News: MailChimp Summer Edition Playing Cards Sold Out

Theory11 released the MailChimp playing cards in Red and Black a few months ago and these fun, colorful decks were very popular. This month, Theory11 made a special, limited edition just for MailChimp - not for public sale. The special Summer Edition of MailChimp Playing Cards features a bright orange tuck case with gold foil, and all neon inks — the brightest, and flashiest deck ever produced by Theory11. These decks were made available only to 100 lucky Elite Members on a first come first served basis this month for $9.95.

Images from theory11.com

Cardistry: International Cardistry Open Season 2

Introduction

Welcome to Season 2 of the International Cardistry Open (#ICO)! After the success of the inaugural ICO and the Off-Season team tournaments, the new season of #ICO is back with bigger prize pool featuring cardists from around the globe to show-off their talents and skills.

The goal is to determine the cardist who excel in all aspects of cardistry. This tournament is organised by theflush.com.au, Kardify, supported by The New Deck Order (NDO) and Lance T. Miller. The tournament will begin in 31st July. Registrations opens on the 27th July.

Rules and Terms & Conditions

Please head over to theflush.com.au to read the full term and conditions of the tournament.

Tournament Format

#ICO Season 2 is a knockout tournament. Consisting of two classes: Novice and Veteran. Each cardists in the Novice class will compete in 2 rounds (preliminary and finals) and the Veteran class, 4 rounds (preliminary, round 2, semi finals and finals). Unsuccessful cardists will be eliminated from the competition while winning cardists advance to the next round. The winners of the final round will be the #ICO Season 2 Champion! Cardists will be asked to produce a 60sec video for each round. The format or content of the video will be announce on the first day of each round.

+ Veteran 
July 31: Preliminary
August 14: Round 2
August 29: Semi-Finals
September 12: Finals

+ Novice 
August 14: Preliminary
August 29: Finals

Judges 

The judging panel for this inaugural tournament consists of:
+ Jaspas Deck, Wold Kardistry Champion 13/14 and founder of NDO.
+ Lance T. Miller, playing card designer and founder of Lance Miller Cardistry
+ Joey Heininger, owner of theflush.com.au
+ Claudia Seow, popular Singaporean cardist (YouTube: Claudia Seow)
+ Ivan Choe, founder of kardify

Veteran Class is judged on best demonstrated overall mastery of all aspects of cardistry, which includes Videography (presentation), Difficulty, Control, Use of Theme (creativity), Overall Enjoyment (execution).

Novice Class is judged on demonstrated basic aspects of cardistry, which includes Videography (presentation), Use of Theme (creativity), and Enjoyment (execution).

Sponsors

We have the biggest prize pool of any cardistry tournament to date and this does not happen without the generosity of our sponsors.

+ Expert Playing Card Co.
+ JP Playing Cards
+ Metropol Cards
+ Cardvolution
+ Kairos Playing Cards
+ Choice Playing Cards
+ theflush.com.au
+ New Deck Order
+ Kardify

Prizes

+ Veteran
Champion: Half gross (72 decks) from Expert Playing Card Co. Mixed decks selected by Kardify and Expert Playing Card Co.
1st Runner-up: 2 Bricks (24 decks) of LUXX Playing Cards from JP Playing Cards. 4 decks of Revelations from Kairos Playing Cards. 2 Black & 1 Red Choice Playing Card decks.
2nd Runner-up: 1 Brick (12 decks) of Luxx Playing Cards.

+ Novice
Champion: 1 Brick (12 decks) from Cardvolution. Mixed decks selected by Cardvolution. 1 Brick (12 decks) of LUXX Playing Cards from JP Playing Cards. Half Brick (6 decks) of School of Cardistry deck from NDO.
1st Runner-up: 1 Brick (12 decks) of LUXX Playing Cards from JP Playing Cards. Half Brick (6 decks) of School of Cardistry deck from NDO.

+ Most Voted Cardist
1 mixed Brick (12 decks) of Metropol Playing Cards.

+ Viewer Giveaways
Total of 1 Brick (12 decks) of Metropol and 1 Brick (12 decks) from the Flush to be given away.

Prizes will be delivered to the nominated address of the respective winners.

