Cards and Dice Questions

[Captain Bob]

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that I'm a seaman in 1700. I'm looking to start a game of chance and I've got a deck of cards and dice.

1. What are my cards made from?
   
2. What do they look like?
   
3. What games would I play with them and how were they played?
   
4. Ditto for the dice.
   

TIA

[Black Rinalda Kidd]

Ah, I mae not knoo as much as some, but as games o' tha' time be somethin' o' a passin' interest o' mine, I might be able ta gie ye a bit o' a bit or two on it.

Cards be an expensive thing for an ordin'ry mortal, though not as much as they hae been i' cent'ries past, an' they dinna hae th' numbers an' pips in th' corners as they do noo. They be a simple paper, but a bit thick-like, and like as not, they be well worn, dog-earred a bit, and suchlike. Ye can find somthin' tha' may suit yer fancy o' about the right period i' such a place as Smoke an' Fire Traders for only a wee bit o' coin.

I'm not as knooin' on the matters of card games offhand, mind. I'll hae ta dig oot me books and do a bit of scratchin' for ye, but the dice I can help ye with a bit more.

By tha' time, dice could be made o' many a stuff, such as bone, pewter, wood, e'en brass. They'd ta'en on the form we knoo today by tha' time, an' sometimes were e'en made by hand by the folk wi' less of the bright an' shiny to line their pockets. One game ye might play is In an' Inn. It be takin' three dice, and ye be castin' 'em together, once ye made your presence knoon ta th' kitty. A pair o' any number got ye "in" an' th' rest o' yer mates would make their rolls as well. A' ye what still be "in" made another bet. Ye keep gooin' 'roond, placing' more each time, until there be only one o' ye left to claim th' pot. Any o' ye what rolled a three o' a kind, at any time, though, were "in an' inn." Th' rest o' yer mates would hae ta roll a higher three o' a kind to stay i' th' game. I've pla'ed awa' a right nasty storm ashore o' an evenin' wi' tha' one.

Another be Hazard, what were a precursor ta what be knoon as "Craps" noo, an' were in play for a verra long time afore it changed. This game be takin' two dice. A' the players place various size bets, an' the caster be declarin' which o' them he fancies tryin' his luck again' and matches th' bet wi' his oon coin. If he roll anythin' between 5 an' 9, he's reached his "Main Point." If nae, he rolls again 'til he does. Then, he rolls for his "Chance Point" between 4 and 10. If when th' caster's rollin' for either Main or Chance Point, should he be rollin' a 2 or 3, both he and his fader (th' mate who's bet he took) be scuttled an' lost th' pot, an' it's on to the next poor lobster ta try an' win th' existing pot, as well as tha' which be added a' tha' point as play passes. If th' caster rolls his Main Point again, th' fader wins on th' spot. Otherwise, if the Main Point be 6 or 7, it be takin' a 12 for the caster ta win, if the Main Point is 7, it takes an 11. Rollin' the Chance Point makes th' caster a winner as well. But, if the Main is 5, 7, or 9, a 2 or a 3 loses it for the caster, as well as an 11 losin' it for th' caster if th' Main Point be a 5, 6, 8, or 9. If th' caster loses, he passes his dice on to either th' mate whose bet he took, or th' next to th' left.

Shut th' Box be another dice game played, an' is knoon as one popular for shipboard play. But, th' rules were a bit different, i' those days. Th' board only went to 9, ne'er 12, an' ye could only "shut" either th' total o' th' two dice, or th' exact numbers on their faces. Otherwise, it be th' same game as t'day.

I knoo there be others, but th' book what's got me dice games in be on loan ta a scallywag across toon, an' I'm nae rememberin' clear which ones still be in play by then. Hope ye might glean a bit of fun fra' it, thoo, an' I be more 'n' glad ta gie ye any addition'l pointers as ye might like.

[julius27]

Here be a set o' playin' cards should reflect the time right. After tarot left favor (probly 1100 er so), cards like this were common 'til almost the mid twentieth.

[julius27]

(Smak ta the 'ead), I fergot ta put the link in there. Sorry, mate.

http://www.aurorahistoryboutique.com/ahb_h...OfficeGifts.cfm

[Capn_Enigma]

Here be a set o' playin' cards should reflect the time right. After tarot left favor (probly 1100 er so), cards like this were common 'til almost the mid twentieth.

Those are post 1830 Faro cards. They are too modern.

This would be the correct design: