Estate Playing Cards

Estate Playing Cards with five suits were designed by Keith Wilson as an augmented and modified deck of cards reflecting the modern world. The traditional royal courts (jack, queen and king) are replaced by a contemporary man and woman, called family cards. Each suit runs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Man, Woman, Ace. The suits, referred to as “Estates”, are hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades and waves which represent Church, Corporation, Community, Military and the Media. The resultant pack has 60 cards + 2 extra “Imperial” cards, the Pope and the President, which replace the joker.

The fifth Estate, called Waves, represents signals put out by various media. The symbol is a graphic of a transmission wave. Most existing card games can be played with an estate deck. Some remain virtually unchanged while others require modifications. The family cards generally hold a value of ten, although in certain games Man may be eleven and Woman twelve. Aces are high or low usually with values of 11 or 1 respectively. In games such as 500 and Poker, estates from highest to lowest are Waves, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades. In Bridge the estate order is Spades, Hearts, Waves, Diamonds, Clubs.

Above: Estate Playing Cards published by Vasey Corporation Pty Ltd Queensland Australia, 2006. Cards printed in India by The Ace Card Company [www.playingcardsindia.com].

REFERENCES

Estate Playing Cards website►

By Simon Wintle

Member since February 01, 1996

View Articles

Curator and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.