General Ganjifa Card Rules
Ganjifa are playing cards from India and other nations in the region.
Usually round, some rectangular decks have been produced. The most significant
difference between Ganjifa and other types of cards is that Ganjifa cards have
traditionally been individually hand painted. There are any where from eight
to twelve or more suits per deck, each suit having usually twelve ranks. The
two most common Ganjifa decks are the Mughal which has eight suits and the
Dashavatara which has ten. The suits have pip cards numbered from Ace through
ten and two court cards, the Wazir and the Mir. Ganjifa solitaire games play
the same as games that use the standard deck but the larger number of different
cards in a deck (96 or 120) adds an element of complexity. The fact that each
suit has it's own color makes things quite interesting in games that use
"Alternate Color" row stacks. Ganjifa packs also have another characteristic
that effects play. That is the strength or force of the suits. The suits are
split in two equal halves with one half being the Strong or Powerful and the
other being the Weak. In Ganjifa game variations the Strong and Weak suits
switch places depending on whether the game is being played at night or during
day light hours. The names of the suits, their spellings, the arrangement
within the deck and other characteristics of the pack and the play were taken
from one of the authoritative sources on Ganjifa. That being the book "Ganjifa,
the playing cards of India" by Rudolf Von Leydon with contributions by Michael
Dummett.
The suit signs and colors.
The suits, their pip signs, the colors and the ordering within the deck vary
considerably from region to region. The characteristics chosen for PySol
games are only one possible arrangement.
- The Dashavatara suits and colors.
- Fish, Tortoise, Boar, Lion, Dwarf, Axe, Arrow, Plough, Lotus, Horse
- Black, Red, Yellow, Green, Brown, Orange, Grey, White, Olive, Crimson
- The Mughal suits and colors.
- Crown, Silver (Coin), Saber, Servant, Harp, Gold (Coin), Document, Stores
- Brown, Black, Red, Yellow, Green, Grey, Orange, Tan
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