There are some very talented webcomic artists out there, folks, and I’d really like to work with one someday. Perhaps an artist like Scott Johnson, who has been plugging away at his comic Extra Life since 2001. He’s also responsible for, like, a billion podcasts, and he runs his own illustration and audio production company, Frogpants Studios.
As if that isn’t enough, he’s now muscling into the playing cards scene with his first deck, “Custom Playing Cards.“
So he’ll have to work on the name, obviously, but the designs and samples he’s shown thus far make it look like the deck is going to be a nice little collector’s item for fans of his expressive cartoon style.
This is Johnson’s take on a traditional deck, with custom, hand-drawn artwork across the board, from the jaunty off-kilter pips to the goofy royals and bulging aces. There’s not a lot of tertiary design to muddle the art work, just simple backgrounds and indices that let Johnson’s expressive characters take center stage. The card backs are similarly custom.
A veteran of the Kickstarting process, Johnson has thrown a lot of stretch goal and extras into the mix to entice backers. Some reward tiers offer custom character artwork, a customized joker, a pint glass, a T-shirt, uncut sheets, and alternate face cards. The stretch goals include completely new variants of the deck, extra cards, and the like.
Johnson’s campaign is looking for $10,000 and ends on May 16th. Decks start at $15 plus shipping. As always, remember that backing a Kickstarter project is not a pre-order, and may not be indicative of the final product.
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 regular column about playing card Kickstarter campaigns. Remember, Kickstarter pledges are not pre-orders and results are not guaranteed.
I know you’re looking at that skeleton at the top of the page with a very confused look on your face. Trust me, everything will become painfully clear soon enough.
Masquerade by Brain Vessel Creative (printed by USPCC)
The latest Kickstarter venture by Brain Vessel Creative (Bones, Sea Creature, Seven Seas) is a collaboration with award-winning artist and sculptor, Denyse Klette. The campaign is looking for US$13,000 and is just shy of half way there already.
Klette’s known for her bright pastel portraits and fashion mag-style cartoons in which playfully exaggerated models in giant sunglasses sip lattes in French cafes. She’s an unashamedly “girly” artist, and her work on Masquerade is no exception. It’s very much a wine and handbags kind of deck, with hand-drawn pips and abstract royal faces hidden in foliage. Think Picasso by way of Teen Vogue.
The regular version of Masquerade will be printed in grayscale, with splashes of red for the hearts and diamonds. A delightfully gaudy, full-colour, Mardi Gras Edition of the deck will also be released if the campaign reaches a stretch goal of US$34,000.
A Masquerade deck will cost you $15 with free shipping inside the US. There are other goodies, such as deck pouches, coins and pins on the deck’s Kickstarter page. The campaign will run until May 1st.
Nervous by Kevin Keeney (to be printed by MPC)
This deck’s jack is a stretched stock image of a 90’s CGI skeleton wearing a baseball cap.
I’d love to just end this segment there, with the promise that skeleton Jack’s poorly photoshopped hat is a design nadir from which Nervous nimbly recovers, but there honestly isn’t a single element of this deck that isn’t questionable. The custom pips feature more unsightly stock art gracelessly forced into awkward sigils, the index typeface is both ill-suited to the deck’s theme and touches the edge of the cards in the higher ranks, the art for the queen seems to have come from a different artist compared to the rest of the deck and the King is just hilarious, with his ridiculously square jaw, flattened cranium and perilously low crown that hangs in front of his eyes. One of the Jokers features a brain and nervous system that’s been stretched horizontally to fill out space and the other an artistic interpretation of a neuron that literally extends off the edge of the card. And just try not to turn the cards over because the backs look like what you’d see if you looked through a child’s kaleidoscope into a flashlight.
You can have all that for a mere US$12 plus shipping. If the campaign reaches its $4,317 goal, Mr. Keeney will be able to license the stock art he’s using for commercial use.
Solstitium by Collectable Playing Cards
What comes to mind when you think about the life-giving importance of the sun? I really hope it’s gold foil.
