The Return of the Green Man playing cards

The Return of the Green Man playing cards invite you to step into the enchanting world of forest folklore, celebrating the myths, magic, and legends of the plant kingdom. Created by Alessandra and Anthony of Jocu Playing Cards, this series draws on the rich traditions of the Celts, Romans, Greeks, Vikings, and other cultures to bring the Green Man’s story to life like never before.

The decks explore the seasonal cycle through four editions—Spring (Green), Summer (Turquoise), Autumn (Dark Red), and Winter (Light Blue)—each telling its own interconnected tales. Every card is meticulously illustrated by Sicilian artist Alessandra Gagliano, featuring unique court cards, number cards, and botanical imagery inspired by mythology and nature.

Each season tells a vivid story: Spring celebrates rebirth, with tales like the Sicilian Testa di Moro legend and the Anglo-Saxon myth of Ask and Embla. Summer brings warmth and drama, from the Wild Man archetype to Clytie’s transformation into a sunflower in her love for Helios. Autumn reveals darker tales, such as the gossiping juniper tree and Lady Elder’s dangerous power. Winter closes the cycle with haunting myths like the Wild Huntsman’s nocturnal ride and Bacchus’s celebration of the vine.

The beautifully designed tuck boxes, crafted by Boschiero & Newton in Italy, feature intricate multi-foil embellishments and echoes of the architectural settings where the Green Man has appeared throughout history, from pagan monuments to Gothic cathedrals. For collectors, Kickstarter-exclusive deluxe gilded editions include additional embellishments and are available only during the campaign.

Printed by WJPC and pledge starts at $19 on Kickstarter.

OCTOFLY X Jocu Street Art Playing Cards

In 2024, Jocu Playing Cards is back with an exciting new deck, featuring a collaboration with the Italian street artist Octofly, also known as Silvia Pezzoti. They collaborated to design adorable sets of playing cards – Octofly X Jocu Street Art Playing Cards on Kickstarter.

Two editions are available during the campaign: Rise & Shine along with Dusk Till Dawn. Each game has its own unique cast of creatures. Rise & Shine showcases a delightful lineup of foxes, unicorns, cats, and birds, while Dusk Till Dawn brings a thrilling array of dinosaurs, zombies, owls, and pumpkins. 

The back design for the deck is a mash-up illustration of characters arranged to become two-way illustrations. The number cards showcase a traditional design complemented by charming character illustrations surrounding the number pips.

The court cards feature big cute characters illustrations. The background for both face and back is colored: Rise & Shine uses yellow tan, while Dusk Till Dawn uses night blue.

Each of the decks has the standard edition as well as the limited edition. The Limited edition will have the deck gilded with metallic foil. The cards will be printed by WJPC and the tuck boxes will be printed by Boschiero & Newton.

Pledge starts at $15 on Kickstarter.

On Kickstarter: ONDA V2 by Jocu Playing Cards

In 2021, Jocu Playing Cards – a designer deck brand that explores interesting myths and culture of the world, released ONDA playing cards– a series of decks that explores the beautiful yet mysterious nature of the sea. Back by popular demand, Jocu decided to release the next version of their hit series on Kickstarter, ONDA V2 Playing Cards.

For this new release, the ONDA series introduces more color editions than before. There are two main ones: Yellow and Purple. Also, there is a second edition of ONDA Wave, improved from its original design with a new color scheme. Finally, there is an exclusive edition ONLY available on Kickstarter: Black. The new version of ONDA features a new set of illustrations, introducing more new sea creatures to be discovered.

The tuck box for ONDA Playing Cards is made with premium matte-colored stock with blind embossing of a wave pattern with metallic foil on the details. For the second edition of ONDA Wave, the tuck box feature a beautiful embossed artwork of a splashing wave. All of these tuck boxes will be produced by Jocu’s long-time partner, Boshiero & Newton.

