When There were Playing Cards and Card Games

The exact date for the creation of the first deck of playing cards is not established. Researchers agree that they appeared in East Asia, where they learned to make paper before others. Paper cards with drawings used for the Games in ancient China as early as the 9th century, in the 12th century playing cards are already mentioned in one of the first Chinese dictionaries.

But even before the advent of the paper deck, people played similar games using thin bone or wooden plates of rectangular or round shape, as well as shells with drawings on them. The images on the maps depended on the country in which they were created, but most often depicted historical figures or attributes of fortune-telling rituals. In some games, the tarot card was used. Traditionally, one side of the cards in the deck is the same and is called "shirt", the second side has different images, icons or numbers.

Gradually travelers brought card games to other countries, in Europe maps appeared around the beginning of the Middle Ages. It is believed that the cards came to Europe via India, Persia and Egypt. Since Islam imposes a ban on people's images, only the geometric drawings - arabesques - were depicted on maps created in Islamic countries. Despite the fact that Islam prohibits gambling, and for playing cards strictly punished not only in the Arab countries but also in Russia, people continued to play. They also played in medieval Europe, despite the fact that the church did not approve of it. Only in the Renaissance and later in the 16-17 centuries the maps became more legal. The spread of the cards was facilitated by the fascination of the aristocracy with gambling and protracted wars. The soldiers in the intervals between the fights had nothing to do, and they spent time playing cards and dice.

In Russia, the cards have become more common since the time of Peter the Great, who treated them more loyal than the previous kings, although he was not keen on maps. Then the cards were made on several manufactories of bad paper and to improve the slip they were rubbed with talc. Such cards were called "satiny" and were quite expensive.

Over time, maps became cheaper, more affordable. The rules of card games changed and improved, gradually formed the known to us options: poker, bridge, blackjack, baccarat and other games, which are played both at home and in the casino. Playing cards take with them on a long trip, on a camping trip or just play in the company at home parties, card tournaments are collected by thousands of participants. And the advent of card games in the electronic version even more contributed to the spread of card games.