​The 12 Most Funded Kickstarter Playing Cards Campaigns Ever

The custom playing cards market has boomed over the past year, investment in crowd-funded decks have surged and new designs and concepts are pushing the boundaries of the simple constraints of one tuck x four suits x thirteen cards.

There’s no doubt that crowdfunding has had an impact on the playing cards industry. For those unfamiliar with crowdfunding, in a nutshell, is the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money (backers) to support projects initiated by other people or companies. The pool is used as capital for products and/or services offered as rewards to backers- only if the funding goal is achieved. Each project has a variety of different pledge options (reward tiers) where larger pledges are rewarded with increasing incentives.

Kickstarter has been the most popular platform for crowdfunding playing card projects. In this "Top 12", we’ve collated 12 of the most funded playing card projects on Kickstarter to date. Black Mint, The Princess Bride and MISC Goods have dropped outside the Top12. Joining the list are Bitcoin, Parlour and Jerry's Nugget Reprint Playing Cards.

12. 3D Metal

Back in 2013, designer Dale Mathis broke new ground with this unique eye-catching deck of playing cards. Dale has designed a clockwork-like contraption that is complete with movable gears and a mechanical card frame to this unique eye-catching tuck case. Inside, the cards are printed by the United States Playing Card on standard Bicycle playing card stock and embossed finish.

Funded on: November 16th, 2013
Total funded: $148,637
Total backers: 1,226

11. Federal 52 

Designed by Jackson Robinson of Kings Wild Project, the Federal 52 is the original deck released in the Federal 52 series. Inspired by modern U.S. bank notes, this deck features new, hand-drawn renditions of the presidents and other key figures found on U.S. currency. The deck features an embossed tuck box with green foil seals, Bee casino stock & magic finish. Winner of United Cardists Deck of the Year Award 2013, six categories including Deck of the Year.

Funded on: April 22nd, 2013
Total funded: $149,156
Total backers: 2,798

10. The Parlour

The Parlour Playing Cards is a collaboration between Lorenzo Gaggioti of Stockholm17 and the Gentleman Wake. These exquisite deck playing cards are inspired by the age-old and admired decks. The Parlour features fully custom card backs, Ace of Spades, jokers and improved semi-custom court cards meticulously crafted by Lorenzo. Printed by Cartamundi and tucks by printed by Oath Playing Cards on deep navy blue, wine red, and black colored premium paper stock, with embossed metallic foil in red/blue/black and gold.

Funded on: May 16th, 2019
Total funded: $151,484
Total backers: 1,697

9. Bitcoin

A collab between Andrei Jikh, Patrick Kun and designer Billy French. Every aspect of this stunning deck is designed to mirror the Bitcoin currency - the value, the look, the feel, and ultimately - the story. Three decks were offered during the campaign, Black (standard), White (limited) and Green (KS exclusive) colorway. All three decks feature custom Ace of Spades, Jokers, and card backs. The court cards, however, are kept largely the same as standard Bicycle faces but with gold metallic ink as accents! Printed by Legends on the brand new soft Stud Paper with Cardistry Finish.

Funded on: October 21st, 2018
Total funded: $154,611
Total backers: 1,286

8. Muertos - Day of the Dead

One of the most successful deck in 2014, Muertos is an original set of playing cards designed by Steve Minty. It is independently crafted and honors the holiday that celebrates life and death; Dia De Los Muertos. The Muertos deck takes the classic aesthetics of Dia De Los Muertos and is updated with the tradition of playing and my experiences growing up. It depicts the social classes and history of the culture while simultaneously giving off a contemporary elegant luxurious feel. Printed by the United States Playing Card Co.

Funded on: July 20th, 2014
Total funded: $159,706
Total backers: 2,793

7. The Apothecary 2

The beautiful Apothecary 2 Playing Cards are meticulously designed by Alex Chin of Seasons Playing Cards. Both Verana Virtues, and Seronda Sentiment playing cards are based on the idea of capturing these invisible concepts like a feeling, or an idea, and then transforming them into very real items.

Funded on: February 18th, 2018
Total funded: $184,339
Total backers: 2,348

6. Federal 52 Part 2

The high-anticipated follow up to the Original Federal 52 campaign. The Federal 52 Part II campaign consists of a total of 6 decks. The deck includes branded and unbranded version of the Silver Certificate, the White Reserve Note, and the Black Reserve Note.

