Kickstarter Cards is our regular column about the latest and greatest playing card Kickstarter campaigns. Remember, Kickstarter pledges are not pre-orders and results are not guaranteed.
LMD Deck Frost Blue Edition by Vince H (printed by Hanson Chien Production Co.)
Sharp, clean, geometric front designs give me a nice tingly feeling. Hence I’m a big fan of LMD by Vince H. It’s fully custom across the board, with sleek pip designs and interesting layouts. The symbols used in place of traditional royals are super cool, but sacrifice a bit of readability for that neat sci-fi look. Thankfully the lack of clutter, cool (blue) color choice, and strong choice of indices typeface keeps things breezy. The backs are a solid mass of interlocking symbols in gray and black, save for two ice blue symbols that venture into the white borders, giving the deck some killer lines during fans.
Also, the brick box is literally designed to look like a brick. I can’t believe no one has thought of that before.
- Kickstarter Goal: $5,416
- End Date: May 23rd, 2018
- Deck Cost: $11
- Shipping: $6
- Ship Date: July, 2018
Pythagoras by Pythagoras Cards (printed by USPCC)
Pythagoras is almost entirely standard save for the blue and black color scheme on the fronts. What caught my eye is the slick, triangle-based design on the backs. If the recent Virtuoso variants don’t pop enough for you, or are simply too expensive, then Pythagoras is a great budget alternative. Unless you live outside of the US, in which case, bad luck.
- Kickstarter Goal: US$ 5,000
- End Date: June 3rd 2018
- Deck Cost: US$13
- Shipping: US Only Free
- Ship Date: Oct, 2018
Bloom by Edgar Montoro
We’ve featured Bloom on the site before, but this new version has a really tasty back design that adds a touch of bespoke luxury to an otherwise impersonal photo deck. Being a photo deck, Bloom is pretty much useless for tricks unless you’re rocking some kind of weird botanical theme in your shows, and there’s no mention of a printer, which means it likely isn’t an ideal candidate for cardistry, but it works as a general purpose deck or just a nice thing to own.
- Kickstarter Goal: $1,944
- Deck Cost: $15
- Shipping: Worldwide $13
- Ship Date: September, 2018
NDO’s Broken Borders is one of those weird cardistry decks that makes perfect sense once you see it in motion.
The backs are striking, featuring a garish, black and yellow “physical danger” stripe motif. The black stripes occasionally run right to the bleed, overriding the white borders and visually dissecting the cards in the right light. The same design is carried over to the fronts. The top right and bottom left borders of each card has the same striped pattern, giving the impression of an unbroken line running through the standard royals and pips.
It’s clear from the Ace of Spades, the only card in the deck I’d say is traditionally aesthetically pleasing, that Broken Borders could have been a far more coherent deck with a few design tweaks, but that contrast is kind of the point. The traditional royals clash with the industrial design of the stripes, as does the negative space between the pips.
The deck was apparently inspired by the “industrial motifs of modern urban life,” and Broken Borders actually carries that theme very well. Just look at the kings. What’s more thoroughly urban than a man in his finery flanked by the colors and shapes of industry?
In motion, the deck is vivid and powerful. The stripes turn into sharp diamonds as the cards are fanned and the contrast between the fronts and the backs makes flips look great.
A deck of Broken Borders will run you $13 plus shipping.
Kickstarter Cards with Carter is our regular column about the latest playing card Kickstarter campaigns. Remember, Kickstarter pledges are not pre-orders and results are not guaranteed.
Today on Kickstarter Cards with Carter we explore the depths of space, learn how to communicate with our fellow human beings, and put Cthulhu in his place.
The Planets: Earth by Srdjan Vidakovic (printed by USPCC)
Earth is the third entry of eight in Srdjan Vidakovic and David Goldklang’s The Planets series of decks. Normally, I’d be quick to dismiss The Planets “collect-em-all” presentation, which includes a map of space and tuck box display that requires all eight decks, as an undignified cash crab, but considering I’d quite happily buy any and all of the decks released so far, it gets a pass.
