Pit is also a
card game from
Parker Brothers based upon the
commodities market.
Invented in 1904, it is still available today (you can buy it on
Amazon.com, for example.)
The game is very simple, just a deck of cards and a bell of the type one sees on some hotel counters. The deck is made up of 8 suits of 6 cards each: Wheat, Barley, Coffee, Corn, Sugar, Oats, Soybeans, and Oranges, with a value from 100 to 50 points per suit in descending order. There are also two jokers, the Bull and Bear cards.
The object is to "corner the market" in a commodity. To play, one suit per player is used to make a game set (therefore the game is for three to eight players.) This set is shuffled along with the bull and bear cards and distributed completely to all players.
The bell is used to start play. once the bell has been rung, each player holds up a number of cards and shouts out how many they are willing to trade: "One! One!" or "Three! Three!" The trade is done without either player seeing the cards traded. Once a player has a complete suit, he or she rings the bell to end the round, receiving the points for that suit.
The value of the Bull card is either positive or negative, depending on whether you have a winning hand or not. If you have a complete suit, the Bull card is worth 50 points. If not, it is worth minus 50. The Bear card is always worth minus 50 points.
I think it's a great game, and a couple of generations of players must agree, since the game has been around for almost 100 years. It's easy to learn, can be played well by groups with great differences in player age and background, and is loud and fast-paced.