Funded on: July 25th, 2013
Total funded: $188,005
Total backers: 2,705

5. Arcana

The most funded deck of 2015, Arcana Playing cards blend the traditions of standard playing cards with the secrets of the Tarot. This stunning deck is intricately illustrated by Chris Ovdiyenko. The royals are illustrated with an unprecedented amount of detail in an engraved style. Elements in the deck include 12 uniquely crafted Courts and Aces, 4 Major Arcana cards (The Fool, The Lovers, Death, and The Tower), and standard pip number cards. Also, Arcana features a natural pearlized tuck, with embossing and a luxurious blue foil on the tuck interior.

Funded on: February 10th, 2015

Total funded: $190,592

Total backers: 3,199

4. Jerry's Nugget Reprint

After years of Pursuit, Bill Kalush of Expert Playing Card Co. obtained an exclusive license from Jerry's Nugget Casino to print the iconic cards! This is the first official jerry's Nugget Decks in almost 50 years. These decks are not meant to be replicas of the original Jerry's. Due to changes in card stock, printing process, etc.. it is impossible to copy the original deck exactly. In honor of the decks' roots, the new Jerry's are printed at USPCC, the original printer of the Jerry's Nugget Deck in 1970. This time, it is printed on crushed Premium Stock and as such, has a different feel than the originals.  

Funded on: July 31, 2019
Total funded: $447,229
Total backers: 4,094

3. Mint 2

MINT 2 Playing Cards are a follow-up to the popular Launch Edition MINTs. The new decks come with a new enhanced design and fresh new flavors- the Standard Edition Blueberry MINT, and the Limited Edition Frost Mint. Both decks feature a refined card stock for optimal handling, MAJOR improvements to the MINT marking system and slight enhancement to the back design pattern for a cleaner look.

Funded on: July 31st, 2018
Total funded: $564,565
Total backers: 5.671

2. The Name of the Wind

Funded in 2013, this is Albino Dragon's take on Patrick Rothfuss's award-winning novel, The Name of the Wind. The team worked closely with Patrick to create a deck that is as much a work of art as it is an homage to his amazing literary work. Beautifully illustrated by Shane Tyree.

Funded on: July 13th, 2013
Total funded: $589,660
Total backers: 11,332

1. The Name of the Wind Art Deck

The Name of the Wind Art Deck by Elodin Enterprises is a beautiful deck of cards meticulously hand-illustrated by fantasy artist, Echo Chernik. The decks feature characters from The Name of the Wind, the first Kingkiller Chronicle novel. Author Pat Rothfuss and Echo have been fans of each others' work for ages, and while they've brushed up against each other before, this is the first time they've been able to team up to bring something beautiful into the world. Printed by Expert Playing Card Co.

Funded on: September 16th, 2017
Total funded: $630,300
Total backers: 10,090

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Deck View: Verana Virtues Playing Cards

Beautiful. Floral. Summer.

This beautiful deck will be the final deck featured on our Deck View this decade. The Verana Virtues Playing Cards are meticulously designed by Alex Chin of Seasons Playing Cards and is part of the Apothecary 2 collection. The deck is based on the idea of capturing these invisible concepts like a feeling, or an idea, and then transforming them into very real items.

The deck is fully custom and crafted from the ground-up. The court cards gorgeous with pleasant light and shade effects, which gives it a sense of depth. The back design composition has been implemented with a summer theme and incorporates a full bloom floral designed. Beautiful!

Verana Virtues is printed by the United States Playing Card Company on linen (Aristocrat) stock and coated with a premium magic finish. The deck packaged in a sculpted embossed tuck printed on exquisite linen-textured stock.

Available on seasonsplayingcards.com for $15.95.

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The Elixir Deck by Seasons Playing Cards Funded in 2 Minutes on Kickstarter!

Funded in just 2 minutes on Kickstarter, the Elixir Deck is the 5th and final deck of the Apothecary collection from Seasons Playing Cards. Designer Alex Chin continues to surprise with yet another breathtaking design and craft one of the most sophisticated yet classy deck of playing cards.

