According to Hoyle Day

August 28, 2026August 21, 2026Jensperspectiveblog Leave a comment

On August 29, honor expertise, authority, and the rules because it is According to Hoyle Day. Titled after the English language phrase, according to Hoyle, the unofficial holiday celebrates the life and times of Englishman Edmond Hoyle, who died on this day in 1769.

Hoyle's Rules of Games — Hoyle’s Rules of Games

A lawyer by trade, Edmond Hoyle is best known for publishing books detailing the rules and regulations of many popular card and board games of his time, including chess and backgammon. He is also known for writing an authoritative pamphlet on the card game of Whist.

Chess set official rules by Hoyle — Chess Armory 15″ Wooden Chess Set with Felted Game Board Interior for Storage

Game of Skills

Whist is a trick card game played by two teams of two players each. The card game evolved from a previous game called Ruff and Honors and is the predecessor of Bridge. Popular in the 18th and the 19th century, the game required mathematical and logical skills.

Backgammon game — Get The Games Out Top Backgammon Set – Classic Board Game Case – Best Strategy & Tip Guide – Large Brown

Appeal to Authority

The phrase according to Hoyle came from the authoritative books Hoyle wrote on the rules and regulations of games. When people played these games and made a play that was questioned, they could invoke Hoyle’s rules by saying “according to Hoyle…”. Today, the phrase is used generally to suggest expertise or the highest authority on a subject matter.

Hoyle encyclopedia — Hoyle’s Modern Encyclopedia of Card Games: Rules of All the Basic Games and Popular Variations

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National Play Monopoly Day National Scrabble Day According to Hoyle Day Crossword Puzzle Day National Card Playing Day National App Day National Trivia Day National Poker Day National Chess Day National Words With Friends Day National Puzzle Day National Retro Day National Solitare Day National Video Games Day National Dice Day American Family Day Bingo’s Birthday Month National Anti-Boredom Month
Family Fun Month

How to Celebrate?

Play a game of Whist by following Hoyle’s rules. Don’t know how? Today is a good excuse to learn!
Are you an expert on a subject? Why not spend the day jotting your thought about the subject?
Today Whist is more commonly known as Bridge.

Bridge or Whist game — Let’s Play Bridge | 6 Decks of Colorful, Watercolor Inspired Floral Playing Cards | Special Low-Vision 4-Color Index! | Classic Family Game Includes 25 Scorecards

NATIONAL SCRABBLE DAY

April 12, 2026April 12, 2026Jensperspectiveblog 2 Comments

Each year on National Scrabble Day April 13th recognizes a game played around the world. Originally named Lexiko and then Criss-Cross Words, Alfred Mosher Butts eventually settled on the name Scrabble. The amateur artist and unemployed architect developed the word game in the midst of the depression. Still, it wasn’t until 1948, a final name change and a trademark that Butts finally began to produce the game.

Scrabble is played with two to four players who score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15 x 15 grid.

In the United States, the name Scrabble is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc. Scrabble is sold in 121 countries with 29 different language versions. Worldwide, over One hundred and fifty million sets have been sold with sets being found in nearly one-third of American homes.

1984 – Scrabble became a daytime game show on NBC
2004 – Scrabble was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame
Some cities sponsor Scrabble tournaments on the weekend closest to National Scrabble Day
The word “scrabble” means to “grope frantically.”

NATIONAL SCRABBLE DAY HISTORY

National Scrabble Day commemorates the birth of Alfred Mosher Butts, born on April 13, 1899. However, our research had not identified the founder of the day.

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HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalScrabbleDay

Call your friends and play a game or two of Scrabble! Mix it up, too. There are several ways to play the game if you want to change things up a bit. For example, if you’re spending time alone, Scrabble solitaire challenges you at your own game of words. Another version allows players to only play nouns but they earn bonus points for playing nouns that are both a proper noun and an approved Scrabble word.

Once you’ve played a game, take the final board and create a crossword puzzle using this template. Develop hints to the words and see if others can solve the puzzle.

Do you have fun alternative ways of playing the game? Use #NationalScrabbleDay to post on social media.

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NATIONAL RETRO DAY

February 26, 2026February 23, 2026Jensperspectiveblog 12 Comments

On February 27, National Retro Day takes us back to a time before smartphones and the internet.

Every generation looks back and asks, “Remember when?” This celebration indulges our love for the good ol’ days while remaining in the present.

No matter the decade, pick a point in time where people talked more face to face than text to text, had dinner at home around the table and the kids played games that didn’t require internet.

