News: CHOICE (Green Edition) Playing Cards

Originally funded on Kickstarter, CHOICE Playing Cards are a contemporary deck inspired by history and by hand-drawn playing cards of the past. This deck has been designed by Ben Kolozsi with simplicity in mind.

The Green Edition of CHOICE features an elegant rich, dark green back with gold foil on top. A very classic look! Also, the Ace of Spades takes on a simpler form as well as the Trumps (Jokers) no longer have a T-index in each corner.

Only 1,000 deck where printed by Expert Playing Card Company on their best stock and finish. Limited time Black Friday price of $9 for a single deck (originally $13) or $90 ($7.50 a deck) for a Brick of twelve decks.

Available from choiceplayingcards.com

Deck View: Encarded Standard (First Edition) Playing Cards

Bold. First. Vintage

Created by Paul Carpenter, this bold eye-catching deck is the first in Encarded's Standard series. The First Edition features a metallic blue back and a 70's vintage-inspired, top loading tuck box with silver foil and embossing details.

Elegantly printed by the Expert Playing Card Company and available at JP Games.

[Updated] News: Black Friday Offer, Deals and New Releases 2015

Black Friday is just around the corner, which means your favourite retailers from Ellusionist, Theory11, Dan and Dave, Conjuring Arts, the Blue Crown and more... will be slashing their prices!

From special discounts to new releases, we will bring you everything you need to know about Black Friday, and also give you some information about Cyber Monday. Information will be added as and when it comes in.

Conjuring Arts Research Centre

Two new releases, Red Royal ZEN and Liars & Thieves. The ZEN features black foil on the card back genies and a beautifully embossed pearl-finished tuck.

The Liars and Thieves deck is designed by Odysseas Spiliotis. The deck features a synthetic tuck, a custom Ace of Spades and borderless courts, which is a modified set of Expert's standard courts. The card backs reflective of the timeless circular pattern design that give the deck its signature appeal. No doubt a very versatile deck suitable for the working magician and poker players.

Finally, a half-brick box will be offered at a Black Friday Special price of $6.00, the half brick box will also be offered for FREE with any purchase of 6 decks or more.

Collectable Playing Cards 

Offering 15% off storewide from Friday through to Monday. Use coupon code BF15 during checkout.

Stockholm17 

Various deals on 3 decks, bricks and split half-bricks of Heretic/Requiem.

Theory11

It's hard to keep up with all the releases from Theory11, their Black Friday offerings are simply stunning! The highlight is the fully customised UNIONS Playing Cards, designed by Jay Fletcher - the same designer who brought you the stunning Rarebit Playing Cards. Priced at $9.95.

Also teased on their social media outlets are the Red and Gold Monarchs. Any shipped order of over $100 will include the Gold Monarchs.

David Blaine

Releasing the Black Lions Playing Cards, beautifully illustrated by Mark Stutzman. We reckon these will go pretty fast like all his other releases. $7 per deck.

Also 30% off storewide!

Art of Play

On top of the customary Black Friday discount, two new playing cards releases this year: the DKNG Studio's Red Wheel Playing Cards and Camp Cards by Bradley Mountain.

20% off everything. Coupon code: BLACK

Three of Clubs & Kardify

50% off storewide from Friday through to Monday. If you missed out on the stunning Limited Edition Aquila Playing Cards, now's your chance!

The Blue Crown 

New release of the NOC Signature Series by Dani DaOrtiz feature Erdnase Green colour and like the White NOCs, fully marked. Also, the Black Friday (500 limit) by Alex Pandrea and Edo Huang.

WhisperingImps

30% off storewide! Sign-up on the site to receive the newsletter for the discount code.

Thirdway

Some CRAZY deals from Thirdway Industries... from the fun EVIL deck to the extremely gorgeous OMNIA. Discounts up to 40%.

Metropol Cards 

If you've missed these eye-catching decks, up to 50% off various items at Metropol Cards.

