Final Hours on Kickstarter! Cursed and the Crooked Playing Cards

After taking home the Deck of the Year at the 52 Plus Joker Diamond Award 2021 for Circus Playing Cards, Marianne Larsen is back and has launched The Cursed and The Crooked Playing Cards on Kickstarter.

The dark fairytale decks feature different fantasy characters, all richly illustrated with incredible details. There are two different editions, the Cursed and the Crooked. The Cursed Edition is more towards the standard design of playing cards: four corner indices, normal arrangement of customized pips, and two-way court cards.

The Crooked Edition is more towards the heavy artwork deck of playing cards: heavily detailed illustrations on the faces – detailed frames on both numbered and court cards, along with one-way full-length courts showing the characters clearly.

The court cards and Jokers featured heavily detailed illustrations of at least 20 different fantasy characters. Some are mischievous and dangerous, while others are friendly and helpful.

The card back design for the Cursed Edition shows a two-way design featuring a rich detailed illustrations of folklorish floral ornamentation and the ever-staring eyes from the depths of the forest. The card back design for the Crooked Edition shows a borderless design. It features a myriad of creatures from the dark fairytale hidden within the dark forest. The dark color scheme with the heavily detailed illustration would create an appealing visual fan.

The tuck box for both editions are done with premium stock. The Cursed Edition comes with a dark brown stock with gold, copper, and purple foil, while The Crooked Edition, in a dark green stock with gold and copper foils.

The front of the box for the Cursed Edition showcases an illustration of an antique key with filigrees along with the series name. The box for Crooked Edition featured an illustration of a forest with the series name – the back features the fairytale of the series done in gold foil. Both tuck boxes featured numbered seals placed on the bottom of the box.

The cards will be produced by Noir Arts Playing Cards on premium linen finish stock and pledge starts at $12 on Kickstarter.

Notorious B.I.G. Playing Cards Sold Out!

Theory11’s latest deck is a collaboration with The Notorious B.I.G. Estate. A spectacular deck especially for hip-hop fans. The Notorious B.I.G. Playing Cards are a tribute to one of the greatest rappers of all time. Crafted hand in hand with The Notorious B.I.G. Estate, every aspect of the design was meticulously chosen to reflect the life and legacy of the legendary East Coast MC.

Inside, you’ll find multiple references to his hometown and callbacks to his roots, as he epitomized the heart and soul of Brooklyn. Iconic lyrics and references to Biggie’s discography, ranging from songs such as “Juicy”, “Big Poppa”, “I Got A Story To Tell”, and many more.

The first print is now sold out! The next batch isn’t expected until early 2023. Did you manage to snag one?

On Kickstarter, Seafarers (Commodore and Admiral Editions) Playing Cards

Seafarers Commodore and Admiral Editions playing cards are Joker and the Thief‘s (J&T) FINAL nautical expedition. Designed by Gustavo Magalhães, Seafarers is J&T’s most popular deck ever! Part of the winning appeal of Seafarers is its classic design language. According to the Kickstarter campaign page,

The original goal behind this deck was to create a classic deck of cards reminiscent of vintage American deck designs. It is clear to us that classic designs survive the test of time. That is in any industry whether it be a classic vehicle or a deck of cards! Timelessness is key! 🔑 The Admiral and Commodore Editions clearly belong in the Captain’s Quarters of any vessel, and elevate the original deck into something truly luxurious!

The luxurious Commodore Edition adopts a gorgeous royal navy blue as its primary colorway. This rich Pantone ink is complimented by a copper metallic ink that shimmers elegantly.

Meanwhile, the Admiral Edition takes heavy inspiration from the J&T White Gold deck featuring an incredible gold metallic ink.

Inside, the card backs not only incorporate symbolically and thought-provoking imagery, but they also maintain a timeless air. The Ace of Spades gives the Seafarers its identity – striking a balance between the classic aesthetic and brand’s identity.

The borderless custom court cards are meticulously illustrated from scratch by hand. Themes from the back design carry across, giving life to these majestic oceanic royals. These courts develop their own distinct identities and every suit tells its own story. Each Jack, King, and Queen are thematically and symbolically linked.

The decks are kept secured in fully custom tuck box featuring foil on the exterior and interior of the boxes, special dyed paper, and embossed all over.

Printed by the USPCC with crushed stock and finish. Pledge starts at $37 for a set of 2 decks on Kickstarter.

