If you spend some time looking through a deck of cards, youвЂ™ll notice a few peculiar details. They also began to be used for otherВ purposes, like telling fortunes and performing magic tricks. Cards offered an alternative to other popular games at the time,В such as chessВ and dice. The monarchies that ruled Europe had a lot of influence over the production of early playing cards. The royal cards - jacks, queens and kings - were likely developed in Europe. French people who play a game called Tarot use 78 large cards! Germans who play a game called Skat use 32-card decks. For example, people from Switzerland playing a game called Jass use a deck of 36 cards. But they donвЂ™t! Many countries have their own unique sets of cards. That might make you think thatВ decks of cards look the same everywhere you go. These early Islamic cardsВ featured different suits, including cups, swords, coins and polo sticks.Д¬ard games are popular all over the world. They believe playing cards probably came to Italy from the Middle East and spread to the rest of Europe from there. Historians have found references to playing cards in Europe as far back as the 1300s. For example, cards in Germany often have hearts, bells, leaves, and acorns.Д®xperts believe that playing cards were probably first invented in China, since thatвЂ™s where paperВ was invented. However, sometimes decks use different suits. The most common suits are hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs. These cards are repeated in four groups called suits. Jokers were added to playing card decks by Americans just after the Revolutionary War for the game of euchre. Decks of cards also often contain a couple of extra вЂњwildвЂќ cards called jokers. There are also three royal character cards called jacks, queens and kings. Numbered cards go from 2 through 10, with the 1 card called an ace. If youвЂ™ve ever played cards, you know that there are 52 cards in a deck. However, thereвЂ™s one type of game that can be fun for all ages: cards! Have you ever stopped to think about how many different games you can play with the same set of cards? ItвЂ™s amazing! Do you have any favorite games? Do you like to play hopscotch? How about hide-and-seek? When it comes to games, kids and adults donвЂ™t always think alike.

King and queen hearts cards