Card Experiment 

40% off everything through the weekend. Use promocode: BLACK40OFF

Collections: Sons of Liberty by Dan & Dave

In the early summer of 1765 a group of shopkeepers and artisans known as The Loyal Nine, started preparing to oppose the Stamp Act. The Loyal Nine continued to grow in size and became known as the Sons of Liberty.

The Sons of Liberty playing cards by Dan & Dave are inspired by rich history, the look and feel as well as the historical story behind the Sons of Liberty come together very nicely in this deck. The deck features some really nice touches and elements that make it worth a second look.

The tuck is a matte black stock featuring bronze and black foiling. The script on the front fits the theme really well and just pops off the tuck with a subtle but eye catching black foiling design creating a frame around the text. The text is also embossed and gives the tuck a nice look and feel when in your hands. The side panels keep to the theme with images of bronze foiled banners stretching the length of the tuck, one banner reading “The D&D Playing Card Co.” while the other features the deck designer information, “Designed by Jeff Trish”. The flap is covered in Foil stars and along the edge reads “Liberty or Death”. The card back design is featured on the back of the tuck, once again in bronze foil and the package is held closed with a worn looking seal featuring a sketched image of a skull with the word “Void” on his forehead.

The back design features some great elements referring to the secret society that was The Sons of Liberty. Two mirrored Free Mason symbols are the center piece of the design, dead center are the letters “S” and “L” in script and intertwined in a two way fashion. Surrounding the initials are two Eagles clutching bayonets that complete the Free Mason symbol. Opposite corners feature two banners, one reading “Obedience to God” and the other “To Tyrant Rebellion” if I’m not mistaken……eyes are getting old. The rest of the design has some key elements that refer to other well know “Secrets” all built in and around the Free Mason symbol. We’ll leave those for you to discover on your own. The rest of the back design has an etched look to it, subtle enough as to not look too busy or confusing, but balancing out the overall design and look. I really like the back; it was well thought out and fits the concept spot on.

Sons of Liberty also features a custom Ace of Spades designed around the image of the Liberty Tree, two custom Jokers and completely custom courts. The Jokers are images of Stocks, one in black and one in the “Burnt” Red being used in the Red suites. The Court Cards depict various historical figures involved with the Sons of Liberty. Presented in a mirror fashion the courts continue the etched look, with wardrobes and elements bringing the two inverted images together nicely. The court cards also feature very subtle background scenes done in a gold metallic ink that really completes not only the look, but the theme of the deck

The pips have just enough customization to stand out as original, but not so much that they feel out of place. The white space on the spot cards also have a bit of random “Etching” to keep the look of the deck nicely tied together.

Sons of Liberty is a really nice offering from the Buck Twins, the theme was well thought out, beautifully designed by Jeff Tish and presented in an eye catching package. Add to that the slightly under $10.00 price tag and it should please a variety of playing card aficionado’s , history buffs would love this deck, definitely worth picking up.

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 and work please visit sparkzphoto.com or follow him on Facebook as well as Instagram

First Look: Chancellor Playing Cards by Encarded

Following the success of Zenith Playing Cards which sold out in less than two days, Encarded has announced the release of the second deck in their signature series.

Chancellor Playing Cards is inspired by a small detail on a century-old Bicycle card back and grew into an incredibly detailed artwork, packing all of the experience and design innovations that Encarded has developed since their founding in 2011- the patterned border area of Aurum, the "shadow border" style of Tendril, the borderless concept of Zenith and the subtle pattern textures of Deco.

The deck will be printed by Expert Playing Card Co, on the same Master finish stock as Zenith and features FOUR metallic inks that intertwine into a detailed, "shadow bordered" back with subtle edge details and dimension. The faces are fully custom, with a dramatic court featuring beautiful detail and unique colorations.

The tuck looks incredible, with thick matte black paper, two foils and incredibly detailed blind embossing. The deck is sealed with a beautiful metallic foil seal, individually numbered and carefully designed to integrate with the tuck design.