Mother Juice Playing Cards, OPC' FIRST Collab Deck

Mother Juice Playing Cards is the first collaboration deck and pop-up event by Organic Playing Cards (OPC)! Mother Juice is a smoothie/juice shop chain in Boston focused on healthy products and the local community! After going to their Newbury Street location, OPC founder Cam fell in love with their brand and knew the brands would fit so well together! 

The vibrant deck has infused the Mother Juice brand into OPC’s fun simplistic design style. In true OPC fashion, all the court cards are recolored and slightly custom with some of them being Mother Juice employees and some as customers with Mother Juice products! 

The mirrored card backs feature the beetroot from MoJu’s logo in a maroon colorway with various fruits littered in the background. The cards are packaged in a tuck box decked out in Mother Juice-style fruits.

This deck is a limited run of 2500 printed on crushed premium stock! Printed by the USPCC on crushed premium stock. If you order 6 decks they will come in a custom half brick box.

Available NOW on riffleshuffle.com for $8.95.

Deck View: Copperhead V2 (Yellow Edition) Playing Cards

Modern. Durable. Smooth.

Legends Playing Card Co‘s (LPCC) Copperhead Playing Cards showcase a simple yet elegant design. Designers Nick Vlow and Grayson Stallings did an excellent job with the artwork on the custom card backs, Ace of Spades, and Jokers. The face cards are pretty much standard but recolored to match the look and feel of the deck.

The Copperheads come with Viper Finish, named for the silky feel with a unique smooth, dry, yet slippery texture. Also, not only is the deck ultra-thin and highly durable, they are highly resistant to changes in humidity! The Copperhead deck has been part of my EDC for the past year and a half!

The deck definitely feels modern and doesn’t feel out of place in a poker game or magician’s hands. Available NOW from legendplayingcards.com for $9.85.

On Kickstarter, Cafeto Playing Cards

Cafeto Playing Cards are inspired by the most striking elements of coffee and its history. Seeking funds on Kickstarter, this fully custom deck comes with earthy green and brown tones that go perfectly with any situation, casual or formal. Perfect for those moments of rest and tranquility.

Cafeto is conceptualized by William Steven, a small business owner from Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico’s second largest region in coffee production. He dreams of making Mexican coffee known in the world but also as an inspirational idea once its history and process are shown.

Inside, the design and artwork of the deck explore the correlation between coffee, the process to make it, its history, and the people who made it possible for coffee to exist. The full process of coffee is represented on the back design of the deck, from the growing, then selection, blending, roasting, and brewing.

The custom aces and pips are represented by one of the continents that helped coffee exist as we know it: Europe “Old World”= Spades, African World= Diamonds, America “The New World” = Clubs
and Arab World= Hearts.

The courts of each suit are conformed by important historic characters that helped coffee exist as we know it today. From Pope Clemente VIII, Gabriel-Mathieu (introduced coffee into the French/American colonies of the time), Emir Khair Bey (Arab governor who accepted coffee as an Islamic beverage), and Melitta Bentz (entrepreneur who invented the paper coffee filter brewing system).

The deck is packaged in a custom tuck box inspired by different elements that correspond to the process of making coffee: working rope, roasted coffee bean, basket, and yute texture.

Also, this project wouldn’t be complete without offering actual coffee. Coffee beans are available as an add-on and come directly from William’s finca in Orizaba, Veracruz. The deck is printed by the United States Playing Card Co. and pledge starts at $12.50 on Kickstarter.

Enigma Puzzle Hunt Playing Cards on Kardify Spotlight

This spotlight episode features the intriguing Enigma Puzzle Hunt playing cards. The deck combines mystery, secret messages, and codes within puzzles within puzzles. All these are in a custom-themed deck based on an estate shrouded in mystery called Riverbank. Find out more in the video below and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE (YouTube: kardify)!

Papa Leon's Wicked Donuts by Wounded Corner on Kickstarter

Steve Rosenfield of Wounded Corner has produced another deck of playing cards. This time, collaborating with cardistry brand owned by Cam Toner, Organic Playing Cards. This collaboration produced a food thematic deck series- Papa Leon’s Wicked Donuts Playing Cards, deck series based on a donut shop.

The series is based on a story of a donut shop called Wicked Donuts owned by Papa Leon. From the Kickstarter campaign,

It was established in 1960 and has been serving the east coast of America for over 35 years. People love his donuts. Papa Leon likes to give out free donuts to the kids on their way to school or to the police officers who stop by while on patrol. Papa Leon is also known to show off his magic tricks to his patrons! He is also a supportive guy within his community by sponsoring the town’s little baseball team and local summer camp. His Wicked Donuts shop is the perfect spot to get delicious donuts with choice of beverages.

