Custom & Art

Feminist Playing Cards is a project from Homoground, a music website that promotes visibility for minority musicians. The deck features custom illustrations of 52 feminist musicians drawn by 14 feminist artists. Some of the musicians featured include Joan Jett, Liz Fair, Nina Simone, Loretta Lynn, Joni Mitchell, Grace Jones, PJ Harvey, and more. Each card is different. This is a 56 card deck, with two jokers, still sealed in its original package. The tuck box is not a standard tuck box, and the edges are not glued securely. I have to tape the edges to keep the box together.  For all of the card faces, and information from the artist who drew it, visit Feminist Playing Cards.

Front of deck

Card back design

Front of deck

MakePlayingCards.com (MPC®) is a professional custom playing cards printing and manufacturing company, who make custom and promotional playing cards for customers. They recently entered the branded playing card game.  Their second offering is called Impressions.  Impressions cards are made from a linen finish, and sport sleek raised card faces. Because of this, extra space between the cards makes this deck thicker. Impressions comes in several editions. This deck is the Stealth Edition, which is a high gloss, UV black on black, making this a striking deck. The image here is actually brighter than the actual box, and the white is a piece of paper or packing that got caught in the plastic when this deck was sealed at the factory (not damage).. This is a standard 52 card deck, including two jokers, and an extra MPC card.

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Front of deck

Artifice is a line of playing cards designed and produced by Ellusionist, printed by USPCC using an exclusive performance coating to make these work well for cardistry and magic performances. The purple deck is one of the second edition colors. There are also second edition, version 2 options that have a white border on the card back, which is better suited for magic tricks. The face cards and pips are custom colored to match the deck color. This deck has a sleek and sophisticated feel, with a pinstriped, silver metallic lined art on the tuck case, and modern lined royalty cards. This is a standard poker sized deck with 52 standard cards, two custom jokers (one showing a card reveal), and a double backed gaff card. This deck is still sealed in its original packaging.The top of the card reads “Ars Est Celare Artem” which is Latin for “it is art to conceal art.”  Read more »

Front of deck

Mayhem is a Bicycle branded, custom deck created by the Cardicians. They were published by USPCC, and was a Kickstarter funded project. The name Mayhem was chosen due to the the mix of styles brought into the composition, giving it a feeling of chaos. The deck includes custom face cards, custom pips, and custom joker cards.  The tuck case is black with a deep burgundy/blood red and gold designs complete with a custom seal with a stylized M. The card faces are a rich burgundy/blood red, with black and gold detailing. Visit the (now completed) campaign page for images of all of the cards included in the deck. This is a standard poker sized deck containing 52 cards plus two jokers, still sealed in its original packaging.  Read more »

Front of deck

Pairs is a “new classic pub game” created by game designers James Ernest and Paul Peterson. There are a dozen different decks, and most decks has its own game variant. The game came into being through a Kickstarter in 2014. This deck is The Princess and Mr. Whiffle variation, and was printed after a stretch goal was met. This limited edition version is based on a book by Patrick Rothfuss and Nate Taylor. It is illustrated in the style of a children’s book, but it’s certainly not for children. This deck was from the first print off of Kickstarter because it contains a sturdy, plastic cut card that is not found in commercial copies. The cards are standard bridge sized and contains 55 cards and a rules booklet which includes the a game variant for the deck called Kitty. You can see all of the different decks and read the rules at Hip Pocket Games.  Read more »