called Jacks?In the game of All Fours, jack is

the name of the point awarded for winning a trick containing the

knave of trumps. The word jack also had 'a common man' as one of

its meanings. At first jack was considered a lower class term [ref.

Dickens's Great Expectations, 1861; Estelle says mockingly of Pip

"He calls the knaves, jacks, this boy!"] but it gained acceptance while knave became obsolete.

Modern English usage has knave now left with just one of its original

meanings—a scoundrel.

Card TriviaWhy does the Ace rank greater than the King?

There may at one time have been a political undertone, in that people wanted to see a king overthrown by the most humble peasant, in a

card game if not in real life.

Card TriviaWhat is the order of suit

ranking?

“It depends what game you are playing"

• Hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades: Preference, 500, Tysiacha

• Clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds: Skat, Doppelkopf, Sheepshead

• Spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds: Big Two (Choi Dai Di, Da Lao Er)

• Diamonds, hearts, spades, clubs: Pusoy Dos• Clubs, hearts, spades, diamonds: Ninety-nine• Spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs: Contract Bridge