 

The card back design was inspired by vintage casino decks, prominently the Jerry’s Nugget Casino. It features the signage of Papa Leon’s Wicked Donuts on both sides with a colored background and a colored border. The colors of them are based on the three available editions: Chocolate – Strawberry – Vanilla.

All of the artwork for the deck is fully customized to fit in with the theme. The four Aces featured power pips, with the Ace of Spades showing the donut shop name with a big illustration while the rest of the aces featured small items.

The Jokers featured a sprinkler cup full of rainbow sprinkles: one is standing upright, and the other is toppled cup spilling some sprinkles. The numbered cards are standard, with the two distinguishing colors of the pips changed to dark brown for black pips and pink for red pips.

The court cards will definitely be the main things for the series. Each Jack, Queen, and King feature a character with unique personality, from the donut baker and waiter/waitress to the patrons of the donut shop. Their characters will be explained with the two extra cards that come with the deck – a list of names fashioned to look like a menu list. The illustrations for the deck are done by OPC’s resident designer, Alexis Grant.

The tuck box features a design to look like an actual donut! You can see the hole in the middle and the choice of cream covering it and finished with rainbow sprinkles. These boxes are completed with embossing elements on the sprinkles artwork, completing the look and feel of a donut. To add up with the theme, the half brick box is designed to look like packaging for half a dozen donuts, complete with a viewing window and logo of the donut shop.

The three main versions will have gilded variants: Chocolate Donut with Brown metallic foil – Strawberry Donut with Pink metallic foil – Vanilla Donut with Holographic metallic foil.

Printed by Legends Playing Card Co. and pledge starts from $15 for a single deck with your choice of color OR $45 to get all three different editions on Kickstarter.

Kardify Magazine issue 64 NOW on Patreon!

Kardify Magazine issue 64 is NOW on Patreon! Patrons who pledged $3 or more will be able to download the latest issue from our Patreon page. This issue compiles selected articles published from mid-August to mid-September. Deck images, articles, and news to keep you informed and up-to-date with the latest playing card news, releases, and previews. If you love playing cards, you will love Kardify Magazine!

Also, don’t forget to check out our other cool reward tiers on Patreon! The tiers include monthly desktop and smartphone wallpapers, a mystery deck shipped to you every 4 months of ongoing contribution, social media shout-outs, and multiple sponsorship tiers! Check it out!

Funds received from the magazine will help us keep the site running and growing, and bring new quality content to you. Our aim is to support designers by backing crowdfunded projects and supporting magic and playing cards retailers with their new releases. If you want to support us, please head over to our Patreon page. If you have an idea for an article you would like us to pursue, do get in contact with us. We hope you enjoy the read. In this issue:   

+ Black Requiem Counterspell: Have a look at the special edition of the Requiem deck by Lorenzo Gaggiotti with fully custom artwork and features darkness and pain as a theme.

+ The Secret Tale of Robin Hood: A fully custom luxury playing cards with unique art design and stories about legends that have never been told before… this time featuring Robin Hood.

+ Wizard of Oz: Kings Wild‘s Wonderful Wizard of Oz playing cards brings the enchanting story to life, updated with a more classical look and redesigned tuck box.

+ Piracy: Check out Peter McKinnon X Theory11 collab deck with fully custom fonts, suits, Jokers, Court Cards, and Aces dripped in gold and silver foil.

+ CardCon: Be a part of history at Bicycle Cards’ first-ever CardCon this October! Find out more about this exclusive experience dedicated to celebrating a collective love of cards.

+ Bicycle Apocalypse: Two years in the making, this intriguing 3-deck series by TCC features the dark art style of Sam Hayles, known for his popular Karnival series. Find out more!

+ Coco Palms: An exciting new deck concept from Organic Playing Cards featuring calming sky blue/brown colorway with recognizable semi-custom court cards!

+ JAQK Rose: Check out the fifth deck in the highly sought-after JAQK playing cards series that comes with a gorgeous custom tuck case and beautiful artwork within.

… and more! 48 pages of articles and deck images. Enjoy!

Heartless Playing Cards by Thirdway Industries

Designed by Thirdway Industries, Heartless is a wicked series of playing cards currently funding on Kickstarter. Like their previous releases, the deck combines beautiful ladies and evil creatures.

The story for this series is about the Nether, a wild version of Hell populated by moronic Imps, hot demonesses, and fierce devils who’ve lost their dark hearts. Two decks are on offer during this campaign: Abyss, printed by Cartamundi, and Nether, printed by Legends PCC. Both decks are rare and luxurious, but Nether is limited to only 888 and comes with lavish violet gilding along with two hot foils on the card backs!

