Links (accessed 2015-04-10)
BoardGameGeek - The Wikipedia/IMDB equivalent for board games. It ain't pretty, but it's got 'em all.Board Games of the World - A nice, though not the most visually appealing, collection of traditional board games and rules.
Cyningstan: Traditional Board Games - A thorough resource for traditional board games, including rules, and even some free printable boards.
Mr. Crokinole - There's a special place in my heart for crokinole, and the guy behind this site, Wayne Kelly, Mr. Crokinole himself, is pure gold.
ocastudios - This Brazilian-based group offers free, downloadable traditional board games with everything needed to play. The also have some originally developed games and a great free to share philosophy.
The Online Guide to Traditional Games - A great variety of traditional games of all sorts, including board games, table games, pub games, and lawn games.
Pagat.com: Playing Card Rules - THE resource for rules of card and tile games. If it ain't here, good luck finding out how to play it.
The World of Playing Cards - Great resource for the history and art of playing cards around the world.
Books
The Game of Mah Jong Illustrated - Thompson, Patricia A. and Betty Maloney. The Game of Mah Jong Illustrated. 1990. Hong Kong: Kangaroo Press, 2004. Print. ISBN 0-684-86843-1 - Aussie Rules Mah Jong. Not the simplest, but not the most complicated either, and nicely balanced for beginners.
Hanafuda: The Flower Card Game - Japan Publications, Inc. Hanafuda: The Flower Card Game. 1970. Tokyo: Japan Publications, 2014. Print. ISBN 978-0-87040-430-6 - A great overview of Japanese games played with Hanafuda cards, designed in a way to ease in beginners unfamiliar with these "flower cards".
A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming - Hargrave, Catherine Penny. A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming. 1930. Toronto: General Publishing, 2000. Print. ISBN 0-486-41236-9 - A great Dover reprint with a nicely outdated history of playing cards from around the world including tons of facsimiles of historic playing cards.
