WThe Ambraser Hofjagdspiel, also called the "Ambras falconer cards", is a pack of cards painted around 1440–1445 and attributed to the engraver Konrad Witz from Basle, Switzerland. It originally consisted of fifty-six cards from which only 54 survive, all distributed in four suits, falcons, lures, hounds and herons, symbols related to hunting. Each suit contained ten pip cards with the 10s being represented by a banner like many old German playing cards and modern Swiss playing cards. There are four face cards per suit: the Unter, Ober, Queen, and King. It was found in a collection at the Ambras Castle, in Innsbruck, Austria, in the sixteenth century, and now figures as a precious item in the collection of cards of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
WAnimal tarots are a subgenre of tarot decks used for playing card games that were most commonly found in northern Europe, from Belgium to Russia. A theme of animals, real and/or fantastic, replaces the traditional trump scenes found in the Italian-suited tarot packs such as the Tarot of Besançon. The Sküs plays a musical instrument while the Pagat is represented by Hans Wurst, a carnival stock character who carries his sausage, drink, slap stick, or hat. They constitute the first generation of French-suited tarot patterns. Prior to their introduction, tarot card games were confined to Italy, France, and Switzerland. During the 17th century, the game's popularity in these three countries declined and was forgotten in many regions. The rapid expansion of the game into the Holy Roman Empire and Scandinavia after the appearance of animal tarots may not be a coincidence. In the 19th century, most animal tarots were replaced with tarots that have genre scenes, veduta, opera, architecture, or ethnological motifs on the trumps such as the Industrie und Glück of Austria-Hungary.
WAs-Nas is a card game or type of playing cards that were used in Persia.
WPlaying cards were most likely invented in China during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). They were certainly in existence by the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). Chinese use the word pái (牌), meaning "plaque", to refer to both playing cards and tiles. Many early sources are ambiguous, and do not specifically refer to paper pái (cards) or bone pái (tiles). In terms of game play, however, there is no difference; both serve to hide one face from the other players with identical backs. Card games are examples of imperfect information games as opposed to Chess or Go.
WThe Flemish Hunting Deck, also known as the Cloisters set of fifty-two playing cards and Hofjaren Jachtpakket, is a set of fifty-two playing cards owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States. It is significant in that it is the only complete set of ordinary playing cards from the fifteenth century. Estimate ranges of manufacture are between 1470 and 1480.
WGanjapa are the traditional playing cards from the Indian state Odisha. It can also refer to the trick-taking card game that they are used for. It is played with circular shaped Pattachitra painted cards. Originated in the 16th century, Ganjapa is a recreational game for male members of the Odia society, primarily villagers, kings and their courtmen. Ganjapa is played as "Charirangi", "Atharangi", "Dasarangi", "Bararangi", "Chaudarangi" and "Sohalarangi". The variation of this game influenced by Persian card game Ganjifeh is known as "Mughal Ganjifa". The game is popular in Puri and Ganjam district of Odisha. As a result of the relative isolation of Odisha in the past, Ganjapa developed very differently from the Ganjifa found in the rest of India. Odisha has by far the largest community of Ganjifa players and manufacturers.
WGanjifa, Ganjapa or Gânjaphâ, is a card game and type of playing cards that are most associated with Persia and India. After Ganjifa cards fell out of use in Iran before the twentieth century, India became the last country to produce them. The form prevalent in Odisha is Ganjapa.
WHofämterspiel, one of the earliest packs of playing cards on record preserved in its entirety with all 48 cards intact, is a major 15th-century medieval handmade deck commissioned by Ladislaus the Posthumous, king of Hungary and Bohemia and Duke of Austria from 1453 to 1457. It was found among the great collection of art treasures of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tirol in castle Ambras, Austria, together with another called Ambraser Hofjagdspiel. Their heraldic suits represent, to an extent, "the political and dynastic relationships in Central Europe in middle of the 15th century" and are "of a quality unsurpassed at this early date."
WMadiao, also ma diao, ma tiu or ma tiao, is a late imperial Chinese trick-taking gambling card game, also known as the game of paper tiger. The deck used was recorded by Lu Rong in the 15th century and the rules later by Pan Zhiheng and Feng Menglong during the early 17th century. Korean poet Jang Hon (1759-1828) wrote that the game dates back to the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). It continued to be popular during the Qing dynasty until around the mid-19th century. It is played with 40 cards and four players.
WThe Mantegna Tarocchi, also known as the Tarocchi Cards, Tarocchi in the style of Mantegna, Baldini Cards, are two different sets each of fifty 15th-century Italian old master prints in engraving, by two different unknown artists. The sets are known as the E-series Tarocchi Cards and the S-series Tarocchi Cards, and their artists are known as the “Master of the E-series Tarocchi” and the “Master of the S-series Tarocchi”. There are also a number of copies and later versions. Despite their name, they are educational visual aids, showing personifications of social classes or abstractions.
WA playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a finish to make handling easier. They are most commonly used for playing card games, and are also used in magic tricks, cardistry, card throwing, and card houses; cards may also be collected. Some patterns of Tarot playing card are also used for divination, although bespoke cards for this use are more common. Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling, and usually are sold together in a set as a deck of cards or pack of cards.
WThe Stuttgarter Kartenspiel is one of the most valuable collections of the Landesmuseum Württemberg. It is a hunting-themed deck of playing cards painted on gilded pasteboard dating to around 1430. 49 of the original 52 cards survive. The cards are divided into four suits of thirteen ranks. The suits of stag and hound are led by female face cards while the suits of duck and falcon are led by men. The 10 of each suit is represented with a banner like in Swiss playing cards. The backs are uniformly painted with red lead.
WA transformation playing card is a type of playing card where an artist incorporates the pips of the non-face cards into an artistic design. In a classical transformation playing card, the pips retain their standard position and coloration on the card. In some variations, the pips may be different in size, location or color. There is some debate as to whether these cards, often referred to as semi-transformed, should be considered true transformation playing cards.
WTrappola is an early 16th-century Venetian trick-taking card game which spread to most parts of Central Europe and survived, in various forms and under various names like Trapulka, Bulka and Hundertspiel until perhaps the middle of the 20th century. It was played with a special pack of Italian-suited cards and last reported to have been manufactured in Prague in 1944. Piatnik has reprinted their old Trappola deck for collectors.
WTrionfi are 15th-century Italian playing cards with allegorical content related to those used in tarocchi games. The general English expression "trump card" and the German "trumpfen" have developed from the Italian "Trionfi". Most cards feature the personification of a place or abstraction.
WTujeon are the traditional playing cards of Korea used in the latter half of the Joseon dynasty. They are also known as tupae.