The players of a card game normally form a circle around a table or other space that can hold cards. The game orientation or direction of play, which obviously is only relevant for three or more players, can be either clockwise or counter-clockwise. It is the direction in which various roles in the game proceed. Most regions have a traditional direction of play, such as:

* Counter-clockwise in most of Asia and in South America.
* Clockwise in North America and Australia.

Europe is roughly divided into a clockwise area in the north and a counter-clockwise area in the south. The boundary runs between France, Germany, Austria (mostly), the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and Russia (clockwise) and Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Turkey (counter-clockwise).

Games that originate in a region with a strong preference are often initially played in the original direction, even in regions that prefer the opposite direction. For games that have official rules and are played in tournaments, the direction of play is often prescribed in those rules.