Kickstarter: The Other Kingdom Playing Cards by Natalia Silva

Here's another beautiful deck of playing cards by Natalia Silva. THE OTHER KINGDOM Collector's Playing Cards is an enchanting deck of playing cards inspired by magical birds. According to Natalia,

Many birds have deep symbolic significance. Bird is a symbol of human soul and freedom and it represents goodness, joy, wisdom and intelligence. From time immemorial, mankind has considered birds to be signs of eternal life, the link between heaven and earth. From the birds that we see everyday to the birds that are so rare that they are only found on the little islands, each bird carries treasures in what they represent. 

Fully custom, THE OTHER KINGDOM feature birds of different species and many birds have some symbolism associated with them. For example, Doves are very gentle in nature and this bird with a meek temperament is considered symbol of peace.

Also, the courts are beautifully illustrated and seems to be a reminisce of royalties from 90s Disney. Each accompanied by a different species of bird. The black tuck features a striking gold foil plus embossing (stretched goal) giving it a very elegant look and feel.

Printed by the USPCC on the famous Bicycle card stock with Air-Cushion Finish, THE OTHER KINGDOM combines elegance, class and exceptional details, with the highest quality materials. Available now on Kickstarter. Pledge starts from $15.

Kickstarter: Carpe Diem and Vanitas Playing Cards by NoirArts

Produced by Noir Arts and inspired by symbols of the Memento Mori, the haunting designs of the Carpe Diem and Vanitas deck in the Memento Mori Collection serve as a reminder of mortality and the afterlife.

Carpe Diem Court and Ace of Spades

According to designer Moritz Shaff,

Design for this deck was born in my head long time ago when I found this branch of art and liked. I want to insert all the meaning of this art inside of two standalone decks of playing cards. After 3 years, the Memento Mori Collection was realized. 

Carper Diem Joker and Back

Two different decks are available, Carpe Diem and Vanitas Playing Cards. The Carpe Diem is a black and white deck with clear background which better depict meaning of the “seize the day” aphorism. The tuck is embossed and custom sealed.

Vanitas suit 

The second deck in the collection is Vanitas. Vanitas means"emptiness" and refers to the view of earthly life and the worthless nature of all earthly goods and pursuits. This deck is more artistic, with “aged” look and earthly color scheme.

Vanitas Joker and Back

Both decks are fully custom and the tucks will be enhanced with copper/silver foils and features interior printing of engravings from XIV-XV centuries.

Currently funding on Kickstarter and pledge starts from $13.

Deck View: Continental (Display Deck) Playing Cards

Revolution. Independence. Crown.

From Kings Wild Project, the Independence is a playing card series inspired by the American Revolution, featuring two decks representing both the Continentals and British. The Blue version represents the Continentals, while the Red represents the Crown.

Both decks features beautiful illustrations of the founding fathers of the American Colonies and the major players of the British Crown. The Paul Revere Midnight Ride along with the Lady Independence are brilliantly featured as diptych jokers.

The display deck was made available on the original Kickstarter project and features the same cards found in the Limited Edition decks.  The display deck is printed by USPCC on a smooth finish and packaged in a standard no-frills tuck.

For more cool playing cards, check out JP Games.

School of Cardistry: Brenda Tutorial

Another week, another awesome Cardistry tutorial from School of Cardistry. This week, Jaspas teaches us another Sybil variation, Brenda. Here's Jaspas to tell us more:

One of my favourite shapes in Cardistry is the square. It contains a flexibility in movement not present in triangles. Brenda is a sybil variation that takes advantage of the benefits of the square shape and creates a big display at the same time!

If you missed earlier episodes, check it out here!


To learn more about Cardistry, check out and subscribe to NDO's School of Cardistry channel on YouTube for more high-quality tutorials.

Kickstarter: SCALA- Architecture Playing Cards by Arquitectura a Contrapelo

Currently funding on Kickstarter, SCALA- Architecture Playing Cards is a unique deck of playing cards featuring a broad overview of the current architectural panorama.

According to the designer, every suit represents a 'scale' of buildings, from pavilions and houses to urban landmarks and infrastructures. Also, numbers of each suit features an architectural representation (elevations, sections, plans…). For example, Aces: Floor plans 2-7: Elevations (from lower to higher detail) 8-10: Inner views (conic perspectives) and J-K: Façades in detail (from lower to higher abstraction).

Inspired by a counterpart Finnish project called "Play Architecture", SCALA brilliantly gathers structures of the last 25 years, over five continents and more than twenty countries, all neatly packaged in a standard deck of playing cards.

