History
Quinto® is the much advanced version of an ancient Roman board game called "Calculi" or "Five in a Row." In Roman times, the winner was the first player to line up five stones or pebbles in a row, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally on the playing surface.
Today, with the addition of playing cards, a scoring system, and chips to replace the old Roman stones, this ancient board game comes alive as never before. Quinto has added strategy to this ancient game but has preserved its enjoyment. In fact, Quinto® is so entertaining, we think it is the best board and card game of all time!
Board Games
The Romans played a wide variety of board games, including a version of Chess (known as "Latrunculi"), Checkers (called "Calculi"), Tic-Tac-Toe (Terni Lapilli), Backgammon (Tabula), and others. According to historians, the Romans used stones to count even before the abacus was introduced. Hence, the word, "calculate."
Calculi. Quinto® is more like the Roman game, "Calculi" or "Five in a Row." The traditional rules of Calculi include lining up five stones in a row, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. While some archeologists have referred to Calculi as Roman Checkers because of the similarity of the board and pieces, few boards were checkered in black and white—many were just made of lines.
Playing Pieces. Boards varied in size and were made mostly of wood, as well as stone, marble, or even silver. Playing pieces could be made of metal, ivory, stone, or glass, and sometimes even coins. Some stones and boar fragments have been found as well as large bags of stones, which include roundels, the old Roman version of gambling chips.
Playing Cards
Playing cards are everyday objects found in almost every corner of the world. Cards were most likely invented in China around the 9th century, where paper was invented. In the 10th century, the Chinese began using paper dominoes by shuffling and dealing them in new games.
European Use. By the 11th century, playing cards had spread through the Asian continent and made its way into Persia and Egypt. In Europe, the earliest authentic reference to playing cards date from 1377. In those days, cards were hand-painted and only the very wealthy and most noble individuals could afford them.
Design. The design found in today’s playing cards is a mixture of aspects that have not changed since medieval times. Cards entered Europe from the Islamic empire, where cups and swords were added as suit symbols as well as court cards. These symbols were later replaced by representations of courtly human wings: kings, knights, and foot servants. To this day, packs of playing cards from Italy do not have queens, nor do Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and others.
Development of Modern Suits. The cards we use today are derived from the French, who gave us the suits of spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts and the use of simple shapes and flat colors. The English created the names and added the Ace of Spades. The French were also the first to divide suits into two colors: red and black. Simplifying the colors and symbols allowed printers to increase manufacturing speeds.