I have such found memories of sitting around the card table
at big family gatherings that it’s almost unfathomable to consider that others
from my generation (and earlier) never experienced the same joys. But sure enough, every so often I encounter someone
who has never played any classic, traditional card games. They think “tricks” are pranks played in
college. And you might as well be
speaking Greek when trying to explain them, because terms like trump, ruff, kitty,
stock, marriage, bower, revoke, slough, and “shoot the moon” and “going alone”
all mean something very different to them, if anything at all! Today, it seems like those time-honored card
games are getting rarer and rarer.
So, if you’re looking to re-kindle an old flame and introduce
these oldies-but-goodies to your friends and family, here’s our guide to the
mechanic that comprises the vast majority of traditional card games and how it
has infiltrated the modern hobby.
[*Note: For gamers who are familiar with the hobby, I will not be
discussing climbing games, which are close cousins to trick-taking games and
are often categorized as such for convenience, yet play very differently. This
is why you will not see titles like Tichu, Haggis, or Frank’s Zoo, etc.]