SCALA- Architecture Playing Cards will be printed in Europe by Fournier (a Spanish manufacturer owned by the United States Playing Card Company) with a special satin finish. Pledge starts from €15.

CONTEST UPDATE: Dynasty Prototype deck & Hive Deck WINNERS!

UPDATE: After a great surge on the funding of Dynasty and some amazing support, today we're happy to announce the winners of the contest:

• Set of Dynasty Prints: Mikael & Katie Ohlsen
• Dynasty Prototype Deck: DriveWRX
• Hive Red and Green Decks : miranda

We want to thank Brendan for the opportunity to bring this contest to his awesome backers!


Currently funding on Kickstarter, the Dynasty Deck by Brendan Hong. Brendan has given us the opportunity to bring a great contest to his supporters.

In honor of my first solo project funding on Kickstarter and (thanks a lot to Kardify for offering me a platform to do this), I'm running a give away for backers of  the Dynasty Playing Card Kickstarter project. If you're a backer and have pledged for at least one deck, honestly you're set and don't have to do anything else. 

So what are the Prizes?

• Initial Prize: Jade Green Dynasty Prototype deck

Jade Green Prototype Deck

• If 300 backers are reached: Set of three prints featuring all the court cards of the Dynasty Playing Cards; each print will feature all the set of that court (ie. all the Kings are on the same print)

Image of Hive Prints for referance

• If the project is funded: signed on tuck Green Hive and signed on tuck Red Hive deck

• If 400 backers are reached: Signed 1000/1000 Blue Hive and signed LE Gold Hive

Of course no contest is complete without a few rules and regulations...

CONTEST RULES:

• Winners will be selected at random
• You must be a backer of the project when the campaign has ended
• One winner per contest prize
• Prizes will be awarded randomly

I wanted to do something different as far as prizes go. I want to create multiple tiers for my backers and offer something unique. I've had quite a few backers message and email me asking if there was any chance I had any extra Hive decks (Hive 1 or Hive 2) to sell and the truth is: I really don't. BUT, I decided to offer a few from my personal collection as random prizes as we reach different goals.

Drawings will take place on the weekend after the Kickstarter funds are collected for Dynasty Playing Cards (aprox 2 weeks after project is over) or the weekend after the Kickstarter project is over if it doesn't fund. Winners will be contacted directly by me to collect mailing information.

We want to thank Brendan for the opportunity to bring his contest to his backers, a lot of nice unique bonus items for a lucky few supporters of the project. As all Kickstarter projects, they can't become a reality without the help and support of it's backers. 

Best of Luck to everyone!!

News: 7 Questions with antnO of DaOrtiz Playing Cards

Dani DaOrtiz is a Spanish close-up magician who combines superb technique with crazy humour. Dani was born in Malaga in a town called Estepona. Like most magicians he began his career in magic at the age of 4 thanks to a box of tricks given to him by his father. At 12, he visited the magic circle in Seville and experienced the magic of Mario the Magician who would later become his mentor. Later still he would associate with first class artists such as Juan Escolano, Mago Migue, Juan Tamariz, and even today Lennart Green. All played their part in influencing his approach to magic.

Dani already has many publications to his credit and is the director of ElManuscrito, a magazine which focuses on articles of lasting depth about the foremost figures and milestones in magic. Now he has added a deck of playing cards to his repertoire. The DaOrtiz Playing Cards is a stunning deck deigned by Spanish artist, antnO and produced by Expert Playing Card Co.

Just before the launch of DaOrtiz Playing Cards, we managed to have a quick chat with antnO about his design background, collaborating with Dani, ideas behind the deck and how the deck came to be.

Can you tell us about yourself and what is your design background?
Let me introduce myself. My name is Antonio Martínez and my stage name is antnO. That's how you will find me on social networks. I am from Malaga, a coastal city in the south of Spain. Ever since I was a child, I have always had a weakness for the art world and, since then, I've made several drawings using programs such as "Paint". I have always been fascinated with everything related to the world of audiovisual communication. That is why I plunged into the world of advertising. Years ago now, I created my personal brand antnO Creative.

Since then, I have worked as a freelancer for all kinds of brands. I have developed branding, created websites, designed logos, filmed corporate videos and much more. My last steps have been to specialize in Motion Graphics. It is really cool to animate your designs. Currently, I am making lots of motion graphic projects. You’ll see soon a little collaboration with D&D. You can see more projects in my profile on Vimeo.

How did you end up collaborating with Dani DaOrtiz?
I know Dani for years now. I am very lucky to live in the same city. I met Dani in the Magicians’ Association of Malaga, we happened to meet each other in several meetings. He must have seen something in me that spoke to him. Since then, and over the years our relationship has been getting better and now he has become a "BIG" friend. I really appreciate him. I am currently working with him for his producer "Group Kaps". I work for Dani as a designer, artistic consultant, I help with recordings of Enfilo and many other things.