That’s mainly because of Vidakovic’s thick line art and vintage advertisement aesthetic meshes so bloody well with the decks’ retro-futuristic conceit. Each of the decks in the series – Mercury, Venus, and Earth thus far – look like the kind of playing cards you’d find in a sci-fi civilization as envisioned by Jules Verne. Vidakovic really understands his playing card iconography. His pips are fantastic and his courts look weird and alien, but are still staunchly traditional. The backs are beautiful and ornate, but not overstated. The tuck box is an absolute work of art, that, in opposition to a lot of decks that try to nail the same late Victorian look, isn’t too heavy on the foil. The limited edition blue version looks miles better (a blue tuck box for a blue planet) but it’s limited to just 500 units.
Earth’s campaign has already reached $16,806 from some 395 backers, well beyond its $5,000 goal. A standard deck will cost you $10 plus shipping, half the eventual retail price. A pledge of $80 will net you the complete Planets set when all the decks have been released.
Bicycle: Cthulhu Cardnomicon by Ace Collectable Cards (printed by USPCC)
Cthulhu is overrated. You know how you can tell? He’s the only Great Old One whose name won’t trigger your spell-checker. He’s kind of the Jack Sparrow of the universe that bears his name: A bit-player elevated to franchise mascot who, despite sleeping through most of his appearances and getting his clock cleaned by a boat when he bothered to turn up in Mountains of Madness, now has to be name-checked in every spin-off lest people forget they’re reading Lovecraft-inspired fiction.
And that’s why Diamonds is the worst suit in Cthulhu: Cardnomicon. Each of the suits in the deck is tied to one of Lovecraft’s more well-known eldritch nightmares. Diamonds was chosen for ol’ squid face because they symbolise his subterranean sleeping habits (and presumably all the money he gets for advertising breakfast cereal and board games). Hearts represents 10,000-time mother-of-the-millennia winner, Shub-Niggurath. Spell checker stress-tester, Nyarlathotep, lurks among the spades, and clubs is dedicated to OG of the OGs, Azathoth.
Naturally, because these cards depict multi-dimension nightmare creatures from realms beyond mortal understanding, they’re completely impossible to read at first glance, and with tentacles wrapped all the indices, this is definitely a deck that’s meant to look nice next to your Cthulhu toaster rather than be put to practical use. And to be fair, it does look pretty good. The artwork for the royals and aces is easily the highlight of the deck.
Which leaves the negatives. The numbers are kind of boring. The card backs depicts mirrored image of Cthulhu (reaching out for his appearance fee no doubt) in shades of green with white outlines. The tuck box has a neat book-theme, but there’s nothing here that will blow your tiny mortal mind.
I’ve found that Bicycle brand theme decks tend to be a mixed bag, generally aimed at fans of the theme rather than card enthusiasts. As an exercise in branding, Cthulhu Cardnomicon is entirely competent and would make a perfect gift for those who are into Lovecraft the brand rather than Lovecraft the writer. If you’re looking for a beautiful set of cards in and of itself, this isn’t for you.
The campaign is looking for £10,000, is over halfway there already, and will end on May 20th. A deck will run you £11 plus shipping, with an estimated delivery date of Oct 2018. Uncut sheets are available at the £79 pledge tier. Only 250 will be produced.
ConvoCards by Lars Alexander Eiekeland
Are you a socially maladjusted mutant? Why not start your own column about playing cards on Kickstarter which you can then use to attack people who use fictional characters to promote products in ways you disagree with? Alternatively, if you want to be a productive human being at some point in the future, you can try ConvoCards, by Lars Alexander Eiekeland.
The idea is quite cute, actually. What we have here is a set of very basic playing cards with a series of questions printed where you’d expect to find pips, royals, dancing Mexican skeletons printed in gold foil, etc. The questions, which I’m informed are based on social science, are generally quirky little conversation starters designed to keep the discourse flowing. You can use the cards in place of regular playing cards to spice up card games, or just whip them out like flash cards in case you stall in the middle of a date. Hell, you could even do some rad mentalism tricks using the questions if you’re clever, but these are bridge-sized cards. Keep that in mind.
Honestly, ConvoCards are a little outside my wheelhouse, both because they’re not trying to accomplish anything I usually expect from a deck of cards, and because I generally try to avoid talking to people wherever possible. Will ConvoCards save your social life? I dunno. Possibly. Let me know.
The campaign is looking for €1,000 and is just over a third of the way there. A deck will cost you €9 now and €9.95 at retail. You can also pay €5 to have one deck handed out to a random person on the street in the Netherlands or Norway, which is a nice thing to do.
