Product Description

Chambers Card Games includes a wide-ranging selection of almost 100 card games: setting out the rules, explaining how to play and offering strategies and hints. Clear and concise, this new fully-illustrated collection is authoritative yet – as importantly – great fun.

There’s a glossary, a history of card games, advice on card-playing etiquette and information on playing cards on the Internet. Find the card game you’re after with the useful list of alternative names, or use the number of players index to find a game for every occasion. There’s also a unique supplement on cheating: protect yourself from card sharks ... or pick up a tip or two to get ahead on the sly.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3801 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

About the Author
Peter Arnold is an author and editor, most of whose 50 or so books concern sports and games. He has written histories and encyclopedias of boxing, cricket, football and the Olympic Games, and wrote the official FIFA guide to the 1994 Football World Cup in the USA. He has also worked as editor and main contributor of part-works on boxing and football, and has ghost-written instruction books for a West Indian Test fast bowler and a Canadian world snooker champion.

Peter devised some of the mental games for the television series The Crystal Maze. Several of his books are on table games, including some on individual card games, and he has written three books on gambling, one of which was described by a New York author as `the best history of gambling`. Many of his books have been published in the USA and in foreign-language editions.

Customer Reviews

Place your bets
I went into a bookshop to look at a number of manuals on card games before choosing this one. It's much the best I could find. Not only does it list a great variety of games (100 in all), but at the back it indexes them by "Type" (e.g. patience, family, trick-taking, melding, casino, children etc) and by "Number of Players". So if, for example, you're looking for a gambling game for three players, a quick bit of cross-referencing will suggest that Skat is the game for you.

As well as clear, well-illustrated instructions for famous games like Bridge, Bezique, Euchre, Hearts, Whist, Canasta, Rummy (and its spin-offs) and Poker (and all of its variants), there are plenty of unusual games for seasoned, curious players, such as Pope Joan, Schafkopf, Quinto and Calypso.

Best of all is Peter Arnold's writing style. He is clear, but never dry. His introduction, plus chapters on card history, etiquette and cheating make for good reading. Whether you want to refresh your memory on the rules of Snap so you can teach it to a small child, or get a solid grounding in Texas Hold 'Em - this book covers them all.

By the way, I bought it not only for myself, but in an attempt to persuade my two young sons that not all the best games are on a PC. Now they're playing Pontoon, Go Fish, Rummy and a number of other games. Not only are card games more social, but are good for kids' numeracy skills.

I have to add that in my copy I have spotted just one or two typos, but nothing too serious. I thoroughly recommend this book.

Clear and concise guide to card games
This is an excellent book, covering 100 card games with a clear explanation of the rules and showing example hands to illustrate them. It also covers varitions of games (eg; the entry for Poker includes details of Draw, Stud, Texas Hold 'Em, etc). Great for learning new games or to put an end to arguments about the rules. Highly recommended.

A Great Card Book
This is a great book. It has 100 card games - including Patience and Childrens Games. I bought this for the family and we are enjoying learning new card games. The explanations are clearly written and easy to follow. The initial part of the explanation gives the other names for the game and the type of game and number of players needed. This methodical layout makes it easy to choose an appropriate game to learn. The index is also good because you can either look for 'type of game' or for a game for a set number of players. This book will bring hours of family fun if you enjoy cards. I recommend it!