What is your inspiration behind Dani DaOrtiz Playing Cards? How did you come up with the idea?
I have always had the idea in mind of designing a playing card deck. I really wanted to be able to make magic and to practice cardistry with a deck created by myself. So I got down to work. I knew I would have problems with production. Putting a deck on the market is not an easy task. I had the option to launch the project at Kickstarter, but the cost is very high from Spain and I had no influence or contacts on social networks. Nearly a year and half ago, I was having dinner with Dani and I told him that I was designing a deck and he asked me: Why not design a deck for me? And that is where it all began.

Walk us through the process you took to design. How did you approach this project and get to this finished product?
From the first moment, I knew the style I wanted to have for the deck. I love flat and linear design style. I don't like decks with overloaded designs. The first steps were slower. I wanted a fully customized deck and had to capture the essence of Dani DaOrtiz's magic. I needed to mix the power of his tricks with how easy it appears to the viewer. It all began to go faster after my trip to the United States along with Dani a year ago.

When we were in New York I met Bill Kalush. At that moment, I had designed the figures of the deck. I showed it to him and he loved it. From the first minute, The Expert Playing Card Co. bet on my design. From that moment, I continued forward with the deck design and the rest was shot.

What was your most brilliant breakthrough when designing the deck?
I really enjoyed while customizing the royalty of the deck. I wanted to wink at my great friend Dani and give personality to the figures. It was very funny to fatten up kings and queens. There was any other deck like this one before. Their cheeks are so chubby! I also like the jokers very much. As in the design of the backs, these show phrases that Dani used in his shows and in his daily life. You can also use them to make a prediction or card change. It refers to one of his famous tricks "Trick of hands without hands".

What's next? Are you planning to design more playing card decks in the future?
This project has opened many doors for me and the experience of having designed a deck allows me to see things from another point of view. I have several ideas in mind that I hope to carry out. Taking into account how quickly playing card decks are launched into the market, I cross my fingers hoping that nobody steals my ideas. DaOrtiz Playing Cards is the first deck and I hope to create or participate in the design of many others.

We noticed you have quite an impressive collection of playing cards on Instagram. What are some of your favourite playing card decks?
Yeah! I have many decks in my collection, and what I like most is to share it on my social networks. My passion for the magic and cardistry, together with my passion for the design, has led me to collect playing card decks. I do not know how many decks I have in my collection. I only buy those with good designs. I would have many more but it is not cheap to buy decks in Spain.

Which are my favorite decks? It is very difficult to pick one. There are true art treasures, but if I had to choose some, this would be my top 5:
1. Monarch (Theory 11)
2. Red Wheel(Dan & Dave)
3. Sleepers (Ellusionist)
4. Gatorbacks (David Blaine)
5. Misc. Goods Co. (Misc. Goods Co.)

It has been a pleasure to have this interview with you! I hope y’all love the deck and, specially, I hope to see your photos on social networks.

Thank you for your time antnO. If you want to support Dani and antnO, you can find DaOrtiz Playing Cards on Conjuring Arts!


Keep up to date on what's going on in antnO's creative world by following him on Instagram.

First Look: Romeo and Juliet Playing Cards by LUX Playing Cards

[Update] Romeo and Juliet Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter.

LUX Playing Cards are returning to Kickstarter to seek funding for their new playing cards, Romeo and Juliet Playing Cards. The launch will coincide with the anniversary of Shakespeare's death in 1616, 400 years ago. According to Bryan Sloan, founder of LUX Playing Cards,

Shakespeare's birth and death date are the same calendar day, April 23. The project launches the morning of April 20, so it will be live during that important calendar day. 

The design of the deck is inspired by the main characters from Shakespeare's play. On the design Bryan explained,

It worked out really well to have the Montague and Capulet families in different suits, to demonstrate their equal dignity but difference from each other. With the Capulets as Clubs and Montagues as Diamonds, I also took the liberty of coming up with a family crest for each family: Each family is represented by an animal,but opposite as canine and feline. Tybalt (a Capulet) is known as the Prince of Cats, so the Capulets are portrayed by the Lion, while the Montagues are represented by the Wolf. 

Two different tucks are available on the campaign: Bicycle branded, and unbranded, called Montague vs Capulet.

A lot of thought have gone into the design of the deck. The Montagues and Capulets suits are opposite in every way, in line with "Two households, both alike in dignity...".  From the suits - of the full black Clubs of the Capulets to the hard lined red Diamond of the Montagues.