The card back design for the main and exclusive edition features a two-way design of swimming pair of fishes in a wavy pattern of the sea on top of a full bleed colored background. ONDA Yellow features yellow with turquoise fishes; ONDA Purple features purple with orange fishes; the exclusive ONDA Black features black with gold fishes. The second version of Wave features a broken border design of a wave illustration – it will create a beautiful fan when the cards are fanned.

Most of the designs for the pips and Aces remain the same as the original version – The corals for the Ace of Spade of this version is changed to yellow.

The courts and the Jokers are introducing new characters to the series. These characters are covered with sea creatures and a set of sea corals and plants, such as jellyfish and butterfly fish.

Printed on slimline card stock with premium B9 linen finish by Cartamundi and pledge start at $16 on Kickstarter.

Yule & Ostara Wheel of the Year Playing Cards by Jocu

The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals observed by the Pagans. These festivals are celebrated by observing natural signs. Jocu Playing Cards has picked this theme for a series of playing cards; which started in 2021. After two years of hiatus, the Wheel of the Year is back with Yule and Ostara Playing Cards.

The Wheel of the Year explores the eight festivals that go around in a cycle, thus this playing cards series will have eight decks in total. So far, there are four decks already finished: Beltane – Lughnasadh – Samhain – Imbolc. The remaining four: Yule – Ostara – Litha – Mabon, will be done within this year.

Collecting all of these decks will complete an image aligned with the sides of the decks. This series is proudly in collaboration with artist Zhade Evgenia.

Yule and Ostara explore the folklore of the ancient European civilizations Anglo Saxon. Yule explores some of the traditional origins of modern Christmas, while Ostara explores most of the traditions of modern Easter.

The Aces and Courts illustrations for both editions are different, with each set exploring the mythology and several aspects of the holidays. The tuck box design is similar to other decks in the series – creating one single design, with differences only in the colors, symbols, interior pattern, and foils.

Both decks featured a very thin white border, allowing the detailed artworks to showcase at full potential. In Yule, the back design features a circular wreath wheel wrapped with purple ribbons. There are a pair of antlers poking out and there are evergreen leaves surrounding it.

In Ostara, the back design features a natural wreath made of purple flowers. In the center is an array of colorful eggs. There are yellow flowers around the corners, and you can spot butterflies and caterpillars on the artwork – signifying springtime.

The Aces featured detailed illustrations of enlarged pips containing references to rituals and celebrations of respective festivals, including some that are adapted to modern holidays. The pair of Jokers for each edition represents the lighter side of the festivals – such as in Ostara, the Jokers are shown to hold a rabbit and a basket of eggs.

The courts are representing characters related to the myth and folklore of each festival – you can learn more about them in the companion booklets available as add-ons. Some of the number cards of the deck will have small symbols to correspond with the Lenormand divination system.

Pledge starts from $15 for a single deck between Yule or Ostara or $28 for both decks on Kickstarter. The cards will be produced by Cartamundi, and tuck cases by Boschiero and Newton.

Under the Moon by Jocu Playing Cards on Kickstarter

Jocu Playing Cards has been known to explore the world of mythology, folklores, and legends from the past. They brought card enthusiasts in not just for the beautifully designed artwork decks, but also for them to learn something from the picked theme for each series.

Jocu had explored the lush forest and pagan deity of “The Green Man” and ventured deep into the depths of the sea in “ONDA”. Now, to complete the loose trilogy, Anthony Holt and Alessandra Gaglioano presented with a series to explore the magic of the animal kingdom- Under the Moon Playing Cards.

There are 3 main editions in the series: Midnight (blue) – Moorland (green) – Moonrise (pink). The artwork on the front of the tuck box shows a rabbit looking up to the full moon surrounded by a beautiful filigree border. The box is made with premium matte stock with embossing and metallic foiling.

There will be a Kickstarter exclusive variants, which feature a triptych image by combining three of these editions altogether – the cards will be the same as the standard editions, only that the cards will be gilded – colors of the gilding are based on the cold foiling on the card. All of the tuck boxes will be produced by Boschiero and Newton.

