French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. In a standard 52-card deck these are the (knave or jack), the (lady or queen), and the (king). In addition, in Tarot packs, there is a (knight) ranking between the queen and the jack. Aside from these aspects, decks can include a wide variety of regional and national patterns, which often have different deck sizes. In comparison to Spanish, Italian, German, and Swiss playing cards, French cards are the most widespread due to the geopolitical, commercial, and cultural influence of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. Other reasons for their popularity were the simplicity of the suit insignia, which simplifies mass production, and the popularity of whist and contract bridge. The Anglo-Saxon pattern of French-suited cards is so widespread that it is also known as the International or Anglo-American pattern.
History Playing cards arrived in Europe from Mamluk Egypt around 1370 and were already reported in France in 1377. The French suit insignia was derived from German suits around 1480. Between the transition from the suit of bells to tiles there was a suit of crescents.
One of the most distinguishing features of the French cards is the queen. Mamluk cards and their derivatives, the Latin-suited and German-suited cards, all have three male face cards. Queens began appearing in Italian tarot decks in the mid-15th century and some German decks replaced two kings with queens. While other decks abandoned the queen in non-tarot decks, the French kept them and dropped the knight as the middle face card. Face card design was heavily influenced by Spanish cards that used to circulate in France. One of the most obvious traits inherited from Spain are the standing kings; kings from Italian, Portuguese, or Germanic cards are seated. Spanish-suited cards are still used in France, mostly in Northern Catalonia, and Brittany and the Vendée with the latter two using the archaic Aluette cards.
In the 19th century, corner indices and rounded corners were added and cards became reversible, relieving players from having to flip face cards right-side up. The index for aces and face cards usually follow the local language but most decks of the Paris pattern use the numeral "1" for aces. SuitHeartsDiamondsClubsSpadesGermanHearts(Herzen)Bells(Glocken)Acorns(Eicheln)Leaves(Blätter)FrenchHearts(Cœurs)Tiles(Carreaux)Clover(Trèfles)Pikes(Piques)SpanishCups(Copas)Coins(Oros)Batons(Bastos)Swords(Espadas)
+Rank/IndexEnglishFrenchGermanPolishDanishDutchIcelandicSwedishLatvian RussianAlbanianAceA1AAA or EsAAE1ТAKingKRKKKHKKKКDQueenQDDDDVDDDДÇJackJVBWB or KnBGKnSВF
Current standard patterns The French suited pack has spawned many regional variations known as standard patterns based on their artwork and deck size. The Paris pattern was heavily exported throughout continental Europe which is why most French-suited patterns share a similar appearance. The English pattern, based on the extinct Rouennais pattern, is the most well known pattern in the world. It is also called the International or Anglo-American pattern.
Patterns do not factor in Jokers, which came about in the early 20th century. Almost all 52-card packs produced in the present will contain at least two jokers, sometimes more. In Germany, packs produced for the game of Zwicker have six jokers.
Paris pattern
The Paris pattern came to dominate in France around 1780 and became known as the . From the 19th century to 1945, the appearance of the cards used for domestic consumption was regulated by the French government. All cards were produced on watermarked paper made by the state to show payment of the stamp tax.Belgian-Genoese pattern at the International Playing-Card Society. Retrieved 5 February 2016. The most common deck sold in France is the 32-card deck with the 2 to 6 removed and 1s as the index for aces. 52-card packs are also popular. The French have a unique habit of associating their face cards with historical or mythical personages which survives only in the portrait officiel. +Rank/SuitSpadesHeartsDiamondsClubsKingDavidCharlemagneJulius CaesarAlexander the GreatQueenPallas AthenaJudithRachelArgineJackHogierÉtienne de VignollesHector of the FensLancelot du Lac
Belgian-Genoese pattern
The Belgian-Genoese pattern is very similar to its Parisian parent and is basically an export version not subject to France's domestic stamp tax.Belgian-Genoese pattern at the International Playing-Card Society. Retrieved 5 February 2016.Pollett, Andrea. Belgian and Genoese cards at Andy's Playing Cards. Retrieved 5 February 2016. Hence they lack the usual French court card names such as Alexander, Judith and Lancelot. Other differences from the portrait officiel are that: the jack of clubs has a triangular shield bearing the coat of arms of the former Spanish Netherlands (this is the main distinguishing feature); blue is usually replaced with green in the portraits and the diagonal dividing line lacks the beads. When the Ottoman Empire relaxed the ban against playing cards, Belgian type cards flooded their territory and are now found throughout the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East. They are also commonly found in France's former colonies. Within Belgium, the Francophone Walloons are the primary users of this pattern, while the Flemish prefer the Dutch pattern. This is the second most common pattern in the world after the English pattern. Belgian packs come in either 32 or 52 cards as they do in France. It was named the Belgian-Genoese pattern because of its popularity in both places and is the national pattern of Belgium.Pattern Sheet 80 at i-p-c-s.org. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
Genoese type cards are identical to Belgian ones and often lack corner indices. They come in 36 (lacking 2s to 5s), 40 (lacking 8s to 10s) or 52-card packs.