What’s your retro? On National Retro Day, swoop the hair into a mile-high beehive or strut those eight-inch bell bottoms. Can you maximize the curls for a stellar Afro? Don’t hesitate to break out the old roller skates and see if you still have those mad skills. Tie the hair up with a polka dot bandana and strike muscle pose like Rosie the Riveter. Maybe you prefer a moonwalk, a leather jacket, and a single glove.

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With no smartphones, internet, and social media, we spent more time focused on each other when we were together. Each moment recorded in memory for us to look back retrospectively and not for the whole world to see.

Some of us can even pass on reasons we survived before smartphones and I’m older than Google. The cool kids in my high school had pagers and used payphones. Good luck finding one today…

NATIONAL RETRO DAY HISTORY

Hermelinda A. Aguilar and Robert and Tina Duran founded National Retro Day to take a look back at how life was before social media, the internet and smartphones became a necessity of our daily lives.

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HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalRetroDay

Whatever your retro is, wear it, drive it, play it on Retro Day. What’s your retro? Let us know by using #NationalRetroDay on social media.

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NATIONAL PUZZLE DAY

January 28, 2026December 26, 2025Jensperspectiveblog 1 Comment

Exercise your problem brain with a puzzle. January 29th is National Puzzle Day.

Whether it’s a crossword, jigsaw, trivia, word searches, brain teasers or Soduku, puzzles put our minds to work.

Studies have found that when we work on a jigsaw puzzle, we use both sides of the brain, and spending time daily working on puzzles improves memory, cognitive function and problem-solving skills.

Word searches and crossword puzzles have the obvious benefit of increasing vocabulary and language skills.

Sudoku, a puzzle sequencing a set of numbers on a grid, exercises the brain as well. By testing memory and logical thinking, this puzzle stimulates the brain and can improve number skills.

The bottom line is, puzzles stimulate the brain, keeping it active and practicing its skills.

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HISTORY

Started in 2002 by Jodi Jill, National Puzzle Day was created as a way to share her enjoyment of puzzles. As a syndicated newspaper puzzle maker and professional quiz maker, Jodi Jill developed classroom lesson plans especially for National Puzzle Day and the popularity has grown year after year.

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HOW TO OBSERVE

Spend time putting together a jigsaw puzzle with a friend, or grab a cup of coffee and complete a Sudoku or crossword puzzle.

Use #NationalPuzzleDay to post on social media.

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Word Town: Free Word Search Games for Kids, Adul…
#NationalPuzzleDay — Jigsaw Puzzles Free For AdultsJigsaw Puzzles Free For Adults

CARD PLAYING DAY

December 27, 2025November 14, 2025Jensperspectiveblog 11 Comments

National Card Playing Day on December 28th encourages us to invite our friends to deal out a hand and play a game or two.

In the 9th century, the Chinese began developing games using money and other paper objects. These early playing cards bear no resemblance to the sturdier European playing cards that emerged a few centuries later.

Card games spread around the world in a variety of shapes and styles. From the elaborate Mamluk designs of Egypt to the appearance of the first playing cards during the Early Renaissance in Europe, the decks were divided into four suits of coins, cups, swords, and sticks or batons.

It is from these four suits that today’s modern decks of playing cards developed. Theories range how the suits converted to hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs. One theory suggests the suits represent the different classes of the era – clergy, aristocracy, military and peasantry.

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#CardPlayingDay — National Card Playing Day: Wide Ruled 6 x 9 in 120 Pages College Ruled Notebook For Girls and Boys And Poker Lovers

National Playing Cards#CardPlayingDay — National Card Playing Day: Wide Ruled 6 x 9 in 120 Pages College Ruled Notebook For Girls and Boys And Poker Lovers

In India, the ten suited card game of Ganjifa became popular during the Moghul period. Traditionally, artists hand-painted a stunning scene on each of the 120 cards in the deck.

A standard pack of cards may be used for playing a variety of card games, with varying elements of skill and chance, some of which are played for money. Some of the top card games include Spades, Poker, Solitaire, Spite and Malice, Hearts, Spoons, Gin Rummy, Ridge, Black Jack and Texas Hold’em. Of course, there are thousands of card games, some of which are regional favorites.

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HOW TO OBSERVE #CardPlayingDay

What’s your favorite card game? There are so many to play. Celebrate the day by:

Organizing a card tournament
Trying out a new card game
Inventing a new card game
Teaching someone how to play
Learning the history of your favorite games

Get playing and show us your hand using #CardPlayingDay to post on social media.

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