If you were to first see this deck of cards, without any introduction, one may be forgiven for thinking they were produced for a children's game- After all, how would you expect any serious game to be played with a deck which consists of pictures of fruit?
However, it is not so. A serious game is indeed played with these cards, and it is Canasta. This becomes more apparent upon examining the deck's structure, and with a knowledge of how it is played.
The subjects of a normal deck, have been replaced in this one with images of plants and animals. If one were to observe the indices of the deck. Firstly, the joker has an image of a copurnica ( D). There are a pair of these cards, in each deck.
Secondly, The 2s and aces are represented by a basket ( canasta in spanish) , and a pineapple.
( B, C) To reflect the black and red suits in a normal deck, Two of the cards have black frames, and two others have red ones.
The red 3s of a normal deck(3♦, 3♥) now bear the image of a squirrel. The black 3s (3♣, 3♠,) bear the image of a hound. There are only 2 of each card. ( A, J)
The 4s, 5s, 6s and 7s have been replaced with images of berries. Like the pineapple and basket, their colour is reflected by that of their frame, along with the colour of the fruit's stems and indices .
If you are somewhat confused, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canasta
Where can I find a deck like this? Where can I buy it?
ReplyDelete