Such is the power of gold foil that the Kickstarter campaign page for Solstitium spends most of its space showing you every possible (CGI) angle of the deck’s gold-foil encrusted tuck box. To be fair, the box is quite nice, featuring a deep red background and an image of the sun (rendered in foil that is gold) on its front and back. There are presumably some playing cards inside this opulent container, but this deck is designed by Collectable Playing Cards, and the thing about collectable playing cards is you’re not supposed to open them.
The cards look pretty good. The backs have the same sun design as the tuck box, albeit without that all important GOLDEN FOIL, and the circular motif continues in accents around the fronts. The royals are custom across the board, with the only real standout being the Jack of Diamonds, who looks like a man carrying two watermelons while wishing he had three.
The Kickstarter campaign for Solstitium is looking for $14,000 and, as expected, has no stretch goals, variants or uncut sheets. The lowest pledge tier that includes a tuck box (and cards if you want them) is $15 with free shipping inside the US.
Canvas by Ben Heirbaut (printed by Cartamundi)
A custom deck of playing cards, designed for cardistry with paintings by cloudkid. A fresh and new concept.
No. No. Nope. Hold your horses, mate. Your deck of cards does not get to be a deck of, “playing cards,” if the only game you can play with them is the world’s most boring game of Snap.
I mean, it’s quite nice as far as not-playing cards decks go. The card backs are appealing, even if there are exactly twice as many of them as there should be, and yes, Cartamundi’s B9 finish is very nice.
Canvas’ Kickstarter Campaign is looking for €7,000. A single deck will run you €13 plus another €10 in shipping. The campaign ends on May 2nd.
Now get off my lawn.
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.
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.
Designed by sleight-of-hand artist, magician, and “young entrepreneur” Noah White, the Seraphim deck is an exercise in monochrome minimalism that, unfortunately, only ships within the US. The deck’s Kickstarter campaign is looking for US$7,500.
The Seraphim card backs have a sleek, one-way design which produces some fantastic effects during flourishes and fans, as demonstrated by White himself in the video above. The fronts are standard, save for a winged Ace of Spades and a pair of red and gray jokers that add a splash of color.
The deck will be printed by the United States Playing Card Company on thin crushed stock and comes with a few extra features for you magician types. There’s a duplicate Jack of Spades, a two of diamonds mark on the tuck flap and the cards come in Mnemonica order. On the subject of the tuck box, it’s been tweaked since White shot the promo video. The new design features a black box with a white logo and looks very fine indeed.
The Seraphim Luxury Playing Cards Kickstarter will run through to April 19th. The lowest pledge tier that earns you a deck is $12 plus $5 shipping. Uncut sheets will be made available if the Kickstarter reaches a stretch goal of $8,000.
I’m going to be honest, folks, my heart’s not in the pun game when it comes to this deck. There’s just something very dignified about the Wind Rose deck, and I feel like I’m sullying it with my amateurish attempts at lexical tomfoolery. Okay. I’ll just remove all the puns in the next draft…
Okay, so now that’s out of my system, the Wind Rose Playing Cards – White Edition Kickstarter went live earlier today and is looking for $15,431. Designed by Antony Carvelli (Plexus), the deck is an elegant, white and gold ode to the wind charts of old. The card backs depict a wind rose surrounded by Greek patterns and accents. The Greek theme continues throughout; each of the suits is matched with a cardinal direction of the wind and a figure of Greek myth. The jokers feature a ship’s wheel.
Wind Rose will be printed with metallic ink by the United States Playing Card Company on their premium quality card stock. The tuck box will be debossed and printed with gold foil.
The Kickstarter for Wild Rose ends on April 19th. The lowest pledge that comes with a deck costs roughly $12 plus shipping, but that’s an early bird price limited to just 50 customers (40 remain at the time of writing). After those pledges are gone, it’ll cost you $14 plus shipping for a deck. A pledge of $43 will net you an uncut sheet, but only five of those remain as of right now.