We can therefore only rely on fragmentary references, and reconstructions based on later games. Although a few packs of very early playing-cards survive there is practically no European literature giving detailed descriptions of how to play any card games before the 17th century, some 250 years after their introduction into Europe. In fact the situation is more uncertain for the games than for the cards they were played with. What were the earliest card games?Īs with questions about the origins of playing cards, this question cannot be answered with certainty.

Depending on what you count as a game, a rough estimate would be that there are between 1,000 and 10,000 games.Īn classification of the main types of card games can be found on the classified index page of the Card Games site. It is also common to find the same game going under many different names. It depends what you count as different-what you might see as two different games, I might count as two variations of the same game. This has been reprinted by the same publisher, without illustrations, under the title A History of Card Games. The best general reference on this is David’s Parlett‘s book The Oxford Guide to Card Games (Oxford University Press 1990). History, Types and Distribution of Card Games Connecting a deck of cards with the BibleĪnswers to several of the following questions can be found on the Card Games site, which is edited by John McLeod.Why does the king of hearts stab himself?.Playing-card manufacturers and tax stamps.Playing-card history and speculations on their origins.Italo-Portuguese suited tarot pattern sheets.The Playing-card – consolidated Subject index.The Playing-card – Consolidated Author Index.

French card games played in casinos