A History of Card Games

by David Parlett

Imported from the Mamluks of Egypt, card games first hit Europe around 1371 and within ten years had spread like wildfire from Spain and Italy to France and Germany. By 1420, German and Swiss cardmakers were producing packs by the thousands (first by stencil, later by metal engraving) marked with a bewildering array of suits, including hounds, bears, parrots, roses, helmets, banners, and bells. Games proliferated as well, and by 1534, Rabelais could...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019282905X
• ISBN13: 9780192829054
• Release Date: December 1991
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

An excellent book about card games

Most books on card games tend to focus on rules and rules alone. If there are any references to the history of card games, they tend to propagate one of the popular false myths (myth #1: crusaders brought the cards to Europe, myth #2: gypsies brought the cards to Europe, myth #3: Marco Polo brought the cards to Europe). David Parlett comes to rescue, however: his book focuses on the history and development of the card games in Western Europe, starting from their introduction in 1370s. Parlett describes plenty of games and traces their development and evolution. Most of the book covers trick-taking games, which is of course obvious to a book covering European games. His history seems valid and well-researched and he has a knack of describing games well. While this isn't a rule book, many games are described well enough that an experienced card player can play them. There aren't that many good books on the topic - this one's the only one I've read. If you're at all interested in the topic, this one's highly recommended.

Uniquely Valuable -- Highly Recommended

This book describes the history and evolution of card games. If that sounds "dry," rest assured that this book is anything but. It offers fascinating, highly-readable accounts of how different families of card games have evolved. It also provides simple game-play descriptions. In this book, you will: (1) Find totally different games to play (2) Find related games to your favorites you might try (3) Understand the basics and principles underlying card play (4) Enjoy some fascinating history BTW, this book is the softbound version of the book entitled "Oxford Guide to Card Games."

Entertaining and Informative

There are many books that tell you how to play card games, but this is the only book that tells you where the games come from. See Contract Bridge evolve from Trump & Ruff. Watch Rummy games explode into the 20th century. Learn the true history of the Joker. Always clear and well written, anyone who enjoys games should read this book. Actually, people who don't like games should read this book more!