Forty-Eight (card game layout)
From Wiki @ Karl Jones dot com
This article describes card games based on sets of forty-eight cards.
Forty-eight, Four, and Two
A standard deck of fifty-cards may be thought of as:
- A set of forty-eight cards
- A set of four cards
- A set of two cards
Forty-eight
Forty-eight is a useful number for four-player (and two-player) games:
- Forty-eight is evenly divisible by 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24.
Four
Four is useful: the number of players. (Two-player is a variant, not discussed here.)
Two
Two left over: traditionally, the Jokers.
Jokers are actually used in some games.
I suppose the Jokers have a historical function as backup cards, to stand in for missing or damaged cards.
- The traditional sticks-based I Ching calls for a bundle of 50 sticks:
- One is set aside.
- Forty-nine are used in divination.