There will be just 1000 decks of Chancellor printed. The Chancellor public pre-order will start November 24th at 6pm EST, exclusively on Encarded.com. Only 900 will be available to the public.f it's anything like its predecessor Zenith, it won't last long. Don't miss out!

Showcase: LUXX Palme Playing Cards

Welcome to Showcase, our exclusive feature that is dedicated to showing beautiful images of playing cards, from recent releases, old favourites to the occasional prototype decks. For each showcase, we will include a fact sheet associated to the deck for you to discover. Note that line items on the fact sheet are taken from the "Catalogue of the Cary Collection of Playing Cards in the Yale University Library". Click here to find out more!

Country of Manufacture: Taiwan
Standard: S
Suit System: French
Type: Anglo-American

Maker: Legends Playing Card Company, Hong Kong
Date of Manufacture: 2015
Originator: Designer
Name of Originator: Rick Davidson
Title: LUXX Palme Playing Cards
Dimensions: 64 x 89 mm

Stance of Court Cards: Double Figure
Indices: Two
Process: Modern Offset
Back: Paisley patterns
Borders: Full bleed
Corners: Round

Packaging: Tuck case, embossed matte foiled: [LUXX logo], [wrap-around Paisley patterns]
Composition of Deck: 52 [ A, K, Q, J, 10-2], j, ad
Aces AS: [pip] / LUXX / PALME / JP PLAYING CARD CO. LTD / PRINTED BY LEGENDS PLAYING CARD CO.

Images for the Showcase feature are 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 and work please visit his Facebook page or follow him on Instagram.

Deck View: The Lumberjacks Playing Cards

Plaid. Ax. Beaver.

Funded on Kickstarter 2013, the Lumberjacks Playing Cards are inspired by plaid wearing, ax-wielding, bearded men. This subtle deck features a beautiful custom tuck with a monotone design.

Designed by Vadim Smolenskiy, each of the 56 cards has a custom design. The back details the red oak, rope and felling axes with "Save a Tree. Eat a Beaver." written along the belly of the handle. Each deck includes two custom Jokers, one custom double backer, and one custom "Tools of the Trade" gaff card.

Printed by the famous USPCC, each deck is hand numbered and limited to only 2,500 decks. Available from lumberjackplayingcards.com and for all more cool playing cards, check out JP Games.

Collections: Calaveras by Dead on Paper

Dead on Paper and Chris Ovdiyenko have truly come into their own over the last year or so. Not only is each new project bringing completely fresh and new concepts to the table, but the projects have also been “Grander” each time out. Chris has a very unique style and has shown his willingness to go in new directions with each new idea that he takes on.

Chris’ first project in the playing card world was Calaveras. Inspired by el Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Chris took a simple approach that truly captured the holiday along with showcasing his talent and attention to detail. There have been Day of the Dead decks over the years, each with its own “vision”, but I have to say that Dead on Paper’s version is one of my favorites. The rustic look and feel of the tuck case and cards is well balanced and while at first glance the imagery seems simple, once you take a good look you can appreciate the detail and subtleties that went into the artwork.

The tuck is a matte off white stock that lends itself well to the concept, the simple yet intricate “Tri-Skull” image on the front is eerie yet beautiful. The contrast between the skulls and roses are a perfect complement to the Day of the Dead concept. The details continue in the framing and copy found on the edges of the deck and also continues into the tuck where you’ll find a beautiful pattern. Keeping with the small details, you'll find a quote from Emiliana Zapata that reads "prefiero morir de pie que vivir de rodillas" -  “It's better to die standing than live on your knees" on the tuck flap. The tuck finishes up with a nice custom seal sporting an oversized letter “C”.  

The back design continues the “Skull and Roses” imagery with six skulls swimming in a bed of flowers. The back design is framed with an intricate border design that not only gives the back design a finishes look, but also visually shrinks the borders. The spot cards feature nicely designed, slightly oversized, pips. Again, subtle customization makes the pips stand out and the intricate design of the numbers just keep tying the concept together. The deck also included a simple, yet well fitting, Ace of Spades “Planted” in a bed of flowers and two skulls which are also featured on the other three Aces in the deck. The two custom Jokers lean on a bit of the macabre of the Day of the Dead, but again, fit perfectly with the rest of the deck.  Also included in the deck you’ll find a really nice ad card as well as a double backer. 

