The game is first mentioned by name in a 1611 Spanish dictionary where, under the entry for 'card' ( carta), it mentions the game of ventiuno ('twenty-one'). Known initially as vingt-un in all those countries, it developed into pontoon in Britain after the First World War and blackjack in Canada and the United States in the late 19th century, where the legalisation of gambling increased its popularity. Twenty-one rose to prominence in France in the 18th century and spread from there to Germany and Britain from whence it crossed to America. The family includes the casino games of blackjack and pontoon as well as their domestic equivalents.
Twenty-one, formerly known as vingt-un in Britain, France and America, is the name given to a family of popular card games of the gambling family, the progenitor of which is recorded in Spain in the early 17th century. Vingt-un, vingt-et-un, Siebzehn und Vier, Einundzwanzig