WTF2 and Cardistry SWITCH by Handlordz LLC
WTF2 is a really nice surprise. It’s a cardistry deck – a cardistry deck with a gimmick no less – that hasn’t gone entirely Mixalot. IE: There’s more to it than its rear end.
It’s a killer gimmick with an absolute ton of space for creativity. The deck doesn’t just feature letters, it has a handful of symbols and punctuation as well. Magicians: You’d be hard pressed to get the cards in order to spell out a word during a trick, but you could use the symbols for all kinds of goofy setups. As this is a cardistry deck, both the fronts and the backs feature a two-way design that goes from bright white to dark blue depending on which way you fan the cards.
While spelling out messages with fans might be wonderful for cardistry fiends, it’d be a shame to waste WTF2’s surprisingly good visual design on a gimmick deck. The SWITCH variant is for people who want the sleek design of WTF2 but in a functional deck of cards. And these fronts aren’t an afterthought. They’re energetic. They read well. They’re a crash course in how to use negative space. They do all this while maintaining the two-way design of the regular WTF2 deck.
The first version of WTF won a ton of awards, and it’s easy to see why. WTF2 is a major improvement over its predecessor and SWITCH could stand on its own as a casual or performance deck.
The WTF2 and SWITCH campaign was looking for just $1,000 and has already reached $7,455. Either deck can be had for $12 plus shipping, with delivery expected in September.
Kickstarter Cards with Carter is our daily column about playing card Kickstarter campaigns. Remember, Kickstarter pledges are not pre-orders and results are not guaranteed.
Welcome, gentle readers. In this bumper edition of Kickstarter Cards we tackle some of the weirdest and prettiest decks I’ve come across in my time here at GeniiOnline.
Charlemagne: New Figures by Krishtofor (printed by Makwell)
Adolf (not that one) Iosifovich Charlemagne (not that one), for those of you who aren’t familiar with the artistic legacy of the great Russian Empire, was a notable Russian painter and the designer of the Satin Deck, which became the nation’s most popular playing cards
In 1862, Emperor Alexander II commissioned Charlemagne to produce a successor to the Satin Deck. The deck, a traditional Russian variant with aces or jokers, was never completed, and the great artist’s work on it never went beyond a series of sketches of the royals he dubbed “New Figures.” Now, some 155 years later, Estonian “creative brand” firm Krishtofor has done their best to finish Charlemagne’s work, putting their own artistic spin on his sketches and converting the deck to the modern, 52-card standard we’re all familiar with.
And, yeah, it looks pretty good. The new royals are far more saturated than anything Charlemagne could have achieved with his watercolors and the card printing technology of the time, but are otherwise very faithful to his original designs. The background design is complex, but not overpowering, though the shields around the indices are a little bit overdone. The backs are beautiful too. They feature that ever-present enemy of good taste, gold foil, but matte printing on the standard variant ensures it’s not too obnoxious. The only real issue I have with the deck is the plastic sapphire on the front of the otherwise pleasant tuck box. It makes the package look less like a deck designed in the 1800’s and more like something you’d find for sale next to cans of energy drinks at a Magic the Gathering Tournament.
Charlemagne has already passed its $8,406 campaign goal. A deck will run you $17 plus shipping, with higher tiers offering fancy tins, coins, shiny gold foil, etc.
Side note: This Kickstarter campaign is a fantastic example of why you should hire a competent English speaker to at least check your copy. It’s very hard to take an advertisement seriously when it contains images like this.
Voyagers by Visionalta
Have you ever been so rad, so hip, so impossibly cutting edge that you’ve accidentally made a deck of drink coasters instead of playing cards? The people at Visionalta have. Their new Voyagers deck is so far beyond the current playing card paradigm that I’ve got no option but to end this segment here lest I be annihilated by a tidal wave of zeitgeist-pushing creativity. Oh, and they cost $28 a pop.
Thorns and Roses by Steve Minty
You can tell a lot about a person from which of the Bard’s plays they’re most partial to. I’m a fan of Twelfth Night myself, mostly because of all the rude jokes and cross-dressing. Graphic designer Steve Minty on the other hand, is very much about the murder/suicide tragedies if his twin decks Thorns and Roses are anything to go by.
Both the Roses and Thorns decks feature characters from Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, who, spoiler warning, all die at some point during their respective plays. Roses shows the characters holding an item of significance, while Thorns depicts their predictably tragic deaths. The decks have similar but subtly different backs, aces, and numbers, with Thorns having darker colors and line work to match its more morbid theme. The royals are largely black and gold, with an occasional splash of white to highlight weapons and crowns. It’s all very nice.