The court cards feature 12 unique designs. They are presented in a one way layout, but I don’t mind it with this deck. Each suite has its own theme; the Diamonds have a religious overtone, while the Hearts depict more of a “Bandito” feel to them. Each court has an intricate frame that wraps part way around each edge leaving some space for the indices. 

Calaveras was available in an unbranded version as well as a Bicycle branded version. The projects original deck was the Bicycle branded which was limited to 5000 hand numbered decks. The decks came without cello. The unbranded version was added with an unlimited run, but did deliver the deck wrapped in cello. Outside of the cello, branding and hand numbering, the decks are identical. 

Calaveras was a beautiful tribute to the Day of the Dead and showcased the amazing artistic talents of Chris Ovdiyenko. With each new release you can see Dead on Papers fan base growing and with good reason. If you’re a fan of really talented artists, you need to give this deck a look, not to mention if you like the Day of the Dead concept, in which case this is a no brainer. If your new to Dead on Papers and Chris Ovdiyenko work, take a look at his other projects, Oracle and Arcana…….you won’t be disappointed.  

You can follow Chris and Dead on Paper on his website as well as Facebook so you can keep up to date with any new projects or offerings. 

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 and work please visit sparkzphoto.com or follow him on Facebook as well as Instagram

Card Gear: Sketch

Card Gear is our monthly feature dedicated to discovering new inventory, setup and accessories used everyday by card designers, cardists, magicians and collectors. The concept originated from the popular social media site, Instagram: #passthepockets. Whenever one of these hashtags come up on the social news feed, there's always something new to discover, no matter who that person is.

For November, we have the everyday gears of Brendan Hong, designer of the gorgeous HIVE playing cards. The HIVE decks are beautifully designed decks inspired by classic playing card art. These decks are fully customized with its own unique court cards to custom Jokers, Ace of Spades and back design. Brendan's gear:

+ Green (Standard Edition) Hive Playing Cards
+ EPCC V2 Pack Jacket
+ Vintage chain wallet
+ Citizen Sports Eco-Drive Watch
+ The Hobbit Moleskine Notebook
+ Kobo Touch with case
+ Tin case with: Steadler HB, 2B, 4B & Col-Erase pencil: blue, grass green, scarlet red.


What’s yours? If you would like your card gears to be featured on Kardify, contact us.

First Look: Bumblebee Playing Cards by Ellusionist

Here's something different from the wizards at Ellusionist. Inspired by the plight of the bees and our growing awareness of our dependence on them, Bumblebee Playing Cards are meticulously crafted and aged to elegance with its gorgeous vintage design.

The deck is fully custom and hand-illustrated with great attention to detail. The cards have a vintage look and feel to them. From the courts, aces to the eye-catching indices.

The back design is intricate and aesthetically appealing, beautifully tying the theme together throughout.

Ellusionist has designed the Bumblebee Deck to bring support to the honey bee. 10% of profit of all Bumble Bee decks will be donated to honey bees everywhere via IUCN.

Bumblebee available now from Ellusionist for $7.49. Don't miss out!

Crowdfunding this Week: 11/15

Welcome to Crowdfunding this Week, where we select some of the best playing card projects on the various crowdfunding platforms this week. This is one of the busiest week in a while! Four projects for you to check out this week:

The Scarabs Playing Cards

Egyptian Themed deck of cards. What can move the sun across the sky & raise the dead? Ancient scarab beetles?! This series harnesses beauty, power, & a hint of magic.

Kickstarter project by: Crooked Kings
Current Status:  128% Funded
Pledge Amount: $13 for single deck
Ends: December 16th, 2015

CONTOURS Playing Cards

Custom deck of playing cards uniquely designed from front to back.

