Five-Suit Spades: The Origin

Origins in Africa Many ancient card games have origins in Africa. Suites consisted of Bowls, Treasures, Coins, Swords, or Stakes, while others used Catheters and Stools. Early Europeans were also the first to use symbols from other people, with six being the norm instead of the usual four. This tradition is still being followed by many African cultures that use different pictographs for identification.

Egypt is another source. Many of the earliest Egyptian cards were made out of precious metals. These were often carved to resemble animals. Egypt, like many other primitive card games, evolved into the game that we know today. While it is unlikely that Egyptians ever played solitaire again, it is possible that they played a variant on a matching game using sets matching playing cards.

European Settlements In Europe, card games developed as a result of voyages from Central and Western Africa. These early players would select three cards, each representing one of the four places they traveled to. Each player would then utilize the same suit from these suits to try to form pairs representing the towns or cities they passed through. Although most of these games featured hearts, some may have included spades, clubs, diamonds, and spades. The suit, known as "ces", has been popular throughout the years.

Other Origins. We do not know the origin of the game we recognize today. Although many of the same principles were present, there were many different types of materials used. They were still round and could be either made of cardboard with raised edges or pea-shaped bowls with removable domes. The first playing cards were made from wood from trees that had been brought down from Asia and Africa. The materials used in these early sets were often very coarse and hard.

Development Through the centuries, playing cards became more refined and were used for various purposes. They began as simple cards made from wood. Sometimes, they were given an elegant look by adding a layer of worn ivory. In order to prevent dirt from staining the playing cards, they were wrapped in cloth or felt. During the Renaissance, a new process was used that left the card playing cards clean and dry. This new process was called distillation. It was used to remove oils from the cards' surface.

Arabian Nights The Arabians, who were the earliest people to write and create card games, did not invent the game we know today. The Arabs did however create an interesting variation of the game that we now know. Their version was much like the early decks of playing cards that had only one deck. One player served as King, and the rest, called "jahans", his subjects. Two jahans were paired opposite one another in this variation. They tried to steal the King’s Kingdom by either winning the highest score or serving the longest consecutive period of time.

History of Five-Suit Spades Early prototypes of five-suit Spades did not have any resemblance to the modern version we know today. Early prototypes had four suits, but it was difficult to tell which one was which. The idea was that players would attempt to identify the King using the cards they held. It was necessary to distinguish the King from the subjects using the Ace of Spades. This was used to identify which suit the owner was.

Development of Ace of Spades The Ace of Spades would eventually change into the standard card playing shape we know today. The Ace of Clubs, or Ace of Horseshoes was the original card-playing shape. Early prototypes of the five card game featured clubs and hearts in the same color. This was later changed into the more familiar royal or red playing cards.