SUIT SYSTEMS

Many countries have different suits of cards. Almost every country has decks of cards that have different suits.

The different ways of culture led to a broad range of playing card types. France was the leading center for manuscript illumination. The Renaissance flourished in Italy, while Moorish influence endured in Spain until the 15th century.

The first suit system to evolve was the Latin suit system, which is still used in Spain, Italy, the Philippines and some other parts of the world. The suits used in this system are swords, chalices, coins, and clubs. There is a special deck in Spain called Brisca. It also has four suits, but they are named differently. They are called oros (gold), espadas (swords), copas (cups), and bastos (clubs). This deck is used not only in Spain but in other countries where Spain maintained an influence.

Germanic suit systems (including Swiss) evolved after a period of experimentation with different combinations of suits. The one currently accepted is made up of bells, acorns, leaves and hearts. Germany used woodcut and engravings for their playing cards suits.

Much of North America uses a standard deck of cards for playing. The suits for the cards are diamond, clubs, spades, and hearts. This suit system is called the French Suit System, and therefore is also used in France. There are many games that the standard deck can be used for. Some of the most popular card games are blackjack also know as 21 and poker.

(See pictures in the Photo Gallery)