Nintendo is well-known for its myriad of giant gaming franchises and video game consoles, but the popularity of its modern products sometimes overshadow its long company history that spans over 100 years.

While The Japanese company has dabbled in everything from hotels to smartphones, it was first established in 1889, long before video games were even a reality. However, things might not have changed as much as you think because even way back then Nintendo was in the gaming industry. Although back then gaming looked a lot different.

In the 1800s, Nintendo’s forte was in producing quality card games, particularly for a popular Japanese tabletop game called ‘hanafuda’ (which translates to “flower cards” in English), which offer a way to play a variety of traditional Japanese card games.

And now, Nintendo is going back to its roots with all new Hanafuda card sets that feature impressive artwork inspired by series like Super Mario, Zelda, Splatoon, and Kirby.

Nintendo of Europe unveiled the new cards for purchase on its My Nintendo website. They can be bought with actual currency on the site, while an exclusive Mario postcard set in the same style is available for 400 Platinum Points through the service.

This marks the first time some of these series have received the hanafuda treatment, but it isn’t Mario’s first appearance on traditional playing cards. Nintendo has released special Mario-themed hanafuda card decks several times before, including at their official store in New York.

Club Nintendo also released hanafuda cards based on Mario in the past. Still, these sets are usually released in limited supplies and sell out quickly, making them heavily sought-after collector’s items.

With the success of trading card games based on other Nintendo properties such as Pokémon, it has been speculated that Nintendo might experiment with more full-fledged trading card games. If not based on one property, then perhaps a crossover trading card game that involves combat between characters from several different series.

Until then, enjoy these latest hanafuda sets from Nintendo while supplies last! And if you don’t know how to play with hanafuda cards, there’s no time like the present to learn.

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