A standard deck of Roses or Thorns will run you $15 plus shipping with delivery expected in October. The limited edition decks, which feature a double foiled tuck, hand gilded cards and a signed and numbered label, cost $39 plus shipping. The campaign is already well past its $25,000 goal and will end on May 18th.
Galactic Destiny Cards – Red Eastern Castle of Turning by Space Station Plaza
“Space Station Plaza is your Galactic Activation Portal to alignment with natural cycles and rhythms calculated using the 13 Moon Dreamspell Synchronometer. Conversion to daily kin happens automatically, illuminating relationships to history, celebrities and passengers!”
Enliven (Blue Edition) by Bryan Nirattisai
The first version of Enliven was young magician Bryan Nirattisai’s first foray into deck design and unfortunately, the deck’s campaign fell three grand short of its $9,500 target. His second attempt, Freedom, is a much stronger deck across the board and just narrowly snuck past its $6,500 goal. Nirattisai is now giving Enliven another shot, and the changes he made are not all for the better.
The main issue with Enliven the first was that it was a personal project with very little appeal to anyone but Nirattisai himself. The fronts were standard, the backs featured his personal logo, and aside from a decent ace of spades and a few built in gimmicks, the deck was an obvious no-starter. Enliven Jr. has blue backs instead of red, but makes all the same mistakes it predecessor did. In fact, it even doubles down on some of them. The ace of spades now has an ugly chromatic aberration effect applied to it and the royals have been replaced with pictures of Nirattisai’s co-workers and friends. That’s just kind of tacky, to be brutally honest. I’m all for personal touches on decks: Chris Ramsay’s 1sts are pretty much a playing card monument to Chris Ramsay. They’re still gorgeous, but I’d draw the line if I opened up the pack and the ace of spades was a picture of his dog.
The campaign for Enliven is looking for $7,000 and ends May 28th. A single deck will run you $10 plus shipping, with expected delivery in September, 2018. The lowest pledge that contains an uncut sheet is $40.
Passione’s Pizza by PassioneTeam (printed by USPCC)
I think the most telling thing about Passione’s Pizza decks is that is that in the Delivery Service Edition, the faces for the royal aces feature Native Hawaiians holding Hawaiian pizzas, despite the fact the Hawaiian pizza was actually created by a Greek man living in Canada. That’s right, I’m using my platform to dunk on a deck of cartoon, pizza-themed playing cards for a lack of research into Hawaiian pizzas. This is exactly what I want to be doing with my life.
I can’t really figure out exactly who Pizza is aimed at. The decks’ cartoonish art style and the fact the two tuck boxes can be combined together to make a model of a pizzeria screams “kids” while the national (and ethnic) stereotypes on the Kings and Jacks and the sexualization of the queens makes me think “kids that are older than thirty.” But then the pizza-themed version of the famous Bicycle Riders on the backs is a gag only card aficionados will get. Are they going to want to put cartoon Pizza cards in a case next to their Private Reserve?
Passione’s Pizza’s Kickstarter campaign is looking for $15,000 and ends on May 10th. One deck will cost you $15 with free shipping inside the US. If you pledge to a tier with 4, 8 or 12 decks, they’ll be shipped in pizza boxes. No, seriously.
Epehemerid by Mr Cup
Did you know the origin of playing cards? It was a kind of calendar, with 4 colors for the 4 seasons, with 13 cards for the 13 weeks of each season. 52 cards in total which are the 52 weeks of the year!
Now, I hate to be the one to question Mr Cup, but the first playing cards weren’t printed in color, consisted of about 30 cards total, and often had more than four suits. This is why you shouldn’t take historical claims made by kitchenware seriously.
But while it might not be historically accurate, Ephemerid is a total looker. That’s likely why the deck has already blown past its $7,418 goal despite the fact its royals aren’t finished yet. So what do we know so far? Based on Mr Cup’s collection of antique letters, invoices, bills, tickets, and photos, each card in Epehemerid is unique and each suit has its own background color. The deck’s scattershot “vintage” design would look awful on a weaker deck, but the bold design of the numbers and aces leaves a lot of space for ornate accents while keeping the cards eminently readable. The standard tuck box is pleasant, but the gold-foil on black of the deluxe edition box looks a lot better.
