“Los Locos Fotzys,” a 1990 deck from Cromy, in Argentina, requires the player to assemble four cards, which, when placed together, form a picture.  Four characters are featured: a man, a woman, a cat, and a bird; a search for Fotzys led me back to this deck, so they may have been created for it. […]

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“Para Volverse Mono,” from Argentina, features monkeys and bananas.  It was given as a premium with the magazine Genios.  The title might be translated (loosely!) as “Go Ape!” (Posted by Doug Skinner)

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This lovely set of cards from Argentina teaches the uses of common objects.  On the reverse is a question and answer.  The icebox, you will be glad to know, keeps food fresh. (Posted by Doug Skinner)

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“Black Peter” — a sort of Eastern European version of “Old Maid” — reappears in an undated deck from Piatnik, in Vienna.  This delicate rendering of an accordion and cat duet is particularly nice.  For some reason, two Black Peters are included, which seems to belie the point of the game.  Do the players choose […]

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This battered and stained booklet is on sale online for an exorbitant price.  Fortunately, I was able to snag a scan of the cover.  It was published in 1919 by The Quill; Edwards was not yet editor, but apparently had free rein in the guidebook.  I’d like to know more, but will content myself with admiring […]

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“Life’s Game of Artists,” published sometime around 1910 by Parker Brothers, featured cartoons by Life magazine’s roster of illustrators.  This was, of course, the early humorous Life, not the later oversized photo mag.  The cartoons usually depicted courting couples, often with Cupid hovering nearby.  The game itself is a version of Quartet or Authors, in […]

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“The Game of Moneta, or Money Makes Money,” was published in 1888 by F. A. Wright.  Each card shows a coin; the denominations are: 1¢, 2¢, 3¢, 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1 (silver), $1 (gold), $2½, $3, $5, and $10.  We certainly had more elaborate currency back then.  The object of the game is […]

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John G. Saxe takes his rightful place in the canon, in this 1874 edition of “Vignette Authors” from Selchow & Richter.  His colleagues are: Washington Irving, W. C. Bryant, Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, Bayard Taylor, W. M. Thackeray, J. F. Cooper, J. G. Whittier, Wilkie Collins, Revd. H. W. Beecher, J. Russell Lowell, J. G. […]

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“Black Peter” is a popular game in Eastern Europe; here are three other examples.  This one was published by Grafika-Grafoprint, in Zagreb, Croatia, as “Crni Petar.”  In this case, Black Peter is not the traditional African or chimney sweep, associated with Christmas, but a hunter; and the other cards are the hunted.  And here is […]

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There have been other card games that adapt non-card games: baseball or bowling, to name two.  This 1959 offering from Russell, “Tail the Donkey,” reworks the old party favorite.  Players compete to collect a complete donkey — in a specific order, to make it trickier.  No blindfolds or sharp objects are required.  The design on […]

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