From hand gilding to Intaglio plate engravings, the hard and patient lessons learned from the past two projects are finally presented in full form. The Elixir deck is an elegant single deck offering representing the truest tribute to traditional handcrafted products. According to Alex,

Extremely limited and available at steep discounts only on Kickstarter, this campaign is made as a thank you tribute specifically with my previous backers in mind. Your voices were heard and this campaign is the result of your requests. The result is a simple, clear cut, no fuss campaign, with all your favorites, and none of the hassles. Gilded on all cards? Check. Engraving on Box? Check. Cellophane and Numbered Seals? Definite stretch goals. 

Each deck of the collection was represented through a visual system of colors and symbolism. The Elixir deck takes these items into account and turns it into its own. The back design shows the transformation moment of the climatic orb being formed. The flowing movement of the design hints to each of the previous 4 seasons telling of the full Apothecary story.

The deck pays homage to the previous decks before it by bringing in all 4 power aces into this single deck. Court cards feature different coloring in the consistent engraving style as before. The Joker features the elixir, captured in the incense flacon of legends.

Alex mentioned that the hardest development of this deck was the integration of the extreme engraving design on the tuck box. This was the reason why this deck almost didn’t happen. Alex explained,

I designed the deck specifically with the engraving process in mind. But instead of going for only the smallest details possible, I wanted to play with movement and went for extremely high coverage (which is typically unusual for this print process). To get this “movement” effect in the design the metallic ink coverage was pushed to the utter limit to what a plate would hold creating a meniscus mound of ink so that when drying occurred, it would create an undulating texture you don’t get with smaller details. 

The results are remarkable. The final product results in a striking “moving essence” of the golden Elixir design Alex tried so hard to achieve.

The Elixir decks will be printed by USPCC on Aristocrat stock and Magic finish. Pledge starts at $36 on Kickstarter and for the collector, a limited amount of exclusive cabinets of curiosity will be available featuring a black and burlwood dual tone finish and a rare white Elixir deck with holographic gilding that glimmers in the different colors of all 4 seasons. Comes with a certificate of Authenticity.

First Look of the Elixir Deck by Seasons Playing Cards

[Update] The Elixir decks are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

Launching on Kickstarter August 8th (Project awaiting final verification. If the system does not yet verify by the 8th the Elixir launch date will be rescheduled to August 14th), the Elixir Deck is the 5th and final deck of the Apothecary collection from Seasons Playing Cards. It is the apotheosis of the art series that centralized around the focus of mastering hand craftsmanship in every sense of the word. The deck is an elegant single deck offering representing the truest tribute to traditional handcrafted products.

Beautifully designed by Alex Chin, each deck of the collection was represented through a visual system of colors and symbolism. The Elixir deck takes these items into account and turns it into its own.

The illustrations on the spines of the previous decks represented their season (bark, flower, leaf, and seed). The Elixir deck is a culmination of all seasons combined and is represented by the Elixir drop of life with 4 different rays representing the 4 seasons that made it.

Unlike the other decks represented by colors, this deck is devoid of color except for gold, referencing the rays of the sun that give life. The flowing movement of the design hints to each of the previous 4 seasons telling of the full Apothecary story. A true collectible in every right!

[Update] The Elixir decks are now LIVE on Kickstarter!

Printed by the United States Playing Card Co. on Aristocrat stock and Magic finish. The Elixir deck is scheduled to launch August 8th (Project awaiting final verification. If the system does not yet verify by the 8th the Elixir launch date will be rescheduled to August 14th), 5:00pm CST on Kickstarter.

The 12 Most Funded Playing Card Projects on Kickstarter

The custom playing cards market has boomed over the past year, investment in crowd-funded decks have surged and new designs and concepts are pushing the boundaries of the simple constraints of one tuck x four suits x thirteen cards.

There’s no doubt that crowdfunding has had an impact on the playing cards industry. For those unfamiliar with crowdfunding, in a nutshell, is the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money (backers) to support projects initiated by other people or companies. The pool is used as capital for products and/or services offered as rewards to backers- only if the funding goal is achieved. Each project has a variety of different pledge options (reward tiers) where larger pledge are rewarded with increasing incentives.

Kickstarter has been the most popular platform for crowdfunding playing card projects. In this "Top 12", we’ve collated 12 of the most funded playing card projects on Kickstarter to date.