Can't do cardistry? Head on over to the #ICO group page and enjoy: leave comments and feedbacks on videos to support your favourite cardists. Participate in the giveaways each round! So, don't miss out! Join us and cardists from around the world over to compete, share ideas, and become the very next ICO team champion.

Deck View: Jetsetter Playing Cards

Aviation. Simplicity. Fly.

Jetsetter Playing Cards were originally inspired by the roadside signs that guide travelers and plane spotters to their destination airports. With that same inspiration in mind, this deck has been refined to also embrace the true elegance of air travel and jet-setting. Created by Paul Ruccio, who loved aviation and going to the airport to watch the airplanes takeoff and land. This deck has been designed with simplicity in mind.

For the design, the Ace of Spades and Jokers are custom while the standard Arrco® faces are used to hold the traditional functionality of the cards. The backs showcase the preferred traditional diagonal pattern of airplane icons giving the deck a classy and casino-inspired look. The tuck features a matte or semi-matte finish stock along with UV Spot varnish on the airplane icon. The court cards have been recolored to match the overall theme and feel of the deck. Spades and Clubs will be green, black, and yellow. Diamonds and Hearts will be a deeper red, black, and yellow.

Jetsetter Playing Cards are printed by Legends Playing Card Company (LPCC) and now available from JP Games.

Where should you be in October? The 52 Plus Joker Club's Annual Convention!

If you're any kind of Playing Card Collector, Aficionado, Magician, Cardist or anything in between, there is only one place to be this October and that's in Orlando celebrating the 52 Plus Joker Club's 30th Anniversary at their 29th Annual Playing Card Convention.

Headed up by arguably one of the most knowledgeable men in Playing Cards, Tom Dawson and his wife Judy. The event is always a ton of fun and getting to meet so many wonderful people from the community and industry is truly worth the trip.

Our friend and VP of 52 Plus Joker, Lee Asher, will fill in some of the details of this amazing event.

With the 30th anniversary of our annual convention upon us, the buzz is starting to rise to a boil. Various private emails and threads on the Playing Card Forum are asking questions about who's attending, speaking, and launching new decks at this year's convention. So instead of fanning the rumor fire, let me tell you who you will see at this year's 52 Plus Joker Convention.

It's a long laundry list of 'who's who' in attendance, so here are a few highlights:

Lenny Schneir - For those who don't recognize this name, he officially member #1 of the 52 Plus Joker. That's right! He started all this 30 years ago, and now he's back to see the progress we've made in his absence.

Kostya Kimlat - Known in the magic world as one of the best with a deck of cards, he's going to perform his brand of sleight of hand during one of our events, but he's also going to attend the convention as he's become a new member of our club.

Rhonda Hawes - She's going to share her vast knowledge about Art Nouveau with Art Deco playing cards during one of the speaking sessions. She's going to show some imagery that will blow your mind.  
Wait until you see what she has in store.

Mark Stutzman - You might recognize him as the famed artist known for his work with David Blaine, Conjuring Arts, Legends Playing Cards, and most recently the Whispering Imps. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please stand and up make some noise for this guy. He plans to speak at this year's convention, so arrange your travel plans now.

In addition, both Expert Playing Card Company and United States Playing Card Company will be in attendance this year. I'm sure they'll each have amazing new goodies for all to enjoy as well as fresh thoughts about the continued innovation of playing card production and manufacturing.

Registration for the convention is only $100 for three days of playing card awesomeness, and that also includes a table to sell, trade, and promote your decks in the dealer's room.  Where else can you meet legendary collectors & designers, hobnob with premier card manufactures, and talk playing cards with other enthusiasts all night long? Only at a 52 Plus Joker Playing Card convention!

Want to join us this year? The convention will be held in the Doubletree Hilton at Orlando Seaworld on October 7th, through October 10th, 2015. For more information, please visit the convention page on the 52 Plus Joker website.

We look forward to seeing you in Orlando.

- Lee Asher

If you've been to the conventions in the past you know what to expect, if you haven't, you really need to try and be there, it's sure to be a great time for all attending!

Here's to seeing you in Orlando!

