I have collected about 100 or so packs of Trump Cards over the past 30 years, but my favourite are of course all my football related sets, which I will be posting on the site over the next few months.
HISTORY
The game of Trumps had generally 32 cards consisting of 8 groups with 4 cards in each, although this system was changed slightly when Waddingtons began to produce Trumps where they used 30 cards consisting of 6 sets each with 5 cards in each set.
Trumps were sorted from 1 - 8 and then divided A - D (32 cards) (Dubreq), 1 - 6 and subdivided A - E (30 cards) (Waddingtons), A - H and then subdivided 1 - 4 (32 cards) (Ace). This numbering sequence helped determine the makers of the pack and made it easier to sort the pack and in some cases determine which series they were and therefore year of release. In some cases, however, especially with the later Waddingtons packs, there were no numbering at all.
Around the mid 1970's a German company called Altenburg-Stralsunder released their own brand of trumps known as Ace Trumps and as with the Dubreq/FX Schmid packs these were aimed specifically at boys with military and transport titles being their main areas of production.
The core rules of these Trumps games were that you had to win all of the cards in the pack by beating the specific statistics of your opponents cards.
During the next decade the Ace series was less popular in some ways than the Dubreq/FX Schmid packs but offered a wider range of pack titles. The Ace brand produced variations on the Trumps theme and among these variations introduced the Super Trump, a card that beats all other cards except “A” cards regardless of its data.
In the mid 1970's they began to introduce a series called Super Trumps. Since then the concept of Quartets and Super Trumps have led to what we now accept as Top Trumps. Since the 70's there have been a number of companies that have been producing Trumps. During the late 70's Dubreq really set the standard and the play format players have become familiar with over the years.
The earliest releases from Dubreq were produced with the German game manufacturer FX Schmid. The release of Series 1, in early 1977, became a popular game with schoolboys in particular with the inclusion of such titles as Dragsters, Tanks, Planes and Cars. Series 2 was to quickly follow on around late 1977, again with the market targeting schoolboys in particular.
Dubreq and FX Schmid packs stretched to 8 series with the final pack coming around the end of 1980. An interesting sales ploy was introduced with these packs and that was that with the purchase of these packs you could purchase other packs that were not available to the shops. In each pack there were cards set to the bottom of the pack; 2 that advertised special packs (Redemption Packs) and 1, that was worth 10 points towards the special packs. You needed to sellotape 3, 5p coins in the areas marked on the points card and together with 5 other points cards post it off. Series' 1 and 2 offered Fabulous Buggies and World Record Holders. Series' 3 - 8 offered Fabulous Buggies, Power Boats, Scramblers and World Record Holders.
Around this time, however, the Dubreq and FX Schmid partnership began to fail and the Top Trumps series were stopped.
In 1982 another games manufacturers, Waddingtons, who coincedently owned the rights to Subbuteo around this period, realised the huge potential of Top Trumps and started to release titles of their own such as Cars, Planes, Military Vehicles, Horror, Soccer, Prehistoric Monsters, Western Gunfighters, Cats, Dogs and Pets. The Waddingtons involvement is by far the most important chapter in the Trumps history book as it revived the trend and want for these games.
The last packs released by Waddingtons were in 1996 and from then until around 1999 there was very little action in the Trumps arena except for the gradual rise in Promontional titles released by companies such as magazines and given away at special shows and at one-off venues and to honour certain events. These promotional packs were released under their own licence and the content is wide and various covering such subjects as Football, Snooker, Mobile Phones to Porn Stars. In 1999 the rights to the game were purchased by Winning Moves a member of the Hasbro group, again the current owner to the rights of Subbuteo (2008), and since then the Top Trumps popularity has been on the rise.
The take over of the Top Trumps name has led to a huge variation in subject matter which is the main pulling power of the game alongside the excitement. With packs being released at a rate of 2 possibly 3 a month and covering everything from latest sports events and film releases to animals and transport.
The more recent Winning Moves collections contain only 30 cards and like their predecessors are broken down into series. Unlike Dubreq, Ace and Waddingtons, the Winning Moves collections have seperate sections such Juniors, for the younger persons, Classic, which features the more run of the mill subjects such as Space, Football and Dinosaurs, Specials, which coincide with things like movie releases and finally Limited Editions, which may also cover such subjects as Football. The Winning Moves cases became the biggest difference with a front that pulls down and back that allows them to be hung from hooks, making them look distinctive.
Although there are a number of different collections out there, the main area of interest to me, as I have already stated, are the Football sets.
The other 4 series that I have an interest in relating to my childhood are;
1). Ace Trumps
2). Ace Trumps (New with Supertrump)
3). Dubreq Series 1
4). Dubreq Series 2
These all span from around the mid 70's to early 80's.
GAME RULES
Trumps
For two or more players. The idea of the game is to win all of the cards. At the start of the game, all of the cards are dealt out equally. The cards are held face up and the player to the dealers left begins play. The cards contain certain facts and figures such as speed, weight, length etc etc. The starting player calls out one of these figures that he/she feels will win, i.e. have the higher value and then lays the card face up before everyone. The remaining players place their cards on top and the player who has the highest figure wins. These cards are then taken by the winner and placed at the bottom of their pack and then it is their turn to calls the next figure/fact. If however, if more than one player has a higher score that matches then the original caller calls again and the cards are left in the middle until someone wins and they then take all of the cards. The player that holds all of the cards is the winner.
Supertrump
This is played in the same way as Trumps, but the player that holds the Supertrump wins the hand regardless unless the another player has an A card, in which case the Supertrump loses. Which really makes it very difficult to win and should the situation go on and on for a long time it was sometimes ok'd, if there were a number of players that the person with the most cards would win the game, however when there are only 2 players that does not work.
Quartets
For three or more players. Once again the idea of the game is to win all of the cards, in this case all of the quarts (sets of four). The cards are dealt equally amomg the players and the cards are held face up. Each card has a number and letter in either the top right or top left corners of the cards. The player at the dealers left begins play and asks any one of the other players for a card that will contribute towards making a quart. If that player has the requested card, it must be handed over. The same player asks another and so on until the asked player does not have the requested card. This player, who could not help, then asks the players and so on. Once a player has completed a quart ot perhaps they are dealt with a quart then the completed set must be laid down on the table. The game ends when there are no further cards to be had and the winner is the one with most quarts.
Sinking Ships
This game is an additional game that can be found on the back of some packs of Waddingtons Super Top Trumps. Each player takes a card from the pack. The game is the same as the classic game of Battleships as are the rules. The winner is the only one left with and occupied square left.
Cheese Box
This game is an additional game that can be found on the back of some packs of Waddingtons Super Top Trumps. A game for 2 players. Each player draws a line with a felt tip pen on one of the sides of the squares and this continues when all of the squares have 'enclosed' and marked with either a circle or cross. Apparently the felt tip pen marks can be removed with a damp cloth!!
Maze
This game is an additional game that can be found on the back of some packs of Waddingtons Super Top Trumps. The idea is quiet simple. Using a felt tip pen, once more you need to find your way from one end to the other. Again, the felt tip pen marks ought to come off with a damp cloth!!