Discover the diverse world of Unique Card Game decks with us! From the notable French and Spanish decks to the elaborately designed Swiss and German decks, and the universally standard English deck, this blog lets you know what makes each exclusive and how they’ve evolved card games worldwide. Keep reading!
Exploring Card Deck Variations
Spanish deck
The Spanish deck known worldwide for its uniqueness; it doesn’t have the queen card and its designs are amazing. Its figures are of medieval inspiration and its suits represent the most important classes of the time: merchants (coins), clergy (cups), nobility (swords), and servants (clubs).
It consists of a deck of 48 cards, classified in 4 “suits” and numbered from 1 to 12 (in the 40-card deck, the eights and nines are missing). Some decks also include 2 jokers. In this, the figures signify the numbers 10 (jack), 11 (horse), and 12 (king). Unlike the French deck, this is represented in full length.
German deck
The German deck has two types. On the one hand, there is the 52-card deck, the German version of the French and English decks. On the other hand, there is the German symbol deck, which usually consists of 32 or 36 cards.
Clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades are four familiar suits making the 52-card deck. Each suit contains 13 cards. These include the ace (A), two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and Bube (B), Dame (D), and König (K) as face cards.
The Bube corresponds to the English Jack and French Valet. The Dame is equivalent to the English Queen and French Dame. The König is akin to the English King and French Roi.
In a German deck, the face cards are the most intricate among its three forms. In fact, these cards reflect a unique art work, exhibiting the German engravers’ customs.
Swiss deck
The Swiss deck is an evolution of the German deck. You can see the diverse symbols used that indicate the suits. Like the German deck, this deck has the same figures -König, Ober, Unter- and other elements: flag instead of ten, absence of aces, and a distinct symbolic role for the twos in both the game and the design.
Although Acorns and bells are retained, the Swiss deck suits contain shields or crests rather than hearts, and flowers rather than leaves.
French deck
The immediate predecessor of the English deck – often referred to as a poker deck – is the French deck. This deck is most commonly used in the Anglo-Saxon world. It has become a fundamental element in the operation of almost all casino Card Game Playing. It consists of standard 52 cards with four suits: hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs.
Its history dates back to the 15th century. Although theories differ as to its geographical origin, and whether its creation was influenced by the Italian deck (due to the artistic nature of its figures) or by the German deck (due to the schematic nature of its suits). Poker, blackjack, baccarat, all Western games use this deck.
As is often the case, the evolution from the French to the English deck occurred by accident: in 1628, to encourage the domestic card manufacture, the import of the celebrated French cards was banned. English engravers, less capable than their inland colleagues, chose simpler lines. During the subsequent decades, with the voracious British colonialism, the English deck became famous and common worldwide.
English deck
The English deck is a derivative of the French deck. It contains 52 cards with four suits of 13 cards each: hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs. Spades and clubs represent black suits, while red suits are represented by diamonds and hearts.
The names of the red suits are clearly related to the signs that represent them. There is also a correspondence between the English and Spanish names of these suits. However, the English names of the black suits are somewhat surprising: the club is called a club and not a clover or trefoil, and the spade, represented by a lanceolate leaf, is called a spade and not a pike or a lance.
The reason may be found in the unusual influence that the Spanish game of El Hombre (played with a 40-card Spanish deck by three players) and the Spanish deck suits had in England.
Like the French deck, the 13 cards of each English deck suit consist of 9 number cards (from 2 to 9) and 4 literal cards: the ace (A), the jack (J), the queen (Q), and the king (K).
When considering a modern English deck, the King of Hearts appears to be hiding a sword behind his head. This sword was basically an axe, which he (King of Hearts) held up in an aggressive attitude. The figure of this king holding the axe led many to see in it a portrait of King Henry VIII and an allegory of his bloody history. Nevertheless, the design of the figure precedes that king.
The four queens hold flowers in their hands, but the Queen of Spades also holds a sceptre, reminding us the original sword. The last uniqueness of the English cards is that the Jack of Hearts holding leaves in the right hand are sourced from the sword’s grip he originally held.
We hope this blog has helped you know the interesting history and captivating nuances of card decks. However, if you are interested in playing an online card game, we suggest you to download the Skill Cat game app to play the Spades. This app will guide you on rules and Scoring System in Spades, making every moment a visually stunning delight.