They were forbidden to play cards but Parker Brothers filled the void with a game that was played like cards but did not use the standard playing card deck. It is likely that Rook cards were at first introduced for the benefit of members of fundamentalist protestant religions, such as the Mennonites, who considered (and in some cases still consider) playing cards to be the 'devil's tool'. '57 Cards' are available from as a high quality 100% plastic deck.
Alternatively, Rook can be played with a deck of '57 Cards', which have similar cards in four colours, but the 57th card shows a flower rather than a bird. Or Deluxe Rook cards can be ordered from. Rook cards are made by Parker Brothers / Hasbro and by Winning moves and Rook The 57th card is the rook card, which carries a picture of the bird. In each suit the cards are numbered from 1 to 14. There are four suits coloured black, red, green and yellow. The games are popular in Eastern Kentucky, in the Mennonite communities of Southern Ontario (near Elmira / Waterloo), Manitoba, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and probably also in other parts of North America. Rook is the name of a group of games and of the special deck of cards for the game which was introduced by Parker Brothers in 1906.
