n-Suit Playing Card Decks

May 3, 2008 5:51 PM

Everyone knows hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds. So how do you extend this to more than four suits? Stars are a natural choice, although they sort of ruin the red/black symmetry. You could appeal to gaming history by making a six-suited deck with crowns and anchors. Or you could just double everything and come up with a whole four extra suits.
posted by wanderingmind (31 comments total)

Oops. "Gaming history" link should go here.
posted by wanderingmind at 6:01 PM on May 3, 2008

Or we could do coins, cups, spades, and swords.
posted by The White Hat at 6:01 PM on May 3, 2008

All hail Richard Garfield and his infernal five-suited invention. That is all.
posted by tachikaze at 6:09 PM on May 3, 2008 [1 favorite]

Interesting.

Also, thanks for reminding me I need to play my Daily Set. ARGH.
posted by loquacious at 6:13 PM on May 3, 2008

or you could just throw out 28 cards and play euchre
posted by pyramid termite at 6:17 PM on May 3, 2008 [3 favorites]

I bought a Fat Pack for playing Cripple Mr. Onion. It's a cool deck of cards.
posted by adamdschneider at 6:31 PM on May 3, 2008

?:traditional playing cards::Go:Chess
posted by DU at 6:51 PM on May 3, 2008

DU: Magic the Gathering?

j/k
posted by wobh at 7:14 PM on May 3, 2008

Awesome. Where do I get the 11, 12 and 13 cards so I can play twelve handed 500?
posted by zamboni at 7:59 PM on May 3, 2008

Robots, Monkeys, Pirates, Ninjas

Ace of Robots totally beats Ace of Spades.
posted by SPrintF at 8:32 PM on May 3, 2008 [3 favorites]

What the White Hat said. Although clearly SPrintF has enunciated the canonical suits of teh intarweb.
posted by mwhybark at 9:21 PM on May 3, 2008

Hippogriffs, the Green Suit:

The sometime humorous name of a mythical suit. It was mainly used in a rather celebrated anecdote about a man who dreamed that he held a perfect No Trump hand with 13 certain winners against a stranger, who happened to be the Devil. The Devil was on lead and proceeded to run a 13-trick set against the declarer by cashing all the cards of a weird green suit called hippogriffs.

posted by Class Goat at 9:52 PM on May 3, 2008

Aren't spades and swords the same thing? Where's wands?
posted by cookie-k at 10:15 PM on May 3, 2008

Excellent post. Other than the enhancements to the traditional family and social games, the expanded possibilities for magicians must be innumerable, I'd wager.

For those who would simply like a four-suit deck but more sumptuously and intriguingly illustrated than most, key to the kingdom ranks high up there.
posted by batmonkey at 10:30 PM on May 3, 2008

Oh, puhleeze. Bears, monkeys, pirates, ninjas.
posted by flabdablet at 10:38 PM on May 3, 2008

Why not one for each symbol from Hūsker Dū?
posted by weston at 10:53 PM on May 3, 2008

Oh FFS.

It's Norrises, monkeys, pirates, ninjas.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:19 PM on May 3, 2008

... and let's not forget Double Fanucci, (ostensibly) played with fifteen suits: Mazes, Books, Rain, Bugs, Fromps, Inkblots, Scythes, Plungers, Faces, Time, Lamps, Hives, Ears, Zurfs, and Tops.

(Not to mention Andrew Plotkin's Uncarrot Tarot, suited with Pencils, Floppy Disks, Hammers and Silly Hats.)
posted by aparrish at 11:53 PM on May 3, 2008 [1 favorite]

How could I have forgotten Double Fanucci?
posted by wanderingmind at 12:46 AM on May 4, 2008

Wrong, wrong, wrong, Bangle Boy!

There is only one Norris, and He is the Ace of Ninjas!

Bears, monkeys, pirates, ninjas!
posted by flabdablet at 1:39 AM on May 4, 2008

Yeah, no. Norris kicks a lot of ninja ass.. he wouldn't be associated with them. All that skulking around? Fuckoff. Norris walks in and does what he pleases, and doesn't give a good goddamn about who sees. Ninja shit is for pansies.*


Speaking as an official pansy, I would know.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 2:01 AM on May 4, 2008

he wouldn't be associated with them

Sure, that's what he wants you to think.
posted by flabdablet at 2:38 AM on May 4, 2008

What about Eichel, Schellen, Herz and Grün? No love for the German deck?
posted by PontifexPrimus at 2:48 AM on May 4, 2008

Lions, Tigers, Bears and Oh Mies.
posted by DU at 3:41 AM on May 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

There was a deck published once with eagles as well, at least according to James Blish
posted by Aversion Therapy at 6:10 AM on May 4, 2008

Woo, just purchased a Six Handed 500 deck. Thanks for the heads up, zamboni, I'd never heard of it. I do loves me some cards.
posted by adamdschneider at 7:07 AM on May 4, 2008

I like Monopoly.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:01 AM on May 4, 2008

Hearts, diamonds, spades, clubs, shoes, cars, dogs, cannon, hats, boats, horses, thimbles, irons, wheelbarrows, moneybags, trains!

That's sixteen suits, so we'll clearly need eight jokers: trad, bear, monkey, pirate, ninja, Chuck Norris, robot and hippogriff.
posted by flabdablet at 9:25 PM on May 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

On second thought, scratch the hippogriff. Harry Potter has ruined that for all of us. The last joker will have to be a zombie.
posted by flabdablet at 9:38 PM on May 4, 2008

In high school we designed a rather crass deck with the suits Pussies, Arses, Cocks and Fingers. We made an equally crass poker variation to go along with it, which was pretty much just dealing five, discarding two, drawing two then trying to come up with the best name for your 'hand'.

"Umm...Ace of Cock, Two of Pussies - Threesome."
"Duuuude, I've got Double Fisties - the Ten of Fingers and the Two of Arses."

Good times.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:43 AM on May 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

Someone needs to make this robot/pirate/monkey/ninja deck. NEEDS TO.
posted by JHarris at 10:52 AM on May 5, 2008