The Ephemerid Kickstarter campaign has already reached $12,474 and ends on May 6th. A standard deck will run you $10 plus shipping, with delivery expected in October.
Kickstarter Cards with Carter is our regular column about playing card Kickstarter campaigns. Remember, Kickstarter pledges are not pre-orders and results are not guaranteed.
In this installment of Kickstarter Cards, we have nice bees, proud gods, a deck filled with history and a rare example of art from the late leather-bra ninja lady period.
Bombo by Paolo Ruggiu (printed by MPC)
You might think the niche of bee-themed playing cards is very well filled by Ellusionist’s gorgeously geometric Killer Bee deck, but Paolo Ruggiu’s charming Bombo deck makes room.
There’s a kind of classic, rustic charm to Bombo, even as it eschews playing card tradition. The black suits are printed on yellow fronts, while the reds are rendered in yellow and printed on an off black. Half the deck clashing with the other shouldn’t really work, but Bombo’s understated royals and classic numbers feel harmonious. The jokers are a bit garish, though.
Sadly, as sweet as Bombo is, you’ll have to part with big money to get the honey. (Buzz off. We all knew there was no way I was getting through this deck without at least one bee pun, and the fact I’ve held off this long shows an almost supernatural degree of restraint). A single deck of Bombo playing cards will run you a whopping $21 dollars plus shipping (which isn’t completely worldwide). The deck’s Kickstarter campaign is looking for $2,056 and will end on May 4th.
Project Olympians by Skymember Presents (printed by USPCC)
I don’t care how slick your cardistry video is, when you start adding sound effects to your flourishes you’re journeying deep into self-parody country. Phrases like “USING METALLIC INKS FOR MAXIMUM LUXURY” don’t really help matters either.
I suspect I’m being harsh on Olympians’ promotional video largely because the deck itself is so underwhelming. I’m a sucker for dark borderless cards, but the deck’s neon-green-on-dark-green colour scheme reminds me more of the original Xbox than the Greek pantheon. The custom pips are nice, but artist Austin Ho’s artwork isn’t put to its best use on the underdeveloped royals. The gods of Olympus are tiny, presumably to save space for the unimaginative foil work. The two way backs (also borderless) look great, but again, I wish the colors popped more.
The custom tuck case, however, is gorgeous. It opens up like a book, making for some killer opening flourishes like the one in the video above.
Olympians is limited to just 2500 units maximum, is a Kickstarter exclusive, and will never be reprinted or resold. The campaign is looking for $24,678, has reached $6,845 and ends on May 3rd. The cheapest pledge that includes a deck is roughly $30 US worldwide shipping included. An uncut sheet will run you an extra $40.
Hidden Leaves by Mahdi Gilbert (printed by USPCC)
Mahdi Gilbert knows his stuff when it comes to cards, and seemingly every aspect of his deck, Hidden Leaves, is an ode to the decks of old.
The card backs are an obvious homage to the iconic Bicycle Riders, while the deck’s slight-off-kilter, imperfect production and two-tone color scheme attempts to replicate the imperfect, bleeding inks of old-school card presses. The index-free numbers are designed so magicians can replicate the unique card transformations of Johann Hofzinser. The entirely custom deck was drawn by Mahdi himself, who, as you’re probably aware, literally has no hands or feet.
Hidden Leaves would be an accomplishment for any magician and artist, never mind one facing as many challenges as Mahdi. As the man himself says:
This is not a deck of playing cards. This is a symbol of overcoming the world. The motif of this deck is Play The Hand Life Dealt You! With my logo which is me holding a royal flush.
The Hidden Leaves Kickstarter campaign was looking for $1,311 and has already blown past its goal with $5,905 from some 113 backers. A deck of Hidden Leaves will cost you about $16 plus shipping (final retail price is $18) and adding an uncut sheet to that order will run you a smooth $30.
Fortunately for us, Mahdi was on hand to answer some questions about the deck on Instagram.
Antagon by Michele Spatola (printed by NPCC)
Maybe I’m giving Antagon a hard time because it’s right on the heels of two Kickstarter decks I’ve had to remove from the column because they’re basically pornographic, but I mean, come on, how can I not make fun of this.