As for the courts, the Montagues have the canine Wolf as their Crest, while the Capulets have the feline Lion as their Crest. Even the family colors (Red and Green) are opposites on the color spectrum. The Capulets have Red as their color, which can be seen in the suit color and in their clothing. The Montagues are black, with a darker green in their clothing.

Romeo and Juliet Playing Cards will be printed by the USPCC and beautifully illustrated by Belgian artist Virginie Carquin, an immensely talented artist known for her portrait work. Nam Tibon (Tally-Ho British Monarchy) illustrated the Bicycle branded tuck, and Virginie illustrated the unbranded Montague vs Capulet tuck.

Romeo and Juliet will launch on Kickstarter morning of April 20, 2016.

[Update] Romeo and Juliet Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter.


To keep up to date on the Romeo and Juliet deck, follow the LUX Playing Cards on their Facebook page.

Giveaway: Jetsetter Altitude Blue Prototype

The latest deck in the Jetsetter Series is currently working it's way through it's Kickstarter campaign. With 8 days to go and already funded, creator Paul Ruccio wanted to give a little something back to his supporters.

One lucky backer will win a Premier Edition in Altitude Blue Prototype enclosed in an X1 Carat Card Case. If you haven't seen the Carat Cases, they're just stunning.....not to mention the cool Jetsetter Prototype that will come along with it.

The Rules are simple.......

1) You must be a backer of one of the established tiers on the Jetsetter Playing Cards: Premier Edition in Altitude Blue project

2) The project must reach 235 backers (222 at the time of publication)

3) Dropped backers are not eligible

4) Recipient will be selected at random

5) There will be Only one winner

6) Participants of the Prototype Invitational 2016 are not eligible and are excluded from the drawing

Recipient will be randomly selected (with one or more witnesses) from the eligible list of backers on the weekend after Kickstarter funds are deposited for the Jetsetter Playing Cards: Premier Edition in Altitude Blue project (approximately two weeks after the project ends). Selected recipient will be contacted directly by Paul Ruccio on how to collect your prize.

So if your already a backer, your all good, sit back and keep your fingers crossed. If your not, what are you waiting for? Check out the campaign on Kickstarter and pick up a deck or two and be automatically entered to win a unique deck for your collection. Single deck rewards of the Jetsetter Premier Edition start at $9.00.

First Look: Don Quixote Playing Cards Vol. 1

[Update] Now LIVE on Kickstarter: Don Quixote Playing Cards Vol. 1 

Don Quixote Playing Cards Vol. 1 is a custom-illustrated deck inspired by the famous novel, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha. In conjunction with the 400th anniversary of the famous Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes death, the team at Cellar Window will be releasing the Don Quixote playing cards inspired by his most renowned work on Kickstarter.

According to Nam Tibon, co-founder of Cellar Window,

Don Quixote Playing Cards Vol.1 shares a glimpse of the beautiful characters within the novel written by Miguel Cervantes with the whole world. Custom-Illustrations on these playing cards will allow you to revisit the beloved characters that the Hidalgo Don Quisote meets during his first travels as a knight-errant through Spain. 

Fully custom, the courts are personified by the main characters from the first volume of Don Quixote as well as their beautiful queens and very colorful characters featured as jacks. Nam continues,

From the tragic story of Lothario and Anselmo to the Captain Ruy Perez de Viedma who was captured by pirates to the ever elusive beauty of Dulcinea you will find eccentric and memorable characters illustrated in great details that befits a novel who stood the test of time towards greatness. 

Launching on Kickstarter on April 19th 2016, the deck will be printed by Legends Playing Card Co on Emerald Finish that is a traditionally cut European card stock. The tuck features matte white with black print and oil foil on all sides.

Pledge starts from from $14 and includes free worldwide shipping. Add-ons such as uncut sheets and illustration posters are available.


[Update] Now LIVE on Kickstarter: Don Quixote Playing Cards Vol. 1 

News: Thirdway Industries Teases New 'Mysterious' Playing Cards

The past 12 months have been pretty good for Thirdway Industries. It successfully funded 2 projects (Omnia and Omnia: The Golden Age) and came in runner-up for UC's Overall Best Deck of 2015 in various categories.

Today Giovanni Meroni unveiled his second project for the year on Thirdway's official website, DEDALO Playing Cards. Unfortunately, not much is known about the deck just yet, but Giovanni has left a few clues for those who are able to "solve" it.

Clue words like Labyrinth, Traveller, Princess with the Red Thread, VI MMXVI and Fortune favours the brave. We suppose that this is a reference to a mythology or some sort like Giovanni's other decks.