Collections: Black Book Manifesto by Uncommon Beat

The Black Book Manifesto by Uncommon Beat is the follow up, or I should say the continuation of the “Book” series. Much like the original Black Book of Playing Cards, Manifesto gets its strength from the continuing concept that everyone has a Card that represents them. I have to admit I’m a big fan of the direction this series has gone and truly enjoy the presentation.

Manifesto picked up where the Black Book left off, it seems to have taken all the beautiful typography and made it even better. The courts are a crisper representation while still utilizing the style of the words being the framework for the art. The biggest improvement is to the back design, a hypnotic circular pattern that once viewed more carefully brings the design full circle to the typography used to create it.

The tuck is a beautiful black base stock with silver foil accents that’s just eye catching and clean. The back design is carried to the tuck as well, but not in typography fashion, but just as a linear representation of the same hypnotic pattern.  The deck is offered in two versions, one Bicycle Branded and one unbranded. As I mentioned earlier, the courts as well as Jokers, Ace of Spades and face cards for that matter have a much more appealing overall look than the original, that’s not to say the original Black Book was anything to frown on.

I love this deck; I really enjoy Uncommon Beat’s talent and willingness to go in a different direction with their projects. With Manifesto, the beauty is in the details, the details being the written words so precisely placed and used. The words are selected to bring the concept all together in one appealing package. I can see this not being everyone’s cup of tea, but if you haven’t taken a closer look at the work involved in Manifesto as well as The Black Book of Cards, you should. In a sea of similar offerings now a days, decks like Manifesto break the mold, but keep form and function intact within the concept and artwork that it brings to the table.

If you’re a fan of Limited Editions you can pick up the recently released Gold Versions of both the Branded and Unbranded Manifesto decks, a beautiful companion to the Black and Silver offering with a super low Print Run of only 420 Branded and 393 Unbranded versions available.

“Must Have” is a bit overused these days, but I’m confident Manifesto as well as Uncommon Beats previous releases would be a great addition to any collection.

The Collection segment is produced by Anthony Ingrassia of Kardify. No part of this article, images or video can be reproduced without written permission from the author and Kardify.com. To see more of Anthony's (Sparkz) collection please visit sparkzcollector.com . 

Card Radar: Spoon Playing Cards

Emerging inauspiciously in 1993, Spoon is an indie rock band based out of Austin, Texas. Spoon has made a career of ignoring rules and trends, amassing a relatively dud-free discography in the process. Their sound lies at the junction where classic rock and roll songwriting intersects with bold production choices and a uniquely experimental approach to mixing and arrangement.

Introducing Spoon Playing Cards! Designed by artists Matthew Jacobson and Camilo Medina, this Spoon-centric deck of cards are inspired by the band’s most recent album, They Want My Soul.  Originally, the band had plans to make some merchandising items based off They Want My Soul's album packaging. They loved the idea of playing cards (featured in the promotional image) and decided to go ahead making them.

The fully custom deck features 56 cards (in addition to the standard 52) including two 'R.I.P.' cards (instead of Jokers), one two-tone double-backed card, and one gaff card that includes all four suits. Printed by the famous USPCC, the playing cards are on sale now for $8 on Spoon’s website.

Kickstarter: 7 Questions with Steven Fields of Mighty Super Heroes Playing Cards

Designed by TwoGeeksGaming, the Mighty Super Heroes Playing Cards are a Super Hero themed deck inspired by the superheroes and villains from comic books, graphic novels and movies that we all love and enjoy.

This unique deck features minimalist art style and conveyed with simple lines, black & whites and solid bold coloring. A lot of thought have gone into the design of the deck, for example figure art is used on the 10’s, Jacks, Queens, Kings, Aces, and Jokers. These are super heroes that sort of have the look of mini detailed stick figures. While on the 2-9 cards, Element art is used to depict various elements & attributes of a super hero or the overall feel and look of a super hero.

The genius about this deck is that stick figures are generic enough and the elements have a very broad scope. The shapes, lines and colors integrates nicely to characterise a particular hero or villain and are easily recognisable.

Just prior to the launch, we were able to catch-up with Steven Fields for a quick Q&A about himself, TwoGeeksGaming, the inspiration & design evolution behind the Mighty Super Heroes deck and his future plans for the series.