The card back design features three rabbits running in a circle done in a mirrored design. There is a moon phase drawn in the middle and there is the filigree border surrounding the artworks. The borders and some of the elements of the back artwork will be done in cold metallic foil. Each edition features a respective color of the metallic foiling: Midnight edition has silver foil – Moorland edition has bronze foil – Moonrise edition has gold foil.

The numbered cards feature slightly modified pips with animal tracks scattered around them. The indices for the faces are bold and tall. The fully custom court cards will feature animals related to the mythology and folklore of the ancients. It is a two-way design of beautifully drawn animals done by Alessandra. Each edition will feature its own set of animal courts, thus it makes up to 36 animals in total to explore.

The deck will be produced by Cartamundi on the Slimline stock with Linen Finish. Pledges start on $16 for a single deck of your choosing OR $55 to get a complete set on Kickstarter!

Samhain & Imbolc Wheel of the Year Playing Cards by Jocu

Samhain and Imbolc continue Jocu's exploration into ancient legends with the Wheel of the Year series in collaboration with Evgenia Zhade. This is the second campaign in what will be an eight-deck series exploring all the festivals of The Wheel, including not just the main four holidays celebrated by the Celts but the quarter points held more dearly to the Anglo Saxon and Norse inhabitants of the ancient British Isles. According to the Kickstarter campaign page,

As winter arrives and darkness begins to fall, we explore strange worlds and creatures with the festival Samhain, before looking forward to the light of the coming Spring with Imbolc, largely celebrated as the festival of Bridgid but also an important symbol of the changing seasons.

Samhain was a time for honoring the dead, and would later become the modern Halloween. Legends and stories of heroes, monsters, and bizarre happenings were told during these times much like today, and the Samhain deck will explore some of the most curious tales that were said to have occurred during the 'thinning of the veil' between the lands of the living and the dead. Samhain's back design references a recurring Jocu theme of The Green Man.

After the hard winter months, Imbolc was a time for renewed birth and energy as the snow melted to give way to new life. Snowdrops began to spring up through the melting frost and livestock once again started to produce milk. Imbolc explores the most important goddess of the Celts - Bridgid. The Imbolc back design features the traditional symbol of the Bridgid's cross along with ritual candles which are lit to this day in the Christian variant of the holiday 

Both decks come with unique artwork. Each character in Samhain and Imbolc comes from Celtic folklore and mythology. Evgenia's aces for Samhain and Imbolc contain references to ritual and celebration of the festivals, as well as some cheeky nods to modern incarnations of the holidays. Also, the jolly jokers show the lighter side of the festivals. A nod to the old Irish custom of carving turnips for Samhain and the milking of ewes during Imbolc. 

The decks are packaged in luxury matte tuck boxes with Jocu's regular collaborator Boschiero & Newton in a traditional style with metallic foil accents and interior foiling. The planned eight-deck eventual series will sit together to form one single design when the decks are laid out together.

Printed on slimline card stock with premium B9 linen finish by Cartamundi and pledge starts at $15 on Kickstarter.

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Only 2 More Days on Kickstarter! The Heritage Series by Jocu Playing Cards

From Jocu Playing Cards, the Heritage Series is a four-deck love letter to the decks which first ignited our passion for elegant, luxury playing cards and the hands that wielded them with such finesse. These gorgeous decks are currently funding on Kickstarter, raising over $42k with only 2 days to go! 

Fully custom yet traditional, clear, and vivid, the Heritage Series celebrates playing cards themselves and traces the origins of the suits as they evolved across Europe into what we know as the 'French' suits today. According to the campaign page,

We wanted to create a classic deck which at first glance seems inconspicuous, but is packed with nods to the original suits, elements and ideas that make the history of playing cards so compelling.

Four different editions are available during the campaign. Each deck is based on the heritage of the four suits - Spades, Hearts, Clubs, and Diamonds. 

Each with unique intricate and vintage-looking card backs, rich, vivid court cards are inspired by the attire of 16th-century paintings and eye-catching Aces. 