Kickstarter project by: Olly Swinyard
Current Status:  7% Funded
Pledge Amount: £8 for single deck
Ends: December 13th, 2015

Red Saturn Playing Cards [First Look]

The second installment to the Messingwithcards brand. Saturns are back in a red colorway that is highly inspired by the Fall season.

Kickstarter project by: Franky Morales
Current Status:  111% Funded
Pledge Amount: $12 for single deck
Ends: December 13th, 2015

Black Diamond Tally Ho Playing Cards [First Look]

Limited Edition set of luxury playing cards designed by Jackson Robinson printed with metal lux and by USPCC.

Kickstarter project by: Jackson Robinson
Current Status:  202% Funded
Pledge Amount: $27 for single deck
Ends: November 30th, 2015

Deck View: No. 17 (Unbranded) Playing Cards

Beautiful. Striking. Ornate.

No.17 is a stylish deck of playing cards designed by Lorenzo Gaggiotti. Some may already find this deck familiar. The original No. 17 was a secret deck created after the Heretic project for a promotion of a crowdfunding site. This updated version features a broad range of enhancements, tweaks and improvements.

There is no specific theme for this deck, it´s quite eclectic. Fully custom, the deck features beautiful ornate Aces, very detailed courts, intricate back design and a vibrant red foil accent "No. 17" on the stunning white tuck.

Printed by the USPCC on their famous Bicycle paper. Available at JP Games.

Kickstarter: 7 Questions with Franky Morales of the Red Saturn Playing Cards

Conceptualized by Franky Morales, Red Saturn playing cards are a contemporary deck inspired by the fall season. This minimalistic deck is the follow-up to the very successful Blue Saturn. Designed with simplicity in mind, the Red Saturn features updated artwork and is the result high demand for a coloured version of the previous release.

The Ace of Spades, Courts and Joker are inspired by Futurism design, lines interact with bold geometric shapes in a simplistic and contemporary style, while the striking minimalistic back design enhances displays and card flourishes, which have already proven to be quite popular amongst cardists.

We reached out to Franky and we had a chat about his design background, the inspiration behind the Saturn playing cards, the design evolution of the deck and support from the playing card community.

Firstly… You are an amazing Cardist! Can you tell us about yourself and how long have you been doing Cardistry?
Thank you for the compliment haha. My name real name is Jose Francisco Morales but many of you know me by my nickname, Franky. I am a 21-year-old college student who is pursuing Multi-Media Art in Schaumburg, Illinois. Currently, I have been in the Cardistry community for nine years with no plans on stopping.

Tell us a little about the background and the inspiration behind the Saturn Playing Card series?
Well, I actually made the Saturn Playing Card design in one of my courses. The project was to re-brand my favorite company or create a company of my choosing. I had been messing with Wynn Playing Cards so I thought why not re-brand the casino. My goal was to create a booklet showcasing the "Saturn Casino." Everything from the hotel rooms, restaurants, shows, and even a gift shop. Towards the end of the project I thought what harm could come from creating a deck of cards for the gift shop page. I didn't have to do that for my school project but im happy I did.

Walk us through the process you took to design Saturn. How did you approach this project and get to this finished product?
I tried to create a modern or retro-futuristic 1970's casino deck. Obviously we know double logos is a given but what mattered to me the most, was the logo. It couldn't look old and it had to withstand time. One of my goals was to create a logo that would still be cool in five plus years from now. I went on Illustrator, created nine concentric circles and started to play around with how they were positioned etc...

Once I was done, I sent a photo to a few friends privately on Instagram to see what they thought of the logo. I was just trying to get opinions on the logo and weirdly everyone assumed it was for a deck of cards. About half of my friends said "I cant see it working" and the others really liked the design. I decided to pursue the idea anyway with close feedback from Chris Severson, Franco Pascali, and Oliver Sogard.

