Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
Why French playing cards have named queens
While most regions just kept generic royalty on their face cards, the French decided to get incredibly specific. Their queens are officially designated as…
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Why some trading cards feel heavier
If you've ever felt like your nerdiest deck was actually weighing you down, you aren't crazy. These specific trading cards use a proprietary cardstock that is…
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Texas Hold 'em originated in Robstown Texas
The undisputed king of televised bluffing wasn't born in a glamorous saloon. It was officially recognized by the state legislature as originating in Robstown,…
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Why scratch cards block flashlight cheaters
You can't just hold a flashlight up to a lotto ticket to see if you won. The shiny gray substance you're furiously scraping away with a penny is actually a…
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Magic The Gathering features twenty thousand unique cards
If you ever thought about genuinely trying to collect them all, simply abandon all hope right now. Decades of constant printing have resulted in an entirely…
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Texas Hold 'em uses a plastic disk to mark the dealer
Nobody is actually dealing the cards from their own chair. The giant plastic button simply travels around the felt to indicate who gets the theoretical…
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Bridge is more than a card game
This isn't just a casual pastime for your grandparents. The rules are so aggressively complex and strategic that it operates essentially like an incredibly…
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Frisbee golf heavily chains baskets to catch the disc
You can't just casually throw the plastic into a normal net. The targets feature aggressive, heavy metal chains dangling over the basket, specifically…
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Baccarat players can tear their cards to pieces
High rollers in intense matches are shockingly dramatic. Because they are intensely superstitious, players are entirely permitted to aggressively bend, fold,…
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Darts throwers stand behind a perfectly measured oche
You can't just casually lean over the pub table to get a better shot. The throwing line is rigidly enforced at exactly seven feet, nine and a quarter inches…
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Playing-card diamonds once stood for merchants
The shiny red shapes aren't just pretty geometric designs. In the historically rigid hierarchy of playing cards, diamonds were chosen to represent the wealthy…
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Why a deck of cards mirrors the calendar
The standard playing deck is deeply obsessed with calendars. Not only do the cards perfectly match the weeks, but the four suits align with the seasons,…
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Whack-a-mole mallets are heavily padded for protection
The thick foam on the end of the hammer isn't there to make the game completely safe for you. It’s explicitly designed to physically prevent intensely angry…
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Your shuffled deck may be unique in history
Every time you properly wash a standard fifty-two card deck, you are holding an arrangement that has almost certainly never existed in the history of the…
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Darts boards aren't made of horsehair
Despite the popular myth, you are not throwing metal spikes into horsehair or pig bristles. The boards are packed with millions of tough plant fibers that…
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That carnival hoop may be smaller than regulation
If you think your jump shot is flawless but you still missed, you are actually completely vindicated. The operators deliberately use tightly warped metal…
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Shuffleboard weights are specifically called pucks
Despite looking entirely like heavy metal stones, enthusiasts will violently correct you if you use the wrong terminology. These highly polished metal…
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Why you'll probably never get a royal flush
You've seen it happen in entirely too many terrible spy movies, but the statistical reality is incredibly grim. The odds of perfectly landing a suited,…
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Cribbage players use pegs because scores change so fast
You might think the wooden board and little metal pegs are a charming aesthetic choice. In reality, the game moves so fast that drunken pub patrons literally…
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Why foosball players are spaced so precisely
The chaotic spacing of the little plastic men isn't random. They are precisely spaced so that the tiny plastic ball theoretically cannot ever stop perfectly…
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Folding out of turn incurs an immediate penalty
If you try to dramatically toss your garbage hand into the muck before it’s actually your turn, professional tables will eagerly penalize you. Giving away…
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Keno can be worse than throwing money away
If you actively hate your own money, this is the exact game for you. The house edge is so astronomically high that you would statistically be better off…
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Why high-roller casinos use different chip colors
They aren't just making the expensive plastic look cooler. Venues use entirely separate colors and distinct patterns for massive denominations specifically so…
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How casinos clean their grimy chips
Considering how many sweaty, panicked hands touch them daily, it’s a miracle chips aren't biological hazards. High-end venues use industrial ultrasonic…
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