If sexy women is your jam, that’s cool, but there’s a lot of competition in the field of HOT CHICKS BEING HOT ON PLAYING CARDS and Antagon isn’t even a strong contender. There’s no real central theme beyond the mobile-game-ad-tier “hot babes” and a vague stab at fantasy. Seriously, some of the royals are going for a kind of cool dark fantasy look while others are gunning for gothic erotica or even Frazetta-style pulp.
The worst part is there’s parts of the deck that really work. The line-art style pips on the aces and indexes look really good. They’re light but ornate and are instantly readable. The edge designs on the royals are rich and ostentatious, giving the cards a real luxurious look. Even the deliberate “aging” of the cards looks pretty good. I’ve seen far worse effects on decks looking for a lot more money. The deck is being billed as a collector’s item and has the fancy limited edition tuck box to match, but honestly, pretty airbrushed women decks are a dime a dozen.
The Antagon Kickstarter Campaign is looking for $ 5,949 and ends on May 9th. The lowest pledge that includes a deck is an early bird special that costs $12 plus shipping. Once those are gone you’re looking at around $16 per deck.
If you’re planning to Kickstart your own deck, drop us a line and we’ll feature it here.
Kickstarter Cards with Carter is our daily column about playing card Kickstarter campaigns. Remember, Kickstarter pledges are not pre-orders and results are not guaranteed.
Today’s Kickstarter Cards with Carter features fine art, teeny tiny bits of waterproof plastic, and a deck I’m told is, “built in an esoteric realm full of mysteries.” Which is Belgium, I think.
The House of the Rising Spade by Stockholm 17 (printed by USPCC and Cartamundi)
This latest pair of decks from card designer, Lorenzo “Stockholm 17” Gaggiotti (Requiem, Gemini, Heretic, etc) are densely detailed stunners, as the video above clearly demonstrates. Both the Faro and the Cartomancer variants have a touch of the tarot deck about them, but Faro takes some cues from 1800’s poker decks, with gold and white card backs printed with metallic ink, and clean yet rustic numbers that have no index whatsoever.
Cartomancer, the pricier of the two, doubles down on ye olde spooky tarot deck flavor, with a darker color scheme, true linen finish, full-bleed printing and cold-printed-gold foil all over the shop. A third deck, The Gatekeeper, will be unveiled during the Kickstarter campaign and, going by what I’ve seen thus far, will probably just be made entirely out of gold foil. The campaign has already reached its thirty grand goal and will end on April 27th. The cheapest Faro variant pledge is $18, while the cheapest Cartomancer variant pledge will run you $22. Both variants have free shipping within the US. You can add an uncut sheet for $55 world wide shipping included.
Why design your own deck when you can get one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance to do it for you, right? I admit, I’m not entirely convinced that cutting up a (beautiful) painting into a prototype jigsaw puzzle actually counts as designing a deck. The sticker-like index markers dumped in the corners and the Top Trumps style plastic box isn’t doing a lot to persuade me otherwise. Still, if this deck really births your venus, the campaign will be running until April 21st and is looking for US$4,800. There’s a limited supply of $12 plus shipping pledges that get you a deck. After those are gone, you’re looking at $18 a pop. There’s no uncut sheets, but you could always just, you know, buy a print.
Have you ever found yourself wanting to do a card trick in an air vent where, gosh darn it, there just isn’t enough space for a full-size deck of cards? Well, yeah, okay, there’s already micro decks for that. But what if the air vent was underwater? What then, smarty pants? That’s just one of the dozens of potential situations where you’d want a deck of tny² playing cards. Measuring just 1.75 inches by 1.25 inches and printed on the highest quality, uh, plastic, this diminutive deck is perfect for travel, camping, days at the beach, performing tricks for crabs, etc.
Okay, jokes aside (and I have, so, so many of them. The political gags alone would fill out a page or two), the minimalist, line art aesthetic of this deck is entirely my jam, and while I have no need for a micro-deck due to my gargantuan gorilla hands, I’d definitely buy a full-sized variant. The Kickstarter campaign is looking for US$500 and will end April 13th. The lowest tier that includes a deck is $11 and includes free shipping inside the US. Oh, and all the decks will be signed. In really small handwriting, one presumes.
If you’re planning to Kickstart your own deck, drop us a line and we’ll feature it here.
Kickstarter Cards with Carter is our daily column about playing card Kickstarter campaigns. Remember, Kickstarter pledges are not pre-orders and results are not guaranteed.
