Spanish playing cards (10-12). Since the mid-20th century, they have usually been sold with two "comodines" (Jokers), for a total of 50 cards. Stripped decks have 40 cards and lack ranks 8, 9 and "comodines". The popularity of the stripped deck is due to game of Ombre, which became a craze throughout Europe during the 17th century. The Spanish suits closely resemble Italian-suited cards as both were derived from the Arab cards. The four suits are "bastos" (clubs), "oros" (literally "golds", that is, golden coins), "copas" (cups) and "espadas" (swords). Unlike the suits found in northern Italy, Spanish swords are straight and the
A Gamut of Games Abbott expanded his game Crossings, published here, into the more-refined title Epaminondas. Many of the games covered in the book were creations of Sid Sackson himself, who was a prolific game designer. The sections of the book and the games covered therein are as follows: "All of the games in this section use a standard pack of cards." "All of the games in this section use a checkerboard." "All of the games in this section are meant to be played with pencil and paper." A second edition of the book was published in 1982; Dover Publications released an unabridged reprint,