First copyrighted in 1924 by Parker Brothers (Salem, Massachusetts) this game was re-issued in 1963 as the version in the photograph on the right.
This copy was acquired in 1968 from the American Foundation for the Blind. Although the copy is the same version that was on sale to the public in the 1960s, this copy has Braille markings on the lower left and upper right of each card. Rook is one of the game Whitehill considers to be a "Classic American Game".
The deck comes in a clear plastic container, with a top that is 10cm long x 12.5cm wide x 2cm high. The top has a thumbnail cut along the width to enable separating the top from the bottom. There are 56 cards in the deck, each 8.8cm long x 5.7cm wide. Cards are numbered 1 through 14. There are four "suits" - colored red, green, black, yellow - with 14 cards in each suit.
An instruction booklet (upper left of the photograph) indicates that the game can be played by 2 to 6 players. The booklet lists 16 other games that can be played with the Rook deck. These are Boston, Club, Dixie, Dock, Donkey, Golden 10, I Doubt It, Kentucky Discard, Match, One High, Over The Top, Panyandrum, Solitaire, Tennessee For Two, Tuxedo, 600.
Last update March 6, 2010