Games
Hearts, acorns or cups: the playing cards you meet in different countries
Ask for a deck of cards in Bavaria, Seville or Naples and you may be handed something you do not recognise.
The deck with spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs is so common that it is easy to forget it is only one of several. Many traditional games in Europe are still played with regional decks.
French suits
Spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. This is the international standard, used for Poker, Bridge and Rummy. The full deck has 52 cards. Durak uses the same suits with a 36-card deck, six to ace, which is also the standard short deck sold in Russia.
German suits
Acorns, leaves, hearts and bells. German-suited decks are common in Bavaria and Austria and parts of eastern and central Europe, and are used for games such as Schafkopf. Decks are usually 32 or 36 cards, and there are no queens: the face cards are the king and two knaves, the Ober and the Unter.
Swiss suits
Roses, bells, acorns and shields. These are used in German-speaking Switzerland, especially for Jass, the most popular card game in the country. Western Switzerland mostly uses French suits.
Italian and Spanish suits
Coins, cups, swords and clubs (or batons). Italian decks usually have 40 cards and are used for games such as Scopa and Briscola. Spanish decks have 40 or 48 cards and are used for Mus and Brisca. The face cards are a king, a knight and a jack, again with no queen.
Reading an unfamiliar deck
Count the cards first and check which ranks are missing. Most regional games are easy to pick up once you know that the knight, or the Ober, sits where you expect a queen.