12. Black Mint

The Black Mint Playing Cards are designed for the workers. These playing cards provide a merger of form and function. The elegant back design is aesthetically appealing to the eye without attracting any unwanted attention, and yet mask an incredibly intuitive marking system for the clever magician to take advantage of. The Black Mint deck will be printed by the United States Playing Card Co. on the highest quality card stock and expected to ship to backers June 2016.

Funded on: March 2nd, 2016
Total funded: $125,808
Total backers: 2,140

11. The Princess Bride

From Albino Dragon, this playing card deck is themed after the 80's cult classic The Princess Bride. The campaign consists of 3 unique decks, each richly illustrated by a different artist. Each deck features intricately designed backs and court cards with characters based on The Princess Bride.

Funded on: November 26th, 2013
Total funded: $136,009
Total backers: 2,525

10. MISC Goods

Launched on Kickstarter in 2012 to unprecedented success - first playing card project to hit the $100k mark. A fully custom designed deck by Tyler Deeb. Stunning design, beautiful artwork - a 10,000 print run at The United States Playing Card Co. Each deck is numbered by hand.

Funded on: November 1st, 2012
Total funded: $146,596
Total backers: 4,022

9. 3D Metal

Back in 2013, designer Dale Mathis broke new ground with this unique eye-catching deck of playing cards. Dale has designed a clockwork-like contraption that is complete with movable gears and a mechanical card frame to this unique eye-catching tuck case. Inside, the cards are printed by the United States Playing Card on standard Bicycle playing card stock and embossed finish.

Funded on: November 16th, 2013
Total funded: $148,637
Total backers: 1,226

8. Federal 52 

Designed by Jackson Robinson of Kings Wild Project, the Federal 52 is the original deck released in the Federal 52 series. Inspired by modern U.S. bank notes, this deck features new, hand-drawn renditions of the presidents and other key figures found on U.S. currency. The deck features an embossed tuck box with green foil seals, Bee casino stock & magic finish. Winner of United Cardists Deck of the Year Award 2013, six categories including Deck of the Year.

Funded on: April 22nd, 2013
Total funded: $149,156
Total backers: 2,798

7. Muertos - Day of the Dead

One of the most successful deck in 2014, Muertos is an original set of playing cards designed by Steve Minty. It is independently crafted and honors the holiday that celebrates life and death; Dia De Los Muertos. The Muertos deck takes the classic aesthetics of Dia De Los Muertos and is updated with the tradition of playing and my experiences growing up. It depicts the social classes and history of the culture while simultaneously giving off a contemporary elegant luxurious feel. Printed by the United States Playing Card Co.

Funded on: July 20th, 2014
Total funded: $159,706
Total backers: 2,793

6. The Apothecary 2

The beautiful Apothecary 2 Playing Cards are meticulously designed by Alex Chin of Seasons Playing Cards. Both Verana Virtues, and Seronda Sentiment playing cards are based on the idea of capturing these invisible concepts like a feeling, or an idea, and then transforming them into very real items.

Funded on: February 18th, 2018
Total funded: $184,339
Total backers: 2,348

5. Federal 52 Part 2

The high-anticipated follow up to the Original Federal 52 campaign. The Federal 52 Part II campaign consists of a total of 6 decks. The deck includes branded and unbranded version of the Silver Certificate, the White Reserve Note, and the Black Reserve Note.

Funded on: July 25th, 2013
Total funded: $188,005
Total backers: 2,705

4. Arcana

The most funded deck of 2015, Arcana Playing cards blend the traditions of standard playing cards with the secrets of the Tarot. This stunning deck is intricately illustrated by Chris Ovdiyenko. The royals are illustrated with an unprecedented amount of detail in an engraved style. Elements in the deck include 12 uniquely crafted Courts and Aces, 4 Major Arcana cards (The Fool, The Lovers, Death, and The Tower), and standard pip number cards. Also, Arcana features a natural pearlized tuck, with embossing and a luxurious blue foil on the tuck interior.

Funded on: February 10th, 2015

Total funded: $190,592

Total backers: 3,199

3. Mint 2

MINT 2 Playing Cards are a follow-up to the popular Launch Edition MINTs. The new decks come with a new enhanced design and fresh new flavors- the Standard Edition Blueberry MINT, and the Limited Edition Frost Mint. Both decks feature a refined card stock for optimal handling, MAJOR improvements to the MINT marking system and slight enhancement to the back design pattern for a cleaner look.