For those of us who don’t know, tell us a little about yourself and Two Geeks Gaming.
Hello. My name is Steven Fields. I grew up in Orange County California where I still reside today with my wife and family. I have always been the type of person with a creative and curious mind… even as a little kid with my Lincoln Logs and Legos. My main passion was to be a film director and screenwriter throughout the years. So I think I have always had that flair towards the visual mediums. I’ve been a game designer and graphic artist for roughly the last 10 years working on both board and card games for several companies, as well as, my own projects.

TwoGeeksGaming was formed a few years back by myself and my brother Jon. We started the company because we wanted to develop and release our own games without any restrictions or outside constraints. My friend, Greg “Jazzy Bear” Brown, came aboard soon afterwards and that formed our little family.

Can you describe Mighty Super Heroes Playing Cards and why you’re passionate about it?
This is our first release into the playing card world. Mighty Super Heroes is a 54 card poker style deck of cards who’s main overall theme centers around that of super heroes and villains. As a little kid growing up, I was always into movies and comic books and that never changed as I got older. I am still into that stuff today. So it was only natural that my first release be something that I have always been into. Something I know. Something I love.

Mighty Super Heroes is the first deck in a series of themed decks we call “SMArt Playing Cards” or Simply Minimalist Art. It is meant to be an ongoing series of playing cards. Each time we release a new deck it will have a new theme… this first one being super heroes.

Walk us through the process you took to design this unique deck. How did you come out with the idea and how did you get to this finished product?
I’ve always loved the pop art movement and minimalist art styles throughout the years. We knew we wanted to do something around super heroes, we knew we wanted to break out of the standard style of poker cards… so it just seemed to be a natural fit to use that clean look of minimalist art. We had a theme, we had the style we were shooting for, then it was just a matter of what characters we wanted to convey on the deck. Most everything else fell into place.

What was your most brilliant breakthrough when designing the deck?
That is a good question. We had most of the pieces in play on the deck. We, early in development, knew we wanted the face cards to have “Figures” or characters and that the pip cards would have more “Elements” or an overall general feeling of a super hero… but there just seemed to be something missing. It was lacking something that gave you a feeling you were looking at a comic book or the old time super hero tv shows and cartoons. Then one of us came up with the idea to use what we call the Kapow background. It is the lines you see behind the characters and art. That gave you the feeling like the old school “Biff”, “Bam”, “Boom” and “Kapow”. Once that was added into the mix, it just worked and we knew it.

With so many playing card projects competing for funding, why should potential backers choose your deck?
Well, I think our deck is something a bit different and really unique. It has an interesting overall theme and a different art style than you usually see. If you love super heroes and comic books, then I think most people will love this deck. Something that harkens back to your childhood. I guess the one thing that we wanted to accomplish when we set out to do this… was to make a great poker deck but it had to be fun to use as well. To put a smile on your face.

What’s next for Two Geeks Gaming? Are you planning to release more playing card decks in the future?
If funding goes well with this deck, we will immediately launch into Mighty Super Heroes deck 2. This will be a new deck with all new characters and art.

We also have two other decks in the SMArt Series ready to go for 2015. These will have completely different “Themes” but in the same minimalist art style. We don’t want to give away just yet what those themes are… but it could be Sci Fi Movies or Action Heroes, Horror Movies or Comedies. You will love them though.

Outside of the SMArt Series of playing cards, we have a few other poker card decks planned that are a bit more traditional in tone. We are even using some of the best artists around for one of those decks. Truly stunning and beautiful stuff.

Our goal is to make the best games we can. Stuff we would like to use and play. Our poker decks are just the start of things. We will also be releasing some board games and card games as well.

Finally, what are your favourite playing cards?
I personally, for some reason, am always drawn towards decks that break away from that stereotypical style and look. Stuff that isn’t traditional. That being said, I think you can find beauty in most decks if you just look for it.

But, I really loved Delirium from Giovanni and Thirdway Industries. Just an interesting and beautifully designed deck… and his upcoming Omnia set is just gorgeous. Steve Minty’s Muertos series is another one in my library that I truly love.