Next I know, I started to create several different prototype decks. Originally, the now dubbed "Honeycomb" colorway was to be the first release but I thought not too many people can get behind the Yellow-Orange color. The Blue colorway was the next choice since thats my favorite color and I never thought the Red would be made. After the success of the Blue Saturns, I had a lot of people message measking for another color and this is where im at now.

Besides the update in colour palette, what are some of the design updates you’ve done to the Red Saturn?
Besides the color, I wanted to make the next Saturns to feel like a more complete deck. New joker, new ace, and new court cards have been created to fit this next edition better. I decided to make the switch to the USPCC and print on Crushed Bicycle Stock with Embossed Finish. I love working with Expert but I think a softer paper stock will allow Cardists and Magicians to be able perform some of their favorite material easier. I often have a hard time with Expert decks when flourishes require pressure such as the spring, flower fan, and lepaul spread.

Are there any surprises planned for the release of the deck?
There is a contest I want to host. Basically, everyone who enters is required to make a Cardistry video using Red Saturns. The video will be judged on creativity and how well its filmed/edited. The video submissions can be funny, serious, epic, a jam video between you and your friends - anything goes as long as its made for this contest! The more time you put into your videos, the greater your chances are on winning the grand prize...which would be one gross (144 decks) of Red Saturns.

We first noticed the Red Saturn on your Instagram page. What do you think of the playing card community in terms of the feedback and support that you’ve been getting so far?
I gave my instagram followers the chance to vote for either the Red Saturns or the Honeycombs because I know projects start and finish with the community. I want the people that invest their time in me to feel apart of my products and never feel like they are just a customer. The opinions of the community matter a lot to me and I get some people like double logo decks and others don't. But the community has really showed their support behind Saturns and its crazy to think when this first started, I did not think my deck would be cool or popular.

To my surprise, its the exact opposite and its really humbling to hear all the positive feedback from others. It makes me want to be closer to the people in our community and create more content for everyone to enjoy.

Finally, what are your favourite playing card decks?
My current to five are: Red Saturns, Black Fontaines, Blue Monarchs, Blue Tally Ho Circle backs, and Virts 2015.

Thank you for your time and all the best, Franky. If you like what you’ve read here and want to support the Red Saturn playing cards, you can find it on Kickstarter here. 


Red Saturn Playing Cards will be printed USPCC with the Crushed Bicycle Stock with Embossed Finish, similar to the wildly popular Fontaines and Tally-Hos. Pledge starts from $12 and there are multiple add-ons available such as uncut sheets, photo print and Limited Edition Red Saturn Skateboards by Adam Kirby.

Kickstarter: Black Diamond Tally Ho by Kings Wild Projects

Launching tomorrow on Kickstarter at 12:00pm Central Time, the Third Edition in the hugely popular Tally-Ho series by Jackson Robinson and Kings Wild Projects.

Black Diamond will be printed by The United States Playing Card Company and will also be incorporating their new MetalLuxe Foiling process on the card backs, making the Black Diamonds not only the first fully custom deck to utilize the process, but also the very first all black deck by Kings Wild.

The Black Diamond project consists of only 3 variations this time around. Each with it's own stunning feature.

The Black Diamond Tally Ho - Only 1000 produced and will feature a premium soft touch black tuck with Black foil accents.

The Legacy Editon - The very popular Legacy Edition returns with Black Diamond, Only 50 will be available, the Black Diamond deck will be sealed in a Hand Signed African Wenge wood case.

Tactical Edition - For those looking for the truly unique and collectible, Black Diamond will also feature a weapons grade billet aluminum, hand signed and engraved, card case. Only 10 Tacticle Editions will be available.

All 3 versions feature Bicycle / Aristocrat paper stock, multiple metallic inks as well as the MetalLuxe Foil, and an Embossed Finish.

Kings Wild has always been known for their unique concepts, design and attention to detail. Black Diamond looks to follow in those same footsteps.

Mark your calendar's and set your clocks, tomorrow 11/14/2015 at 12:00PM Central Time on Kickstarter you won't want to miss out on this campaign. With the limited numbers being offered there sure not to be available for very long.