Discover the World of Card Games below
List of Card Games World Wide
This is a list of card games per country. If you want to know more, you can click on the countries to find out more about the games from these nations.
- American Card Games
- Chinese Card Games – The earliest country to have playing cards, these games have a focus on competitive gambling aspects, being the preferred side activity for alcoholic drinking since ancient times.
- Thai Card Games
- Vietnamese Card Games
A Brief History
The world of international card games is a vast one, with a history stretching past upwards of 500 years. The first ever set of playing cards on earth was found in China, tracing back to the early Tang dynasty. The idea for modern gameplay styles were then developed in the Ming Dynasty of the 14th century. Through natural spread, this spread to nearby Arabia and Egypt, and through colonization, Europe was introduced to the art of playing cards.
Each country brought forth multiple different innovations to the standard formula. One of the most significant was the now standard 4-suit system, which appeared in traditional Spanish and French decks. Some concepts have even survived the test of time, such as face cards and numbers. It’s no surprise that playing cards are now common in households, with the modern standard of the Anglo-American 52-card deck becoming the modern standard since its introduction in the mid-1900s.
While the 52-card deck is larger than traditional decks used in the past, it has the advantage of allowing play of the otherwise obsolete games using old decks, simply by removing certain cards to adapt to the size. The popular Spanish deck is a classic deck that is still used today, yet the similarities with the modern Anglo-American deck also means that you can adapt decks to work with this without issue.
The fact that card games are still played to this day is a testament to their endearment. The diversity across countries are also indicative of the adaptability of the concepts. Below, we have provided a list of countries that we cover in detail, followed with a quick introduction to the games. Should you desire more detailed explanations, we include full guides for each country as well.
Think you have more to add? You can help enhance our interactive map and guides by suggesting games from your country, and you can even submit games that we’ll add to our guides on card games around the world.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the major difference of card games in each country?
Each country differs in their preferred play-style. Certain countries may favor the more fast-paced games, and others might prefer the slow-paced thinking games where mistakes are punished with eventual losses.
What are the easiest card games to learn, and from which country?
Slapjack, while seemingly American, actually takes inspiration from Egyptian Ratscrew and its slapping variant. This is an excellent introduction to the world of card games for kids, and it is still extremely fun for adults.