Thank you for your time Steven and all the best! At the time of writing, the project is only 21% funded with 27 days to go. If want to support the Mighty Super Heroes deck, you can find it on Kickstarter here.


Pledge starts from $15 and the Mighty Super Heroes Playing Cards will be printed by the Legends Playing Card Co. There are add-ons available such as T-Shirt and Uncut Sheet. Also, there are multiple rewards waiting to be unlocked once the project hits its stretch goals- embossed tuck, custom seal and limited edition coin.

Don't miss out!

Kickstarter: 7 Questions with Piff of Piff the Magic Dragon Playing Cards

[Update] The Piff Deck is available now from the official Piff the Magic Dragon Shop! 

On the latest (July 14) episode of “America’s Got Talent”, Piff the Magic Dragon and his faithful companion Mr. Piffles (the World’s First Magic Performing Chihuahua) won over the audience and judges by making ham and cheese sandwiches, stealing a kiss from Heidi Klum and somehow, someway making a card appear in the strangest of places (we won’t ruin the surprise for you) and walked away, a proud golden buzzer recipient.

If you don't already know, Piff the Magic Dragon is the stand out star of Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Las Vegas Headliner. With over 12 million YouTube hits to his name, Piff has performed to hundreds of thousands of people in famous venues such as Radio City Music Hall, Shakespeare’s Globe, the O2, London and Sydney Opera house. His solo show has had five record breaking runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, two sell-out seasons at Soho Theatre in London’s West End, a national tour of the UK and Australia. He was the opening act for Mumford & Sons on their 17 date uk tour and has just completed a six month residency at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in their flagship show Vegas Nocturne.

But enough of Piff because it's time to talk about this incredibly fun deck. The Piff the Magic Dragon Playing Cards is a completely custom totally bad@$$ deck of playing cards designed from the ground up to fulfill all your magical dragon desires. Illustrated by UK artist Claire Blackledge, this unique deck features custom pips and indices, custom back, custom courts and redesigned tuck box, Die-Cut Harbin Table Playing Cards, and totally unique Gaff Cards for a special Piff magic trick.

The pips and indices have been redesigned to represent various aspects of Piff's life Spades are now represented by flames. The paws of Mr Piffles have replaced the clubs. Hearts are out, flowers are in, and diamonds are still the same, but fancier. Also, each of the 12 court cards have been completely redesigned to tell a story between the suits. Kings are represented by Piff, Queens have been upgraded to Princesses and Jacks are represented by none other than Mr. Piffles himself.

Finally... The Tuckular! A Tuck Tacular! Each Piff deck is safely stored in a custom built and designed tuck case that is an exact replica of Piff's legendary Tacular. The deck comes with 2 uniquely engineered die-cut playing cards that fold out into a Harbin table! How awesome is that??

Thanks to Chris Chelko, we managed to have a chat with Piff about life of a Magical Dragon, his brother Steve and creating a custom deck of playing cards.

How different is the life of a Magical Dragon compared to we mere mortals?
A magical dragon's life consists of practicing card tricks, seeking out snacks and kidnapping princesses. I'm sure your readers will be able to identify with at least two of these quests.

You have a brother, Steve, are you related to that "Other" Dragon in any way?
"He's dead to me"

What inspired you to bring your "Magical" abilities to the world stage?
I needed some gold. Kidnapping Princesses is not cheap.

Why would a Dragon decide to create a custom deck of playing cards?
See above.

Did you have any help in designing you’re playing cards?
Yes. I worked alongside an amazing artist called Claire Blackledge, who originally created a T-Shirt for me, and we've been working together ever since.

What elements of your playing cards excite you the most?
The Tuckular - It's an exact replica of my Tacular, for playing cards. When I was bored on the road I would make small harbin tables out of playing cards. This is a continuation of that idea.

Also, Mr Piffles' Cannon of Certain Boom has been immortalized in the deck and can now be performed by your readers on a nightly basis.

Have you developed any fondness for any of our Magicians or Designers?
I have a couple of magic bros like Chris Chelko, Justin Willman, Mac King, and Penn & Teller. As far as designers go, I am very fond of Dan & Dave. They make great treasure.

