Play Whist, a Revolutionary Card Game

April 15, 2020

Try your hand at one of the most popular card games of the 1700s! Whist is a four-player card game that people played in taverns and around campfires during the Revolutionary War. Cards in the 1700s didn't have letters or numbers of them but otherwise had the same suits we used today.

Download full printable PDF instructions, grab a deck and some friends, and try your luck!

The Game of Whist

Materials Needed

Deck of cards
PDF instruction sheet

The whist game directions were originally released as part of the Museum's Virtual Spring Break programming, sponsored by PECO, which ran online in April 2020, featuring do-at-home crafts and activities, virtual story time, Artisan Field Trip living history interviews, and live Q&As with Museum staff.

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