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Lying awake at night, I would hear the magical shuffling of the decks of cards, and listen for the groans from those who didn't get the best hands. Our parents would sit at the dining room table and play game after game of cards for hours, after the kids were put to bed. Games like Rummy, Pinochle, Bridge and Canasta remained elusive to me throughout my childhood. The remnants of the casual tournaments would remain in the large dining room table, allowing me to trace my finger longingly over each discarded face card. I vowed then that I, too would spend Saturday nights dealing out cards with my family and friends, in hopes of having the fun that I was never a part of as a child.

The games do not seem to be as popular now as they were then, but they still reign over board games and television. People love to play cards. We were bred on them, making our own silly games with the stacks of cards that our parents would leave behind after enjoying them half of the night. We had no idea what we were doing, of course, an never really played any games until we were a bit older. This may be why we still love to play them so, because we still haven't gotten our fill of them. Poker is an institution of it's own, it seems, having casino's around the globe dedicated to the art of the game.

Card games have been around since the beginning of time. The proof of that lies withing the cards themselves. The Kings of each suit is modeled after factual rulers in history. King David (from the bible) represents the king of spades, Julius Ceaser is the king of diamonds, king of hearts was Charlemagne, and the king of clubs represents Alexander the great. Of course, this was during the invention of the cards which dates back to the 10th century. The simple colors of the cards were instituted for ease of printing during a time that had less inventive contraptions to chose from. Since then, the ease of printing has allowed for many 'upgrades' to the original, simple cards.

France provided the four familiar suits, and Americans changed the entire face (literally) of the cards. America provided the coating of the cards for durability, as well as double images on the faces so that one would not have to turn it upright to see the suit or the numbers and images. Brilliant, huh?

The use of cards in large gambling venues also adds to the mystique of card games. The inability to beat the odds or figure out the winning numbers through card counting lures us to the games, as well. The need to beat a fellow card player with our skills laced with luck, and by drawing that 'one card' that we just need to end the hand before the next guy wins the hand. We're competitive by nature, and cards offer us a confrontational way to compete with people in a friendly, non physical manner.

With thousands of variations to card games, there is something that would interest anyone that picks up a deck or two. These days the cards are even more varied with the different themed versions that appeal to the masses. Card games are classics, brought about at the dawn of time, handed down from one generation to the next for thousands of years. Card games will never not be a part of our lives, especially with the institution of electronic games and computer cards. Classic card games are a staple in every country, they are just that; classic.

Learn more about this author, Shawna Blake.
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