We want to thank Piff for his time and the opportunity to bring the Piff the Magic Dragon deck to our readers, it’s a real honor and we can’t wait to see Piff and Mr. Piffles on America’s Got Talent final rounds! Meanwhile, if you want to support Piff the Magic Dragon Playing Cards, you can find it on Kickstarter here!


Pledge starts from $15 and the deck will be printed by the Expert Playing Card Co. Uncut sheet and Piff T-Shirt are available as an add-on.

[Update] The Piff Deck is available now from the official Piff the Magic Dragon Shop! 

Deck View: Misc Goods Co. (Third Edition) Playing Cards

Blue. Stunning. Beautiful.

The Misc Goods Co. Third Edition Playing Cards are a custom designed deck designed by Tyler Deeb. The First Edition was launched on Kickstarter in 2012 to unprecedented success, becoming the first playing card project to hit the $100k mark.

Stunning design with beautiful artwork, the 3rd edition Misc Goods Co deck features new colors, typography, icons and artwork details. The updated letters and numbers are newly designed and totally original. They are 250% larger than its predecessor to help with quicker game play.

The deck is manufactured by the famous United States Playing Card Co., and is printed on Bee paper, the highest quality coated playing card stock. Available in blue and sea green, the tuck is silver foil (for the blue) and gold foil (for the green).

Available at JP Games.

Collections: Hollingworth by Dan and Dave

The Hollingworth Decks by Dan and Dave are a classy trip back in time to the early 1920’s; the Art Deco style is strong but not overbearing. While both decks may at first look the same except for the color, they are a little different, each offering its own attractive quality.

The original Hollingworth deck is presented in a nice Emerald Green and was originally only available in the Hollingworth Collection which included the deck and a collection of DVD’s of the master at his very best. It was also offered with a sleek, clean gold card clip bundle. Most recently the deck has been offered on its own for the first time. The cards handle exceptionally well, feeling a bit thin and light in your hands at first, but retain a nice snap and the handling is very nice. The court cards are accented with metallic inks and the back design has a beautiful “Holographic” pattern of Hollingworths initials “GH” repeating and shimmering with every angle of light that hits it. The tuck is very simple and clean, just the gold foiled “GH” initials on the front, and some foil corner “Framing “on the back of the tuck. My praises go to the look and design of the card backs, they are just hypnotic.

The Burgundy Edition looks richer that the original, the deep red with gold accents just pop on the tuck box as well as the card backs. The Burgundy edition got a bit of an upgrade in the tuck design, carrying the back design to the back of the tuck and enhanced by gold foiling. It truly catches your attention. The cards feel and handling are identical to the originals, the courts also have metallic inks to give them a nice shimmer, but the back design is void of the “Holographic” look of the original, still stunning with the Burgundy and Gold, but it doesn’t have that little extra “Illusion of Light” if you will.

That being said, both decks are beautifully simple and sleek in their presentation and offer a very rich and “Classy” look and feel. Very nice for magic as well as a hand of poker, the Hollingworth decks are worth picking up if you enjoy a deck that holds on to its familiarity, but does it with style. Being able to pick up the pair for about $30.00 isn’t terrible, but may be a bit on the boarder for some budgets, in which case going with the Burgundy alone will more than satisfy.

The Collection segment is produced by Anthony Ingrassia of Kardify. No part of this article, images or video can be reproduced without written permission from the author and Kardify.com. To see more of Anthony's (Sparkz) collection please visit sparkzcollector.com . 

First Look: Kings of India Playing Cards by Humble Raja Part II

[Update] Kings of India Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

In the second part of our first look of Kings of India Playing Cards, we look into the details pertaining to this exotic deck and the inspiration behind the artwork.

Kings of India Playing Cards is the debut deck of Humble Raja, crafted by the design-obsessed duo, Bhavesh & Reena Mistry from Montréal. It will be printed by the United States Playing Card Company on their air-cushioned Bicycle stock with an intricate, gold-foiled tuck in peacock green.

Kings of India was created to explore the four greatest dynasties of India; each is represented by a suit to reveal the marvels and legends of India's royal courts. 100% custom, the artwork behind the Kings of India playing cards has been fully illustrated from scratch - from the backs, aces, jokers and pips.

