Card Games by Deck

Although the average US card player rarely sees a deck that isn’t 52 cards, the rest of the world displays a little more variety. Popular games exist that use anywhere from 20 cards to more than 100!

Based on the indispensable card games site Pagat.com [Note], this brief survey classifies card games by the type of deck used in play. The left column specifies the number of cards in the entire deck and the specific makeup of each suit, as well as any additional cards. The name of each game in the right column links to rules when available and is followed by the preferred number of players.

I use the abbreviations K, Q, J to refer to the three court cards of non-tarot decks, even though they may not be called kings, queens, and jacks. German decks, for example, have a king, an upper jack, and a lower jack; Latin decks have a king, a cavalier, and a page. (Tarot decks include the additional abbreviation C, for cavalier.)

Listing of Card Games by Type of Deck Used
Deck	Game
20 Cards A K Q J T in 4 suits	Schnapsen [2]
24 Cards A K Q J T 9 in 4 suits	Тысяча (1000) [3] Euchre [4]
28 Cards K Q J T 9 8 7 in 4 suits	Ging [4]
32 Cards A K Q J T 9 8 7 in 4 suits	Piquet [2] Belote [2–4] Skat [3] Ulti [3] Preference [3] Mariáš [3–4] Klaverjas [4]
33 Cards A K Q J T 9 8 7 in 4 suits, + ♥6	Pandoeren [4]
36 Cards A K Q J T 9 8 7 6 in 4 suits	99 [2–5] Дурак (Fool) [2–6] Mittlere/Molotow Jass [3–4] Schieber Jass [4] Differenzler Jass [4]
40 Cards A K Q J 7 6 5 4 3 2 in 4 suits	Scopa [2,4] Cuarenta [2,4] Tressette [2–5] Truco [2,4,6] Briscola [2–6] L’Hombre [3] Mus [4] Sueca [4]
40 Cards K Q J T 7 6 5 4 3 2 in 4 suits	Kaiserspiel [4,6]
40 Cards K Q C J T in the 2 black suits A K Q C J in the 2 red suits + 20 trumps	Zwanzigerrufen [4–5]
42 Cards K Q C J T in the 2 black suits A K Q C J in the 2 red suits + 22 trumps	Hungarian Tarokk [4] Illusztrált Tarokk [4]
48 Cards A K Q J T 9 in 2 sets of 4 suits	Doppelkopf [4] Pinochle [4]
48 Cards A K Q J 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 in 4 suits	Aluette [4]
48 Cards K Q J T 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 in 4 suits	Karnöffel [4]
52 Cards A K Q J T 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 in 4 suits	Tennis [2] Rummy [2–4] Casino [2–4] Poker [2 or more] Whiskey [3] Spades [3–4] Hearts [3–5] Bridge [4]
54 Cards K Q C J T 9 8 7 in the 2 black suits A K Q C J 4 3 2 in the 2 red suits + 22 trumps	Cego [3–4] Slovenian Tarok [3–4] Romanian Tarok [3–4] Taroky [4] Königrufen [4–5]
62 Cards A K Q C J T 9 8 7 6 in 4 suits + 21 trumps and the Excuse	Tarocchino (Ottocento) [4]
62 Cards K Q C J T 9 8 7 6 5 in the 2 black suits A K Q C J 6 5 4 3 2 in the 2 red suits + 21 trumps and the Excuse	Troggu [3]
63 Cards K Q C J T 9 8 7 6 5 in 4 suits + 22 trumps, + ♦4	Tarocco Siciliano [3]
64 Cards A K Q J T 9 8 7 in 2 sets of 4 suits	Bezique [2]
66 Cards K Q C J T 9 8 7 6 5 4 in the 2 black suits A K Q C J 7 6 5 4 3 2 in the 2 red suits + 21 trumps and the Excuse	Droggn [3]
78 Cards A K Q C J T 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 in 4 suits, + 21 trumps and the Excuse	Danish Tarok [3–4] French Tarot [3–5] Troccas [3–6]
97 Cards A K Q C J T 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 in 4 suits, + 40 trumps and the Excuse	Minchiate [3–6]
108 Cards A K Q J T 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 in 2 sets of 4 suits, + 4 Jokers	Canasta [2–4]
112 Cards A K Q J 5 4 3 in 4 sets of 4 suits	Cuajo [4]

Note: The site takes its name (pagat) from the lowest numbered trump in Eastern European tarot games. This in turn derives from the Italian name Il Bagatto (Le Bateleur in French, The Magician in English).

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