hist-games: Baraja Espanola

[Jane & Mark Waks]

Huette von Ahrens wrote:
 > It is an
> interesting
> deck that seems to be a mix of a standard playing deck
> and a
> tarot deck.  The suits are gold coins, swords, cups
> and clubs
> [i.e. like a large wooden club, not the clover club]. 
> Each suit
> consists of number cards from 1 through 9 and three
> face cards
> of a knave, a cavalier, and a king.  The total of
> cards is 48.
> There are also two cards which I would call "jokers",
> although
> they don't have a joker on them, just a logo.

I don't know this game offhand (I'll consult my books and see if 
anything turns up), but note that it's perfectly routine to have variant 
suits like this, especially in other countries. The coin/cup/sword/stick 
motif is quite common in the Latin countries, not just for Tarot decks...

				-- Justin