Piedmontese pattern The Piedmontese pattern is similar to the Genoese packs but its face cards have a horizontal instead of diagonal dividing line and the aces are found in a decorative garland.The Piemont Pattern at Alta Carta. Retrieved 18 February 2016.Wintle, Simon. Piedmont Type at the World of Playing Cards. Retrieved 20 January 2018. They also come in the same number of cards as Genoese ones. The Piedmontese pattern was once used in neighboring Savoy as both were previously united until France annexed the latter in 1860. A 78-card tarot version of the Piedmontese pattern, complete with knights, the fool, a suit of trumps depicting flowers, and corner indices, was printed in 1902 for Savoyard players. It was discontinued some time after 1910 but reproductions have been in print since 1984. The Chambéry rules that come with the deck are similar to Piedmontese tarot games but the ace ranked between the jack and the 10 like in Triomphe."Tarot Francais des Fleurs" at the World Web Playing Card Museum. Retrieved 20 January 2018. Another playing card deck named after Piedmont is the Italian-suited Tarocco Piemontese, used in Tarot card games.
Bavarian derivatives A Parisian variant appeared in Bavaria in the mid-18th century where the king of diamonds wore a turban. This originates from the German-suited Old Bavarian pattern. The king of spades, who represents David in the older decks, does not hold a harp. This group is closely associated with animal tarots.
Russian pattern
The Russian pattern created during the early 19th-century is based on a Baltic version of a Bavarian derivative.Wintle, Adam. Russian Standard Playing Cards at World of Playing Cards. Retrieved 5 February 2016.Russian Pattern at Alta Carta. Retrieved 5 February 2016. The current appearance was finalized by Adolf Charlemagne. It usually contains 52 or 36 cards, the latter lacking ranks 2 to 5. The stripped deck is used to play Durak.McLeod, John. Card Games in Russia at pagat.com. Retrieved 5 February 2016. They can be found in many countries that were once part of the Russian Empire or Soviet Union.
Adler Cego
Adler-Cego is the last remaining animal tarot and is used in Germany's Black Forest to play Cego. The courts are based on a Frankfurt version of a Bavarian derivative. It is sold with 54 cards; the 5 to 10 of the red suits and the 1 to 6 of the black suits are removed. Real and fictional animals are displayed on the trump suit. Trumps have a pink panel in each end with an Arabic numeral to show its rank.
Industrie und Glück
The Industrie und Glück ("Diligence and Fortune") tarock deck of Central Europe uses Roman numerals for the trumps. It is organized in the same manner as the Adler-Cego decks. Its trumps feature a newer pattern of more mundane scenes, such as depictions of rural life, than the traditional allegorical motifs found in Italian tarocchi decks.Austrian Tarock Type C at the International Playing-Card Society. Retrieved 20 February 2016. The turban wearing king is now in the suit of spades.
Hamburg pattern and derivatives French-suited cards are popular in Central Europe and compete very well against local German-suited playing cards. Hamburg was once a major card-producing hub where makers began revising the Paris pattern to create the Hamburg pattern. Early examples were made by Suhr (1814–28) in Hamburg itself, while other manufacturers of the pattern were based elsewhere in the German Empire, in Austria, Belgium, France, Sweden and Switzerland. The Hamburg cards generated a family of similar patterns, all of which have the King of Spades holding David's harp, with the other hand holding a sceptre.Pattern Sheet 58 at i-p-c-s.org. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
The North-German pattern was created in Stralsund from a Hamburg derivative. It is familiarly known as the Berlin pattern, although this name arose from a misunderstanding about the origin of the cards which were formerly labelled as Berliner Spielkarten based on a finishing process used by that company.North-German pattern at the International Playing-Card Society. Retrieved 10 September 2016. The crownless queens' hairstyles reflect the Biedermeier fashions of the day.Wintle, Simon. North German pattern. Retrieved 5 January 2016. They are usually in decks of 32 cards with the twos to sixes missing since skat, Germany's most popular card game, does not require a full deck.Berlin pattern at Alta Carta. Retrieved 5 February 2016. Decks of 36 cards (with the sixes) are for jass and tapp, a game played in Baden-Württemberg. Decks of 52 cards usually include three jokers but Zwickern decks have six jokers.
The French-Swiss pattern shares the same descent from the North-German pattern's Hamburg parent but their most distinguishing characteristic is that instead of having corner indices, white Arabic numerals are found within the pips closest to the corner.French-Swiss pattern at the International Playing-Card Society. Retrieved 15 February 2016.Pollett, Andrea. Switzerland: French-suited patterns at Andy's Playing Cards (archived). Retrieved 15 February 2016.Französischschweizer Spielkarten (German) at kartenhaus. Retrieved 15 February 2016. French-Swiss cards come only in decks of 36 with no ranks from two to five.