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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The Depository » » Question about French playing cards (0 Likes) Printer Friendly Version

Absinthiste
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Interzone Inc, Texas
94 Posts

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Curious. Are decks of cards any different in France than they are in the U.S.? Which decks are the most popular over there?
Payne
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Inner circle
Seattle
4571 Posts

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Since the "standard" suits we use here in the States are the French or Rouen suits there is no great differencee between English and French suited packs. Decks with four indices might be more prevelant in France. And some decks may still bear the names given to them in the French Revolution. But their size suit system and layout are the same as ours.
"America's Foremost Satirical Magician" -- Jeff McBride.
Absinthiste
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Interzone Inc, Texas
94 Posts

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I wasn't sure if they had more court cards. Thanks for answering.
Are there any French books equivalent to "Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards"? I'm really interested in studying their designs. Also, would you happen to know if the Bicycle brand is currently as popular overseas as in the U.S.?
DelMagic
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From my experience, among magicians and deck collectors, Bicycle decks are popular overseas, but with the general public in those countries that doesn't appear to be true. There aren't many outlets that have them and the price is usually signficantly higher than we pay in the U.S. (and Canada) which makes them less appealing to the average person looking for decks.
griffindance
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Spain and Germany have different decks that the general public use.
For example a popular game in Germany is Skat. It is played with A,K,Q,B (Jack), but without half the numbered cards.
The designs are also a bit more primitive.
Jiceh
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France
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In France we use most of the time a 32 cards deck (there is no 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6).
The 52 cards deck is very well know too but it's not as usaul as the 32 cards deck.
Obviously the design of the card is a little different.
The quality is not as good as american cards...
Dr. Van Van Mojo
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There's a lot of interesting history, pictures, etc. at http://www.whiteknucklecards.com/ including information on French cards.

You'll find some information about France in this documentary "Decoding The Past - Secrets of the Playing Card". It's pretty interesting, I need to watch it again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ6uhCIaKQA
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