The courts reveal details of a legendary monarch, his queen and a notable successor from the Maurya, Gupta, Chola & Mughal dynasties. Through extensive research sourced from artifacts, sculptures, folklore and architecture the design of each character tells a story of their legacy, gives clues into their personalities and even models the fashion sense of the time.

Though these court cards have bold personalities they still follow key features of the modern British court card, so the one-eyed royals and suicide king are well taken care of.  Regardless of age, culture and education, these playing cards will allow you to discover some extravagant characters, surprising facts and curiosities of India’s culture; what you find inside might just spark an unexpected interest.

[Update] Kings of India Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

Kings of India will be available via Kickstarter on Wednesday, July 15th at 12:00 EST. We wish the team at Humble Raja great success.

To keep up to date on the latest happenings from Humble Raja, follow them on their Facebook page.

EXCLUSIVE First Look: Chameleons by Asi Wind and Expert Playing Card Company

[Update] Now available on conjuringarts.org. Don't miss out!

Here's an exclusive first look of the latest incredible deck series from EPCC called Chameleons. Designed by world-renowned magician Asi Wind, this deck is engineered to be the ultimate deck for magicians.

The deck handles amazing! Made from Expert's Classic stock, the deck feels familiar yet superior to standard decks. The Classic stock ensures that these decks won't vary from deck to deck and the cut is always perfect for faro shuffles (bottom up and tabled). The registration is perfect so they are beautiful and the borders don’t flutter when riffled.

The cards themselves are just as impressive with a beautiful ambigram of the AW initial on the backs. For the Ultra Luxury version, the initial has been iridescent stamped on each card back. The deck also features a custom Ace of Spades, beautifully rich court cards and two custom Jokers depicting the Chameleon.

One thing you will notice when you first open the deck are the order of the cards. The deck comes in Mnemonica order cut to the Ace of spades (on the bottom). Any Mnemonica user is ready to perform  just by opening a brand new deck in front of a spectator and removing the jokers and cutting once.

Another exciting thing about these deck is that it all come in tuck cases made of Expert's new exclusive synthetic paper. These amazing tucks will last and last and are waterproof. The worn out tuck box problem plaguing working magicians is now a thing of the past.

The Chameleons come in three versions; Metallic Red: $9.95, Metallic Blue: $9.95 and Ultra Luxury Metallic Green with Foil on the cards: $19.95. The Ultra Luxury version comes in a specially designed tuck with a die cut hole so that the beautiful iridescent stamped on each card back can be seen even while the deck is safely boxed.

Special bundle is available as well: 1 of each color (valued at $45), for just $34.95 pstpd US (+$9.99 worldwide) and 5 + 5 + 2 (a $149 value), for $119.00 pstpd US (+ $19.99 worldwide).

[Update] Now available on conjuringarts.org. Don't miss out!

According to EPCC, only a small quantity of each color were produced so act now while you can. The release date given by EPCC is 15th July.

Deck View: MailChimp Playing Cards

Monkeys. Bananas. Fun.

A collaboration between MailChimp, Fuzzco, and theory11, the MailChimp Playing Cards was originally created as an internal promotion and giveaway item. This limited deck was probably one of the most highly sought-after deck for collectors and aficionado's alike in recent years until theory11 decided to release the red edition and the new black edition to the general public.

For the design, Fuzzco dove deep into the history of card design to pay homage to the traditions of the genre while incorporating primates to reference the brand. A perfect blend of organic elements and iconic imagery, the deck features custom face cards, ultra thin borders and amazing foil printing on the tuck with hidden monkeys and bananas throughout. A fun deck for your poker nights!

Available now from JP Games.

First Look: Kings of India Playing Cards by Humble Raja Part I

[Update] Kings of India Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

Coming soon! Kings of India is the debut deck of Humble Raja, crafted by the design-obsessed duo, Bhavesh & Reena Mistry from Montréal, who also co-run the design firm Apartment 4. With Humble Raja, they aim to use design as a means to explore India’s rich culture in a playful and modern way.

Kings of India Playing Cards is the first product of their exploration into India’s past. The deck illustrates the four greatest dynasties of India to share the extravagance and beauty of India’s royal courts.