BOTH decks are fully custom. Apart from the red or white backgrounds, the faces of Nether and Abyss are similar, but not exactly the same. There are minor differences for you to discover. The pips and indices of Heartless are here to impress with intricate graphics in metallic ink in the background.

The Abyss card backs sparkle with a single layer of gold foil and red ink, while Nether card backs dazzle with two different layers of hot foil: crimson and violet. Both Nether and Abyss each have their own unique Jokers, featuring fancy portraits of our most infamous Devil Lords.

Like all Thirdway’s previous releases, Heartless is more than just eye candy. There is a story and endless lore to be explored as you delve into the deepest

Printed by Cartamundi (Abyss) and Legends Playing Card Co. (Nether), pledge starts at $19 on Kickstarter. Add-ons such as dealer coins, pins, and uncut sheets are available during the campaign. Don’t miss out!

Republic Playing Cards

Art. Finnish. Pattern.

Released in 2021, REPUBLIC Playing Cards is the first UUSI playing card since 2016. This custom design deck is based on Finnish/Nordic folk art and design.

The deck sports a predominant beige/black colorway with a seamless pattern inspired by traditional Finnish design on the card back. The court cards, Ace of Spades and Jokers are fully custom yet at the same time very familiar and immediately recognizable. 

The deck is packaged in a custom tuck box with an embossed design on luxurious, heavy paper stock. Printed by the Expert Playing Card Company premium playing card stock with linen finish.

Drifters Playing Cards, Now in Red.

Drifters playing cards by Dan and Dave reminds us the journey is the destination. Designed by Curtis Jenkins, the deck features fully custom courts, jokers, beautifully illustrated aces, and a gorgeous back with incredible line work. Every shuffle and cut of the cards is a reminder to never settle, to chase a life of freedom.

The wilderness holds the answers, like the cards held in your hands. For those who seek adventure upon the horizon, be sure to pack a deck of Drifters… now in RED.

Featuring a custom letter-pressed tuck case and beautifully illustrated faces. The cards are housed in an eye-catching custom letter-pressed tuck case featuring intricate detail and incredible line work.

Printed by the U.S. Playing Card Company using an exclusive “crushed stock” process to create a more refined and lighter deck of playing cards developed by D&D. Available now from dananddave.com for a reasonable $12.

SneakerHeadz (YZ7 Edition) Playing Cards

SneakerHeadz playing cards by Penguin Magic are devoted to everyone who can’t get enough kicks. Based on a concept by Dalton Wayne and expertly designed by Drew Hughes, the SneakerHeadz YZ7 feature 100% custom artwork throughout.

The YZ7 edition is inspired by the 90s chunky aesthetic that took over and recently became the new wave again! The deck comes in a striking mix of Solid Grey/Chalk White/Core Black colorway.

The card backs have a colorful, geometric design inspired by sneakers. The faces feature enlarged index corners for increased visibility, while the pips have a subtle sneaker texture. The courts have sunglasses, sneakers, and microphones, and the Jokers have a custom shoe sole design. Double-back and blank-face gaffs cards are included.

The custom side-opening tuck box is made from kraft paper with black printing and looks just like a mini shoebox.

SneakerHeadz playing cards feature Penguin’s exclusive UltraLux Finish and AquaFlow Coating. The casino-grade European card stock and perfect linen texture deliver a deck that handles like an absolute dream. The SneakerHeadz YZ7 decks are available individually ($10) or in a 6-pack ($54) with a custom collector’s box on penguinmagic.com.

Ace Fulton's Phoenix Casino Playing Cards

In this long-awaited follow-up to Ace Fulton’s Casino, Brad Fulton has once again worked with the legendary Daniel Phillips to reinvigorate the casino card genre- one they brought to life in the world of custom playing cards a decade ago. Here is the narrative from the product page,

The consensus is Ace Fulton was double dipping in the world of casinos. Skirting any and all Arizona Gaming Laws, Ace set up his love letter to the Valley of the Sun–Fulton’s Phoenix. It is here that the high limit room, known simply as the “Thunderbird Room” houses his prized collection of pottery and Kachina Dolls.

Phoenix is a borderless casino back inspired by the distinctive aesthetic of the American Southwest. Housed in a tuck completely letterpressed by Clove Street Press on out-of-print, recycled wheat paper.

Limited to 900 Decks Printed by the US Playing Card Co. and available now from fultonsplayingcards.com for $17.