Funded on: July 31st, 2018
Total funded: $564,565
Total backers: 5.671

2. The Name of the Wind

Funded in 2013, this is Albino Dragon's take on Patrick Rothfuss's award-winning novel, The Name of the Wind. The team worked closely with Patrick to create a deck that is as much a work of art as it is an homage to his amazing literary work. Beautifully illustrated by Shane Tyree.

Funded on: July 13th, 2013
Total funded: $589,660
Total backers: 11,332

1. The Name of the Wind Art Deck

The Name of the Wind Art Deck by Elodin Enterprises is a beautiful deck of cards meticulously hand-illustrated by fantasy artist, Echo Chernik. The decks feature characters from The Name of the Wind, the first Kingkiller Chronicle novel. Author Pat Rothfuss and Echo have been fans of each others' work for ages, and while they've brushed up against each other before, this is the first time they've been able to team up to bring something beautiful into the world. Printed by Expert Playing Card Co.

Funded on: September 16th, 2017
Total funded: $630,300
Total backers: 10,090

Watch: Apothecary 2 Playing Cards by Alex Chin on Kardify Spotlight

We've partnered up with @thegentlemanwake on a series of 'spotlight' videos to give you the rundown on some of the latest and unique decks of playing cards around. We aim to publish the 1-minute spotlight video weekly on social media (Facebook: Kardify) and in addition, a link to @thegentlemanwake's full video if you want to have a more comprehensive look at a particular deck.

On this week's spotlight, we look at the Apothecary 2 playing cards meticulously designed by Alex Chin of Seasons Playing Cards. Both Verana Virtues, and Seronda Sentiment playing cards are based on the idea of capturing these invisible concepts like a feeling, or an idea, and then transforming them into very real items. Find out more in the video below and learn how you can win a copy of the deck. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE (YouTube: TheGentlemanWake)!

Cardistry: 3 Questions with Hoang Nguyen of Spud Playing Cards

Spud Playing Cards is a cardistry deck currently seeking funds on Kickstarter. Designed by Hoang Nguyen, or popularly known as Spud on Instagram (@hoang.spud), the deck is inspired by many popular cardistry deck and influenced by the simplicity of the streetwear brand, Supreme.

From Columbus, Ohio, Hoang has been shuffling cards for 4 years. Like many others, he started out as a magician, but one day, he was introduced to The System by Dan and Dave and that’s where Hoang began his cardistry journey. He learned as much as he could from all sources he could find and finally in 2017, that he started to create his own flourishes.

Just before the launch of the project, we had a quick chat to Hoang about the inspiration behind Spud playing cards, the community, and his favorite flourish and deck.

What is your inspiration behind Spud Playing Cards? How did you come up with the idea?
When I was designing this deck, I wanted to create something noticeable and great for cardistry. I took inspiration from many decks: Fontaines, Origins by Cardistry Touch, and School of Cardistry by the New Deck Order. And of course, I was also influenced by the iconic simplicity of Supreme. After a lot of tweaking and asking for cardists' opinions, I settled on this design. The borderless backs are great for fanning while still helping your packet cuts look smooth and connected. The faces are custom designed for cardistry, and they're all identical so any cut, display, or fan is visually balanced.

We first noticed Spud Playing Cards on Instagram. What do you think the playing cards community in terms of the feedback and support that you’ve been getting so far on the social media platform?
With the increase of popularity in cardistry the past couple of years, Instagram and Reddit is a great platform for us to express our thoughts and ideas on the cardistry art form. The community is phenomenal, the feedback I get from many other cardists helped me improved quite a lot about my playing cards. In the end, I make this playing cards for the artforms itself, so it’s really helpful to get ideas from everyone in the community.

Finally, what are your favorite flourish and playing cards decks?
My favorite cut is Squeeze by Daren Yeow, it’s such a classic cut and a lot of my cut were build on that Squeeze foundation. After that is Fairfax by Tobias Levin, the way the packet moves and connecting is very satisfying to do.

