The reviews pages will be an ongoing project, I have a number of cards myself and am usually on the look out for more. However, scanning and preparing them for display takes time and so updates will be as and when I can.
Wherever possible, I have tried to link to stores selling the cards reviewed but in some cases, you may have little choice but to keep an eye open at eBay for those that are out of print or simply not sold outside of their publishing countries.
For shopping at the French eBay (the only place you are likely to find some of these packs) I have included some phrases given to me by a friend who speaks the language. If a seller has not originally intended to sell outside of France, then a properly phrased first contact can only help your cause!
Do keep popping back to see if there are more cards posted - I shall flag new entries on the panel here.
Now scroll down for the links....
It is only right that this is our first link. If you are a card player, then you will already have this bookmarked - if you don’t, then head there right now and do so. This is probably the single most comprehensive resource for card games in-print or on-line in the English language. Hosted by John McLeod, Pagat has been around for a long time now - I discovered it when at university more than ten years ago and spent hours on a library computer browsing the huge number of games presented.
I have said elsewhere that Tarocchino and it’s text Tarocchi contain Anglicised rules with a number of standardized conventions. My goal here has been to provide an introduction to those who might otherwise have overlooked tarot games. However, if you want to read about some of these games in more depth, and with the original language terminology, often with detailed strategy notes and optional/regional rules, then Pagat is your next stop!
The internet has spawned many sites dedicated to promoting games of all kinds but I’m sure that you’ll agree that Pagat is truly a jewel in the crown.
There are few sites dedicated to the real history of tarot, this one is the largest and most comprehensive that I’ve found. The site’s creators have a real passion for the card’s and their history, presenting here a large number of documents and articles, along with an impressive museum of cards that will keep you occupied for many, many hours.
Michael’s Tarot Notebook is another site created by a tarot enthusiast who has a passion for the cards’ history. Again, there is a great deal here for you to read, from book reviews to original essays about the cards’ meanings and origins.
Well, this is not a site that you would expect a card player and dyed in the wool sceptic such as myself to be linking to but really, this is a site worth bookmarking. Firstly, it has an impressive gallery of modern occult and reproduction tarot packs, some of which will be of interest to the card player. Secondly, it has a fairly active history section to it’s forums.
Now, I’ll grant you, much of the forums are occupied with tarot reading and occult matters - if this is not your thing, then at least be polite there, the folk posting are generally very nice, it is their turf and if they are happy to tolerate a sceptic joining up, then a sceptic can at least be a polite guest!
However, the history section is frequented by a handful very knowledgeable folk, some of them responsible for the above sites. There is an impressive body of knowledge here and if you have any questions, you’ll be met with helpful replies.
This one is a fairly new discovery for me but it’s forum is frequented by many of those who you’ll find in the aeclectic forums with the difference that it is dedicated to history. If this is your interest, then it is worth a visit.
It is only right that this is my first store link. PlayingCardSales has been around for a while and has simply the biggest and most comprehensive selection of playing cards on the web. I am glad to say that the site is well indexed and illustrated, making it an easy matter to find what you are looking for. There is an excellent range of reproduction packs, Italian designs but for French suited cards 78 or 54 card varieties, this is your first stop!
For those of you on the other side of the Atlantic, the exchange rate can make this and other European stores a little more expensive but do take a look through the catalogue - there are going to be some cards here that you will simply not be able to get elsewhere.
Having made a number of purchases here, I can vouch for the standard of service which is simply excellent. You will find your cards to be packaged with the upmost care, right down to the inserting of cardboard pieces into boxes where the cards themselves don’t fit flush, so ensuring that the box doesn’t crease.
Another gem, this time based in San Marino. Although the range has a little more emphasis on the occult tarot, there is a wonderful selection of cards here, some are limited editions that you won’t find anywhere else. So, if you are looking for reproduction packs or Italian suited ones, then this is a store you should check out carefully. It is also the only place I know where you can still buy a Minchiate.
As will PlayingCardSales, the standard of service is excellent, also with great care taken to ensure that your cards arrive in perfect condition. Highly recommended!
Postal charges from Europe to the US can be prohibitive, not to mention the exchange rate! However, this is the first of two web-stores that I’ve found for US customers. There is an impressive range of French suited cards in this store, with a clear emphasis on the 54 card packs.
Another US store and another good - and different - selection! You’ll find a range of French suited packs with an emphasis on the 78 card packs - and some very nice ones at that.
This is also the only one of the two stores that stocks all three of the regional Italian packs: the Piedmontese, the Bolognese (the Tarocchino), and the Sicilian. All three are the Modiano packs which I must confess a preference for, their finish seems to make them a little more durable in my opinion. I also like their big green boxes - but that’s just me.
New Reviews
Under the French Suits I’ve added the Tarot des Fleurs and the Piatnik 54 card Tarock.
Under the Italian suits you can also find the Swiss 1JJ - now available in the US with the original French titles.
Updated 8th July 2008
The Game Of Tarot by Michael Dummett (Duckworth 1980)
This book is now highly sought after and can fetch high prices. The lowest prices you’ll see are around £80-£100, while at the high end it can be offered for anything between £400-£600. Your best chance of reading this then, is to enquire at your local library - but if you ever do see a copy at an affordable price, don’t hesitate!
There is an impressive scope to this book and it was the first to bring tarot’s real history to general attention. Three entwined histories are covered here, there is the history of the cards from their beginnings as a game, the history of the games themselves, along with detailed rules showing their development over time, and finally, in the smallest part, there is the history of the occult tarot.
The Penguin Encyclopedia of Card Games by David Parlett (Penguin 2000)
No other card game compendium comes close to this one and it is almost a crime that it has been allowed to go out of print. You can usually pick up a second hand copy for about £5 - though you can see it for silly prices (there is one seller on Amazon offering a copy for £98!).
Basically, every household should have a book of card games and your’s should be this one. Not only is it the most comprehensive example, but David Parlett is an excellent writer, describing games clearly and concisely while always engaging your interest - reading the book, you will want to try them all out!
Rule Booklets:
I know of two attempts to introduce tarot games to the UK, both from the 1970s. The first was by Waddingtons, selling a standard facing 78 card French suited pack with an English translation of the FFT rules for the French game. Oddly, they tried to market it as Tarock - I assume they wanted to distance the game from occult associations.
The second attempt was a little boxed set from Piatnik titled Original Tarock. The box (about 13.5x19.5cm) contains four plastic trays for stakes, a 54 card pack and a little rule book detailing the Austrian games: Scarecrow (or Straw man Tarock), Tappen, Konigrufen, Zwanzigerrufen, and Point Tarock.