Philosopher, truth detective and cheap beer enthusiast, Rustin Cohle, one said the following: “Time is a flat circle. Everything we have done or will do we will do over and over and over again- forever.” That kind of describes this column, come to think of it. Oh and this first deck of the day.
This latest Kickstarter is graphic design trio, Tefepa’s, second attempt at getting their circle-themed deck, Circulus, rolling. They’ve managed to shave quite a hefty sum off their original €12,000 goal and are now looking for just €5,500. They’ve made most of the savings by cutting delivery costs by well over 50%, with little changes to the deck itself save the removal of the Bicycle logo from its (gorgeous) tuck box. The deck is entirely custom, with a stunning circular motif and card backs done out with a lovely blue, white and gray color scheme. Even the diamond pips follow the circular theme thanks to some very clever use of negative space. The deck fans beautifully, creating enough mesmerizing patterns to hide even the clumsiest caridstry. During its first week on Kickstarter, Circulus will cost €12 plus shipping (though shipping isn’t worldwide), and €14 thereafter. An uncut sheet will run you €25. The campaign ends on April 25th and the decks are expected to be in backers’ hands by mid-June.
Note: the video above is the 2011 version of the deck. The 2018 printing is visually identical save for changes to the tuck box.
Last printed in 2011, ARRCO’s U.S. Regulations are a popular choice among seasoned magicians. The deck can still be had if you shop around, but you’re generally looking at paying at least for $20 for a plain deck that’s all about card feel. And that feel has been improved upon in this new printing (also by USPCC), which features a traditional cut and embossed finish. Visually, the deck is still very much the same, with standard numbers and the traditional ARRCO faces. There’s been a few tweaks to the tuck box though. It now fits into a standard USPCC template, has PlayingCardDecks.com’s branding on the bottom and a card reveal on the tab. The deck comes in blue or red. The campaign is already funded and ands on April 9th. A U.S. Regulation deck will cost you US$8 plus the same again in shipping.
And there we have today’s round up of Kickstarter decks. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go and stare at a wall for three hours. Intensely.
If you’re planning to Kickstart your own deck, drop us a line and we’ll feature it here.
Kickstarter Cards with Carter is our regular column about the latest playing card Kickstarter campaigns. Remember, Kickstarter pledges are not pre-orders and results are not guaranteed.
Designer Francis Garcia’s claim that Sakura is the first completely pink deck isn’t quite true, but his cherry blossom themed cards are striking nonetheless. Decked entirely in mild pinks, Sakura boasts custom courts, with beautiful abstract royals, a custom ace of spades, a cherry blossom petal joker, and a deliciously retro tuck box. Aimed at cardists with more subtle tastes, the deck is printed on luxury thin stock with a “legendary finish.” The Kickerstarter campaign has just about reached the half way point of its US$5,000 goal and will end April 28th. The cheapest tier that comes with a deck is $12 with free shipping to the US and Taiwan. $35 will net you one deck and an uncut sheet.
One of three Kickstarter campaigns launched today by playing card and playing card accessory retailer, TCC Playing Cards (Edge, Essence, Bicycle: Dead Soul), Wolfram is about as basic as decks get. “Featuring” mostly blank card backs and standard fronts with the exception of a geometric joker, Wolfram is obviously relying on presentation to turn heads. Each deck comes with a minimalist black, white and red tuck box, a secondary card case with a slide apart design and a presentation box with a wax stamp. There’s no info on which company is printing the cards, only that they’re made in Taiwan and that they’re limited to just 1000 units, only 300 of which will be available on Kickstarter. The Wolfram set will run you US$20 plus shipping with an estimated delivery date of May, 2018. The campaign is already funded and will end on April 25th.
While Wolfram was all about fancy presentation, TCC’s second Kickstarter offering, Flexible, is taking a very different approach. This deck is cheap, people. Available in black and red variants, Flexible, costs just $2.99 plus shipping, a price that’s reflected in the deck’s barebones design. Featuring simple black or red card backs bisected by white lines, and the usual custom jokers and ace of spades, Flexible isn’t going to be winning any design awards, but if you’re in the market for a cheap and cheerful cardistry deck for tooling around with, this’ll do.
It’s a plastic box to put your cards in.
And there we have it. A very… minimalist Monday. If you’re planning to Kickstart your own deck, drop us a line and we’ll feature it here.
