The Five-Notion Collection

A 100-WORD HISTORY & REHISTORY OF YANKEE CARDS

An alternative ‘moral’ set of playing cards made in 1857 by Yankee Notion Printing Co.

A series of games for the cards was published by Thomas Frere in 1875.

The cards featured five suits of ten, numbered 0-9, each suit depicting American values: Flags, Eagles, Stars, Shields, and Faces, the last depicting Quaker figures.

In adapting the set to modern times and to an indie audience, new suits have been chosen: Wheels, Pills, Dogs, Teeth, and Faces. The faces should be chosen by the cards’ creator, and should be personal to them.

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Games included: 

FORTY THIEVES (THE ONLY GOOD GAME FROM FRERE)

NATURE DOES NOT NEED US ALL

PUBLIC TRANSIT BLUES

DECLINING PRIME

IS IT BETTER TO GO TO THE NURSING HOME? 

Some games are adaptable to French-suit cards at reader's discretion.

I encourage other developers to use Yankee cards--they're great for digit-based games like DECLINING PRIME, among other things.