The game and deck were created by Hassidic Jews living in Galicia during the late 18th or 19th century.[2] Most packs used to play the game consist of 24 cards with identical pairs numbered from 1 to 12. The pack may have originated from Hexenspiel decks by stripping them of picture cards so as to avoid idolatry.[3] Jews did not use popular playing cards because of the crosses and other Christian symbols found on them, using instead an (often handmade) deck of cards called kvitlekh, lamed-alefniks (lit. 'thirty-oners'), klein Shas (lit. 'small Talmud'), or tilliml (lit. 'small Book of Psalms').[4] The cards were decorated with Hebrew numerals and common objects such as teapots, feathers, and sometimes portraits of biblical heroes.[5]Piatnik & Söhne of Vienna was the largest producer of these cards during the 19th and 20th centuries which helped spread the game among Jews living in Austria-Hungary and their North American diaspora.
Smith, A. G. (1991). "The 'Cambio' Packs and the Games Played with Them. I. Hexenspiel and Quittli" in The Playing-Card, Vol. XIX, No. 3 (February 1991), pp. 93ff.