My favorite deck at the current moment is Dot by Anyone Worldwide, the handling and the design exceed all my expectation I had for this deck, such a great concept with minimalist design is incredible. Another favorite deck of mine is Apothecary Hand Gilded White Label deck from Seasons Playing Cards, I have not seen a deck with that kind of gilded edge which such vivid colors like that before. The deck is so eye appealing and the design is beautiful with its complexity. They are currently on Kickstarter and it is a must grab!

Thanks, Hoang! Already funded on Kickstarter, Spud Playing Cards will be printed by the Expert Playing Cards Company on their newest Stud Finish. 


Pledge starts at $13 and you can help Hoang hit the final stretched goal of $12,500 to upgrade the tuck to Embossed finish.

News: Apothecary 2 by Seasons Playing Cards Now LIVE on Kickstarter!

The beautiful Apothecary 2 Playing Cards are now LIVE on Kickstarter. Meticulously designed by Alex Chin of Seasons Playing Cards, both Verana Virtues, and Seronda Sentiment playing cards are based on the idea of capturing these invisible concepts like a feeling, or an idea, and then transforming them into very real items [First Look]. According to Alex,

There's nothing like holding a physical, tangible item of some concept like an Insight, or a Virtue and then giving it to someone just to see their reactions. It's probably one of my favorite decks because of this. People are caught off guard because they just don't know what it is, but the packaging makes it look so real.

Because of the subject matter and the design prompt of making something quite literally out of nothing, Alex needed to explore new venues of printmaking to create a product that really stands out as an out of this world item. The results of upgrading and adding all these print techniques into these art packs truly elevated the level of design on these decks.

We asked Alex about the design process for Verana Virtues and Seronda Sentiments,

In terms of the design process sometimes it's easier to follow up a collection because you have a basic framework of design. In this case, however (at least in terms of the back design) it ended up being more difficult than I had expected. The Verana Virtues was a pretty straightforward back design composition given that I had to implement the diamond shape into it, but because of the theme of summer, I ended up having to incorporate some sort of item that displayed a full bloom. This central flower arrangement on paper seemed easy at first, but once I realized that it needed to be a 2-way back design, it took several iterations to get it to look natural while still being legible both ways.

On the consistency of the design across all the packs, Alex said,

The Seronda Sentiments back is probably my favorite of the Apothecary line and literally took me the longest to design. Trying to come up with a unique composition that would compliment the other 3 packs in the collection was a nightmare using the heart since it resembles too much like a spade.

The iterations ended up looking too close to the other designs. Alex continued,

It was only until maybe my 100th go around that I discovered that I could split the heart to either end to get something new. I had to add a central element to it to really bind the two halves together but it worked out well. I call the design the Broken Heart.

If you like what you’ve read here and want to support the Apothecary 2 playing cards, you can find it on Kickstarter here. Pledge starts at $14 and both decks will be printed by the US Playing Card Co.

First Look: Verana Virtues and Seronda Sentiments by Seasons Playing Cards

In a digitally connected world, Alex Chin of Seasons Playing Cards wanted to explore the non-digital by taking the intangible and making them more physical. The Verana Virtues and Seronda Sentiments playing cards are the second half of the Apothecary Series launched in 2017, based on the idea of capturing these invisible concepts like a feeling, or an idea, and then transforming them into very real items.

On the design, Alex told Kardify,

Each pack is represented by a different suit, color, season, concept, and ingredient type. The full matrix of all of this was mapped out at the beginning but the designs didn't come in for these last 2 decks until later. In this current campaign, the packs being represented is the Heart of Fall and Diamond of Summer.

Like Alex's previous campaign there will be Kickstarter exclusives including custom numbered and autographed gold and silver engraved wraps as well as a new black ebony cabinet of curiosity to house them in.

I'll also be having White Label decks that infamously color change to the touch. Each deck comes individually numbered, signed, and will be gilded by hand (no joke). They were best sellers last year so instead of waiting for a stretch goal this is my first time trying it out to offer them out the gate.

We were told that there will be some standard stretch goals as well as some exciting new stretch goal surprises as the campaign continues. Alex teased,

.. but we won't open that box until later (shhhh).

The campaign will be available on Kickstarter this January 18th, Thursday at 2:00pm CST. You can follow Seasons Playing Cards on Facebook, Instagram, and Kickstarter to get direct notifications on launch.