Playing Card Collector
| Goal Contact Who Is |
| Research Overview Collecting |
| Cards for Sale Statistics FAQ |
| Alta Carta | The Alternative for the Playing Card Collector |
|
|
|
On this page you find a list of all traditional standard playing card patterns of the Western Hemisphere, which are still in use today. There are also some obsolete card patterns, as well as information on a few other interesting criteria.
Playing cards are often associated with a specific game. One might speak of poker or bridge cards, skat, jass or scopa cards. Such expressions may have become common, and everyone understands what is meant. As a collector of playing cards, however, I make a distinction between card games and playing cards. I like to draw a comparison from computer science: playing cards are hardware, what you can hold in your hand. A card game, that is the software; something abstract with rules of the game and so... But you can also play scopa with bridge cards and skat with jass cards... Here, at Alta Carta we explicitly talk about playing cards, the hardware. For those interested in the software, I recommend John McLeod's site "pagat.com", which has the most extensive collection of related game rules from all around the world; I estimate more than one thousand. To view the images of the playing cards choose one of the links below. Then a new window opens. There you will find the pictures for the corresponding cards. Further navigation from there is not possible. The idea is that you can very quickly view the desired card pattern - maybe as a comparison - without having to leave the other page first. |