History of Whist Card Game

Whist is a trick-taking game of British origin. It’s believed to have evolved from another English game called ‘Ruff and Honors,’ and became popular around the 17th century, further taking off in the 18th century. It was first played by young gentlemen in London society, who would later publish books about gameplay and strategy and kick off its widespread popularity around the world.

Games like Bridge soon superseded Whist, and after that, the likes of the Spades game also became widespread among card enthusiasts.

What Is Whist?

Whist is a game developed in England that involves taking ‘tricks’ or winning a set of cards in which each player plays one, with the winner (i.e. the one who takes the trick) being the one who discards the highest-value card. Taking tricks above six awards points and the team with the most points at the end wins the game.

Whist is played in partnerships of two against two and uses a standard fifty-two-card pack. The cards are dealt face-down one at a time to each player, totaling thirteen cards each. The last card, however, is placed face-up in the middle of the table and determines the game’s trump card. The dealer later adds that card to their hand. Cards are ranked with ace as the highest and two as the lowest.

The first player leads with any card, with the following players following suit if possible. Otherwise, a different card may be played. Four cards played constitutes a trick. A player wins a trick if they play the highest trump. If a trick doesn’t contain a trump, the highest card of the suit at hand wins.

History of Whist

Whist stems back to the 17th century, but it’s said to have evolved from another game popular in the 16th century called ‘Trump or Ruff.’ This later developed into Ruff and Honors, from which Whist is believed to have come about.

According to lawyer, antiquary, and naturalist Daines Barrington, Whist was first played on scientific principles by a party of gentlemen who were regulars at the Crown Coffee House in Bedford Row in London around 1728. In 1742, writer Edmond Hoyle, who was said to be a member of the group who taught the game to others, published A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist, which skyrocketed Whist’s popularity. Gradually, the game made its way to other countries in the European region until it reached the US.

Card Games from Whist

Whist is a game that requires strategy. Are strategy games good for your brain? They definitely are! This is why they’re quite a popular theme as card games go. Whist was a classic strategy card game during its time, but Bridge later superseded it.

However, the spirit of Whist lives on as it’s the model of many modern strategy card games today. Spades, for example, is an American adaptation of Whist, read more history of the card game Spades. Other trick-taking card games, including Bridge, Euchre, and Hearts, are also said to have originated from Whist.

Reminisce on Whist with Spades.co

While Whist is no longer played as much nowadays, you can still play variations of the game through its descendant card games. Spades is a great alternative–it follows the same trick-taking objective, but is easy to learn and fast-paced, making it even for beginner players.

Whether you want to reminisce and get a feel of the old Whist game or just want to learn the basics of this variation, you can play Spades for free online on Spades.co!