On Kickstarter, Damokles Playing Cards

Every day, people would face some kind of danger, whether it is happening at the moment or in future times. “With great power, comes great responsibilities”- that is what people would say to those who have power.

These moral messages are presented as a parable popularized by the Greek philosopher Cicero, the “Sword of Damocles”. Designer Giovanni Meroni of Thirdway Industries decided to choose this deck for his new deck at the start of 2023. Damokles Playing Cards are about the imminent and ever-present peril faced by all human beings.

There are four editions for this series, two are standard editions while the other two are Kickstarter exclusives. The standard editions are Adamas and Cuprum, which will have a standard glossy box with metallic ink. The Kickstarter exclusive editions are Opulentia and Ruinae, which will have an experimental box made of velvet with hot stamped foil.

All of the artworks for the cards will apply metallic inks, three on the front and two on the back. Adamas/Opulentia features silver with gold while Cuprum/Ruinae features copper with silver. The back design of the cards will have borders done in metallic ink based on the edition.

The artwork for the cards is designed to be perfect to play with while also imbued with meaning based on the theme chosen for the series. The Ace of Spades featured an illustration of a sword hanging by a string with the series title.

The courts are drawn as royals with hidden details that reveal each of their hidden stories- also, each of them has its own unique dangling sword, different forms, and shapes. The Jokers are full-length illustrations based on the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”, with each edition having different artworks.

Pledge starts at $15 for a single deck on Kickstarter and Damokles will be printed by the USPCC.