Many families today continue to enjoy playing trick-based card games that are similar to Whist. In the book, Phileas Fogg gambles on Whist but he gives all his winnings to charity. The most famous literary reference to Whist may be found in the Jules Verne book Around the World in 80 Days (first published in 1873), which has also been made into stage plays and movies. Whist is a simple trick-based game designed for four players (2 teams of two). The game itself originated in the 1700s as a variation of an older game usually called Trumps or Ruff. Have you ever heard of Whist? If you read old novels written in the late 1800s or early 1900s you may come across references to it. British artist Mary Ellen Best painted this watercolor of her husband, Johan Anton Sarg, playing Whist with 3 friends. Whist was very popular in Europe and North America during the 1800s.
