How Modern Canasta was created?

The Modern American Canasta is a popular card game, especially in North America. It has an interesting history, rooted in the mid-20th century. Architect Alberto Serrato and lawyer Segundo Santos collaborated to create the game in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1939. Their goal was to create a card game with the same level of strategic depth and fun as Bridge. The twist was that they wanted a game with less complexity than bridge.

The English word “basket” translates in Spanish to “Canasta”. That name is what the game was ultimately given… Perhaps the name Canasta alludes to the “melds or sets of cards” that players try to gather. More likely, however, the reference is to the small bread baskets that were used to hold the draw and discard piles. Hence, the original name, Canastina throughout his history?

Canasta, a dynamic and strategic card game, has challenged players worldwide since the mid-20th century. This is achieved by forming melds of 7 cards to make canastas. The primary objective is to accumulate 8500 points.

How did Canasta evolve throughout its history?

In the 1940s, the game spread from Uruguay to Argentina, a neighboring country, where it became immensely popular. During this time, players substantially improved and added to the many rules.

Introduced to the United States in the late 1940s. It became a big trend by 1948, the end of the decade especially in social groups and among American Women. The fact that it was being easier to learn than bridge was a factor that increased its appeal.

Peak Popularity: In the early 1950s, the game’s popularity peaked. It was common to play at home and on social occasions. Several books were written outlining the rules of play. These books included Strategy as well as original play. They were written and edited by many of the foremost bridge experts of the time (Charles Goren and Oswald Jacoby) for example.

Revival (1960s–present): Players continued playing Canasta all over the world, despite a decline in popularity following the 1950s caused by having too many variations to the rules of play. As the 60’s and 70’s progressed, modern American Canasta emerged and solidified the strong resurgence of the game that  had started at the end of the 50’s.

In order to further consolidate and define the rules of play the Canasta League of America was formed in 2012.

The final upswing of popularity was the development and publication of the online game, Canasta Junction in 2017. CJ actually allows players to play with each other from wherever in the world they might be…

All the Rules concerning Modern American Canasta can be found in our book : Ultimate Guide to Modern Canasta which is available just by clicking here!