Remember how the idea for those beautiful Pink Madison Rounders playing cards we covered earlier in the month came from a photoshopped image made for April Fools’ Day? No? Well the idea came from a photoshopped image made for April Fools’ Day. Ellusionist is celebrating that moment of creative inspiration by encouraging even more photo-editing tomfoolery.
The magic retailer is offering an as-of-yet unreleased red variant of the excellent HELLIONS deck to 24 lucky winners of its “Fotoshop” competition. All you have to do is use photoshop (or Gimp or whatever, I don’t think they’ll check) to edit a pack of Pink Rounders into someone’s hands. They can be anyone’s hands: A famous actor, a doctor, a politician or even English pop-sensation, Sting, playing the role of Feyd Rautha in David Lynch’s criminally underrated, 1984 film adaptation of Dune.
Once you’ve finished your surreptitious photographic manipulation, simply post the results to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Be sure to use the hashtag #PoundersOutNow and tag @ellusionist in the post, tweet or picture. Your entry has to be out there by April 1st. Good luck!
Kickstarter Cards with Carter is our daily column about playing card Kickstarter campaigns. Remember, Kickstarter pledges are not pre-orders and results are not guaranteed.
Regular readers of GeniiOnline will have no doubt noticed the recent influx of articles about Kicktarter campaigns infesting every corner of the site. I take full responsibility for those articles. It was me, Grey Carter. I will cover every deck out there. I cannot be stopped. I cannot be reasoned with. I can only be contained.
In this inaugural edition of Kickstarter Cards, I’ll be covering decks that have just started their Kickstarter journey as well as a few that are mere hours from success or failure. Let us begin.
Pix is a playing card ode to the 80’s (represented here by a NES cartridge, a laser grid and the logo from Stranger Things). The deck is completely custom, with “8-bit” pips, royals and aces. The campaign is looking for €2,800, with different, and arguably better, color variants hidden behind various stretch goals.
Essential Fabrica (printed by USPCC)
Remember the opening credits of HOUSE M.D? Well, Essential Fabrica is basically that in playing card form. With custom pips, royals and aces based on anatomical drawings and card backs featuring a mirrored diagram of a skull, this deck is beautiful and morbid. If you want to double down on the morbid aspect, there’s a black variant called TRAUMA that unlocks at €7,000. At the time of writing, the campaign is €170 short of its €6,000 goal and only one single-deck pledge tier remains (€10 plus the same again in shipping). After that’s gone you’ll need to buy the decks in packs of three or four.
Tennis is a deck that seems too minimalist for its own good. The sleek, minimalist card backs are great, as are the custom aces and jokers, but the fronts are almost entirely Bicycle standard, albeit with a tweaked color palette. The campaign is well short of its US$8,000 goal and has just three days to go.
Silver Sackbut Playing Cards V2 (printed by USPCC)
The Silver Sackbut is more dignified than its name lets on. Inspired by the complimentary decks handed out in the Silver Slipper Casino in Las Vegas, the Sackbut is an understated deck with a vintage style that comes in host of tasteful colors. The deck features two custom jokers and a custom ace of spades. The campaign has already blown past its $2,548 goal with seven days left to go.
Human Evolution has just 24 hours to go on its Kickstarter campaign and needs another $1,500. This entirely custom deck will go the way of the neanderthal if its luck doesn’t change. It features custom artwork depicting a different stage of man’s evolution on each of the royals and has human figures that animate you flick through the cards. The campaign is looking for just $2,500 and the cheapest pledge that includes a deck is $18 plus $10 for shipping outside of the United States.
Some of us are still waiting for our Gjallarhorn drop (that’s a good reference and you should feel bad if you don’t get it). I’ve saved the best for last with this one. Gjallarhorn is an absolutely gorgeous, viking-themed deck that features custom courts, gold or silver printed card backs and one of the fanciest tuck boxes I’ve seen, with gold or silver foil and embossing. The Kickstarter campaign was asking for $1,200 and has reached $26,977 thus far, with 676 backers and 7 days yet to go. $18 plus shipping will net you a basic deck, but there’s a ton of fancy variations unlocked by the stretch goals. See you in Valhalla.
And there we have it, the first, and likely longest, installment of Kickstarter Cards. This column will be running any day there’s a new deck on Kickstarter. If you’re planning to Kickstart your own deck, drop us a line and we’ll feature it here.