Card game

An enormous number of card games have been invented over the centuries. Only a few major games and families of games can be mentioned here. Different card games are available for any reasonable number of players.

Packs of cards

The standard Anglo-American (bridge) pack of cards consists of 52 cards. Most actual packs sold include 1 or more often 2 extra cards called jokers, which are used in some games, but in most are not used in the formal structure of the game, being simply available in practice to replace lost or damaged cards. The cards are in 4 suits, which in English are known as spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs (symbolized by ♠, ♥, ♦, ♣ on Anglo-American and French cards). In Anglo-American and French cards spades and clubs are black, hearts and diamonds are red. Each suit comprises 13 cards. These consist of 3 court cards, known in English as king, queen and jack or knave, and 10 numbered cards from 1 to 10, though the card numbered 1 is labelled A and called the ace. In most games it is not treated as a numbered card at all.

Continental European packs have a variety of names for suits and ranks, but they also usually have fewer cards. French and German packs usually have 32 cards, omitting all numbers from 2 to 6 for French cards, or 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 for German ones (the distinction is unimportant, as the 2 in German packs is treated like the ace in others). Swiss packs are similar to German ones, but with the addition of 6s, for a total of 36 cards. Spanish and Italian packs have 40 cards, omitting 8 to 10.

There are also a variety of more specialized packs used for particular games.

The cards in a pack have identical backs, enabling a game to distinguish between cards a player is entitled to know the identity of and those they are not.

Some games involve two or more packs shuffled together.

Introduction of cards to Europe

Playing cards are first recorded in Europe in the 1360s. They arrived from Egypt, where a 52-card pack equivalent to that described above was already in use. They spread widely over the next few decades. The earliest description of a pack dates from 1377, and is of a 52-card pack equivalent to that described above.

According to Hoyle?

In the 18th century, Edmond Hoyle wrote treatises on four card games (whist, piquet, quadrille nad brag) and two other games (backgammon and chess), which he later reissued as a compendium. These treatises consisted of advice on playing the games, not descriptions of the rules, but over time it became a widespread practice to call a collection of descriptions of rules of card games, and sometimes others, by the name of Hoyle, which was not restricted by copyright. There is a widespread belief that whatever particular Hoyle one is familar with gives the "official" rules of games, and many such books in fact make such claims, though their rules often differ. In fact most games have no "official" rules, and are subject to numerous variations between different playing circles.

Mechanics

The turn to play can be either clockwise or anticlockwise, depending on the nationality of the game. Normally, the cards are shuffled before each deal, with every player entitled to shuffle, but the dealer last. The pack is then cut, usually by the player before dealer. Dealer deals the cards, or some of them, singly or in batches, as specified by the rules of a particular game. Dealing normally follows the order of turn to play, with dealer last.

Classifications of games

Classification is complicated by the fact that many games combine elements from different types. The mechanism of play can be classified as follows:

1. gambling games in which there is no actual play of the cards at all, merely betting on them
2. games involving removing cards from one's hand and replacing them
   1. from other players' hands
   2. from a spare hand
   3. from the main pack
3. games involving playing one's cards into various forms of combinations on the playing surface
4. games involving the play of tricks

Scoring objectives may be classified as follows:

1. holding the best cards in a gambling game (or bluffing the other players that one has, in poker)
2. avoiding holding or taking certain cards
3. getting rid of one's cards
4. forming various combinations of cards
5. capturing cards, particularly in tricks

Most Western card games involve trick taking. Its importance varies. In many games it is the sole object. At the other extreme, some games give it a comparatively minor role. Many games balance it with combinations.

Usually, the player to lead to a trick may play any card remaining in their hand. Each player in turn plays one card, usually subject to restrictions on choice, and the trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, unless a card of a suit designated as trumps is played, in which case the highest trump wins. (Whether there is such a suit depends on the game, and sometimes varies withi a game. The cards in the trick are now out of play and the winner leads to the next trick.

The rules about following to a trick vary:

1. some games allow one to play any card
2. in the All Fours family of games, one may freely either follow suit (play a card of the suit led) or trump, but may only play a third suit when having no remaining cards in the suit led
3. most Western games require following suit if possible, but allow a free choice if one has none remaining in that suit
4. in some games, one must follow suit if possible, otherwise trump if possible
5. in some games, the rule in 4 is supplemented by a rule requiring one to play a higher card of the suit led, or trumps, or both, depending on the game, than any so far played to the trick

Trick taking games can be classified by the objective in taking tricks, i.e. the scoring system:

1. simply counting the number of tricks
2. scoring for various cards taken in tricks
3. avoiding either of the above (negative scoring)

Gambling games

These include:

1. pontoon/blackjack/21: in which the object is to get cards totalling as near 21 as possible without exceeding it; one starts with 2, & can ask for more, at the risk of going over; originated in France in the middle of the 18th century
2. poker, originating in early 19th century America: players can raise the stakes in the hope that others drop out; if not, there are rules determing the best 5-card hand; there are numerous variants in these rules and other procedures; the usual practice in the USA is for dealer to announce the rules for that deal

Cribbage

This game, also known simply as crib, originated in England in the 17th century, and remains popular there. It involves the players alternately playing from their hands to the table and keeping a running total of the cards played. It is one of the few games where the ace still counts as 1. Points are scored for reaching a total of 15 or 31, or being the last able to play without going over 31. Players also score for combinations in their hands, and dealer scores also for the crib, cards discarded by both players before the start of play.

The cassino family

The original Italian spelling is casino, but cassino is commoner in English. Scopa/scopone/escoba are variants of this family. These games involve playing cards onto the table. In certain circumstances one captures some or all of the cards on the table, and scors for them.

The rummy family

This includes a wide variety of games, including

1. simple family types of rummy
2. gin rummy, usually played for money
3. canasta, a more intellectually sophisticated game

The general practice is for players to take turns drawing a card from the pack, usually without seeing it beforehand, and then discarding a card. Scores can be made for combinations, for putting all one's cards down in them (going out), and/or negatively for uncombined cards left over when someone else goes out, depending on the individual game.

The family appeared in the late 19th century, but its exact origins are uncertain. It has been variously derived from Mexico, poker and Ma-Jong.

Patience or solitaire

Card games for one player are known as patience in Britain and solitaire in America. The term "solitaire" in Britain refers to a quite different game, known in America as peg solitaire. There are an enormous variety of such games, or puzzles.

Archaic trick games

The oldest surviving card game is Karnöffel, Kaiserspiel or Kaiserjass, first recorded in 1426 and still played in remote Swiss valleys. It is played by four players in partnerships, originally using a 48-card pack (omitting aces). Nowadays 9s and 8s are also omitted, making a 40-card pack. Each player has 5 cards and the objective is to capture the majority of tricks. There is a trump suit, but not in the usual sense. Instead, different trumps have different powers.

In truc (French), there is no trump suit. Players are not required to follow suit, and do not lose out by failing to do so, as the trick is won by the highest card regardless of suit. If there are equal highest cards the trick does not count. In the Spanish versions truque/truco, very popular in Uruguay and Argentina, some trumps are added to the simpler original French form.

In piquet, widely regarded as the best card game for two players, which originated in France around 1500, the players are dealt 12 cards each from a 32-card pack (hence usually called a piquet pack in English). After discarding some cards and drawing replacements from the remaining 8 cards, they score for various combinations held in their hands, and for playing their cards in tricks. there is no trump suit.