From ancient weapons to eccentric moustaches, backers can expect to find marvelous illustrated details for each court card based on hours of research through books, architectural motifs, artifacts and folklore. Every inch of this deck has been custom illustrated from scratch, from the numbers and suits to the chest hairs on the Kings.

Stay tuned for the second part of the Kings of India first look in a few days! The project is expected to launch on Kickstarter this Wednesday, July 15th at 12:00 EST. To keep up to date on the latest happenings from Humble Raja, follow them on their Facebook page.

[Update] Kings of India Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

Collections: LUXX Version 2 Shadow Edition by JP Playing Cards

In 2014 JP Playing Cards launched an idea, an idea that consisted of bringing a custom deck to the on-line retailers inventory that was truly its own. That line was LUXX. The coolest part of the LUXX model was that it took one of today’s best designers and utilized their talents to design a truly striking pack of cards. The original release (v1) was hugely successful and has become a bit of a must have in many aficionado’s collections. The follow up to the v1 is the LUXX Shadow Edition. Version 2 offers the same features that were praised in Version 1, but in a new “Classic” color pallet.
The Shadow Edition is available in both Gold and Silver, both tucks have the same design as the original with gold/silver accent foil as well as a black accent that give the tuck a nice pop. The interior of the tuck also brings back the shimmering glossy interior and, as with the original, I just love the stock of the tuck. A nice heave sturdy feel that gets away from the thinner standard tuck stock we see in common decks.

The deck itself once again has completely custom courts, jokers and Ace of Spades, and also includes a Poker Hand Ranking guide. The pips have a subtle customization as to not be distracting in a game of Poker and the same can be said of the court cards, they remain very familiar, yet offer subtle touches to set them apart.  The LUXX line so far has featured the design work of Randy Butterfield, designer of another striking deck, Draconian. Randy’s work is featured on both version 1 and 2. The interesting thing about JP’s LUXX line is that their bringing in some proven talent to let them give their twist on the LUXX line, next up is designer Rick Davidson of the Origins deck.

The LUXX line has been stellar so far, form and function and beautiful to look at whether in a collection or poker table. I think the formula JP’s using thus far is brilliant by bringing in familiar designers to extend the run of LUXX. If you’re unfamiliar with LUXX or JP’s Playing Cards, give them a visit. While the version 1 decks have become scarce, the version 2 Shadow Edition are still available if you haven’t added them to your collection as of yet. The long and short of it is these decks have a beautiful look, feel and design, you won’t be disappointed with the LUXX series.

The Collection segment is produced by Anthony Ingrassia of Kardify. No part of this article, images or video can be reproduced without written permission from the author and Kardify.com. To see more of Anthony's (Sparkz) collection please visit sparkzcollector.com . 

Deck View: Metropol LUX Playing Cards

Modern. Colors. Stunning.

The Metropol LUX is the companion deck to last years' surprise hit- the Metropol NOX deck. Created by Mike Lambert, the Metropol decks are inspired by current trends in digital design- clean, easy-to-read, and a unique take on the classic playing card design.

The bold deck design has been popular with cardists. The unique 4-colour back design and colour suits enhances displays and card flourishes making fans, spreads, spins and cascades look absolutely stunning!

Printed by LPCC on their diamond finish card stock. Also available in Red and Blue. For more cool playing cards, check out JP Games.

Kickstarter: Wasteland Playing Cards by Kings Wild Project Funded Within 2 Hours

Having only gone live 2 days ago, the Kickstarter campaign for Kings Wild's Wasteland Playing Cards, has reached its $25,000 funding goal. Illustrated by Jackson Robinson, the deck impressed with its striking colors, art style and well defined lines.

The first stretch goal is at $50,000 and unlocks a custom, die cut, full color, vinyl sticker featuring the "Big Baby" joker. Given that the campaign only launched two days ago and still has 28 days to go, it’s not hard to believe that a number of stretch goals will be smashed by then.

Wasteland Playing Cards will be printed by Expert Playing Card Co. and based on InXile Entertainment's Wasteland 2 video game. It is currently standing at $51,932 from 858 backers.

Don't miss out!