We have reached out to Giovanni for a comment. Stay tuned! You can subscribe the Thirdway Industries newsletter to receive a notification.

Deck View: Bicycle Guardian Playing Cards

Industrial. Intricate. Angels.

Produced by theory11 and manufactured by the US Playing Card Company, the Bicycle Guardian deck takes elements of ancient scriptural art and combines them with a modern, industrial design. Inspired by the standard Rider Back design, this meticulously crafted deck features a powerful image of a Guardian angel on the card back with white borders, custom Ace of Spades, jokers and standard indexes.

Printed on Bicycle's signature Air Cushion Finish, the Guardians deck is perfect for everyday play, card collectors, and as a tool in your magic arsenal. Available now from JP Games.

School of Cardistry: Spin Sybil Tutorial

In this episode from School of Cardistry, Jaspas teaches us one of his favourite Sybil variation, the Spin Sybil. This impressive looking flourish will sure to turn a few heads.

Here's Jaspas to tell us more about the Spin Sybil:

Spin Sybil is one of my favourite sybil variations ever. With minimal effort, you get a move that is drastically different from the original Five Faces of Sybil. Not only that, the move is quick, flashy and impressive. Add it to your skill set now!

If you missed earlier episodes, check it out here!


To learn more about Cardistry, check out and subscribe to NDO's School of Cardistry channel on YouTube for more high-quality tutorials.

Collections: Boardwalk Papers by The Blue Crown

Inspired by the Carnival atmosphere of the classic American Boardwalk, Boardwalk Papers by The Blue Crown did a truly stellar job capturing the "Atmosphere" of Coney Island and all of those other wonderful sea side summer walk ways that feature entertainment, food and fun.

The color palette used on this deck is a perfect fit to the inspiration, the earthy tuck paper color with it's beautiful typography and intricate line work just pop off the surface with some nice embossing and gold foil accents. The interior design is awesome, going with warmer colors and staying away from any stark white, really helps the look and feel of the presentation of the deck. The matching striped seal just finish the package really well.

The back design is spot on with it's mirrored ferris wheel design and continuing the intricate line work. The back also features a well balanced and designed frame to tie all the design elements together. The fan like design in the corners, which can also be a carry over of the ferris wheel design anchors not only the look but the overall concept of Boardwalk Papers.

Boardwalk Papers also feature a custom Ace of Spades and a set of Jokers, all of which pull heavily on typography. The pips and court cards remain pretty much standard in the deck, which should please those looking for familiarity in their playing cards, but have a bit more "Eye Candy" than a completely standard deck.

For me the biggest attraction to Boardwalk Papers is the perfect presentation of the concept. Some decks have flashes of what their trying to be or depict, but Boardwalk Papers truly nails what it's about in a really well thought out deck. At first glance there is no need to explain the deck, you know exactly what it's going for. Printed by the Expert Playing Card Co. which continues to open possibilities to designers and artists to make the end result a perfect match to the vision they had in mind. Still available in the market for about $10.00 USD, Boardwalk Papers is a really nice deck that shows some attention was spent on the project as a whole and not just a unique back design. Worth picking up as an addition to your collection as well as a unique usable deck of playing cards.


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. 

Card Radar: Cards of Legend

Cards of Legend were inspired by the Iconic video game from Nintendo, Legend of Zelda. If your a gamer it's simple to suggest picking up this deck because of the concept, but Cards of Legend are a bit more than that.

Produced by Fangamer and designed by Nelde, Cards of Legend stand out because they do a great job keeping the deck within the "Rules" of a standard poker deck. Of course the deck is 100% customized from a standard deck, but it translates very well. From the "New" pip design to familiar characters from the Zelda universe being featured on the court cards which are presented in a more traditional "mirror" layout.

To bring Cards of Legend firmly into a quality product, they were printed at The United States Playing Card Co. on Bicycle card stock and also include a custom tuck box with a beautiful deck seal. Cards of Legend are available in 3 colors, the "Standard" Blue and Red and a more eye catching Metallic Gold.

The two way back design can hold it's own against any poker deck out there with a geometric design that lends itself well as a poker deck as well as keeping true to the concept and inspiration of the deck. Each deck comes complete with 52 cards, 2 Jokers and 2 Bonus cards designed in true Zelda inspired goodness.

Cards of Legend are available at Fangamer.com, single decks are $14.00 USD for the Blue and Red versions, while the Metallic Gold fetches $17.00 USD. They also offer a 3 Pack featuring one of each deck for $36.00 to save you a bit of coin. Not for everyone, but it's a fun, unique deck that also offers quality and presents itself as a Poker Deck rather than a "Marketing" deck. If your any kind of gamer, this is too cool to pass up.