The decks are kept in dual foil and Pantone printed tucks on quality matte paper with embossing and interior printing. For the Spades edition- black matte card stock and gold foil, Hearts edition- blue matte card stock and silver/pink foil, Clubs edition- tuck box with red matte card stock and green foil, and Diamonds edition- tuck box with green matte card stock and copper foil! 

The decks are classy, luxurious yet remain unpretentious and accessible. Printed by Cartamundi True Linen B9 Slimline and pledge starts at $15 on Kickstarter. Add-ons such as Collector boxes, uncut sheets and gilded decks are available during the campaign.

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On Kickstarter, ONDA by Jocu Playing Cards

ONDA, the fourth project by Jocu Playing Cards, is a colorful, visual exploration of this world and its both real and imagined creatures. To celebrate man's fascination with the ocean Jocu has created ONDA, a deck of cards depicting fantastical marine mythology.



Fully custom, ONDA features twelve colorful characters that incorporate the necessary characteristics to live and survive the azure depths, where life assumes surprising forms and colors, and humans are permitted to see only a small part.

Each King, Queen, and Jack represents a virtue necessary to truly experience the depths of the sea: wisdom, tolerance, adaptability, and much more. These characteristics, that alone can achieve little, become powerful when combined together, creating the essential balance with which to survive. Every figure contains three elements: a shell, a fish or sea plant, a sponge, or a coral.

ONDA comes in two variants- Ultramarine Edition and Wave Edition. The faces remain the same, but the back design and tuck boxes are different.

ONDA Ultramarine Edition tuck comes with multiple layers of foil detailing in red, pearlescent white, and internal foiling.

ONDA Wave Edition Tuck Box showcases a metallic foil wrap-around wave image with multiple layers of foil in different shades of turquoise and blue, both metallic and standard. Internal foiling is included as well.

ONDA will be printed by Cartamundi and available now on Kickstarter for $15. Add-ons such as companion booklet, uncut tuck, and uncut sheets are available during the campaign.

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5 Things That Makes Hops & Barley the Most Curious Jocu Project Yet

Inspired by beers from around the world, Hops & Barley is the third custom deck of playing cards by Jocu after the success of Fillide and The Green Man. The deck celebrates the ancient process of beer-making, with a style based on the ingredients and iconic equipment used in the brewing process.

The decks are fully custom with classic-style playing card backs, fully custom but familiar pips and indices, redrawn courts based on classic standard iconography, and prominent Aces of Spades. Hops & Barley decks are intended to be a classic, affordable and, above all, a playable deck of cards.

The decks are funded in just over a day on Kickstarter and are currently unlocking beer and brewing related add-ons and stretch goals such as branded beer mats and bottle openers. Soon to be unlocked is the limited edition Brewer’s Reserve copper variant.

Here are five things that make Hops & Barley the most curious Jocu project yet:

1. The back design and main color scheme of the Brewer’s Reserve deck are based on the giant copper fermentation stills at the Heineken brewery museum in Amsterdam.



2. The tuck box paper is made from recycled beer by-products including hops, barley, yeast and even recycled beer labels.

3. Hops and barley were two of the only four ingredients allowed by the old German ‘Reinheitsgebot’ purity law to be used in the production of any drink known as ‘beer’. The other two were yeast and water, but today other grains are often used in varying quantities.

4. Dark Amber and Pale Gold, the two colors on the standard variants, are taken directly from the SRM scale - a scale of color shades used to determine various types of beer. These range from a very pale straw (lagers and weissbiers) to brown and black chocolate shades found in stouts and bocks.

5. The production of the decks spans three European countries famous for different styles of beer. The paper and foils are produced in Germany, where bocks, pilsners and black beers abound. The cards are printed in Belgium - famous for its wheat beer and blonde ales. Finally the boxes printed in northern Italy, best known for its pale layers but also its artisanal breweries’ experimentation with unusual grains such as buckwheat.

Hops & Barley Playing Cards is now live on Kickstarter. Pledge for a standard deck starts from $12 for a single deck. Also, brick tiers are gradually being upgraded as stretch goals are unlocked!

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