Sake Neko Playing Cards

Sip, play, and celebrate with Sake Neko Playing Cards, a whimsical fusion of Japanese culture, playful cats, and the art of sake designed by Hyuga & Mijiko. Inspired by a peaceful spring day under blooming sakura trees and the visit of a curious calico cat, this deck captures the charm of Japan’s lucky felines and the joy of sharing a drink.

There are two unique editions available during the Kickstarter campaign: the Classic Paper Deck and the Waterproof Coaster Deck. The Classic Deck comes in a luxurious gold-foil tuck case inspired by premium sake bottles, complete with embossed calligraphy and an adorable 3D Sake Neko badge. 

Each card is printed with vibrant orange foil, offering not only beauty but also knowledge... every number card shares fun facts and expert tips about sake, from brewing methods and rice origins to ideal serving temperatures. 

The court cards depict twelve Bakeneko (mythical Japanese spirit cats) dressed as geisha, monks, and samurai, each embodying the charm and mystery of folklore. Gilded gold edges and festive cold foiling make this deck sparkle like a sake toast.

The Waterproof Coaster Deck brings playfulness and practicality together with 52 circular PVC cards that double as coasters. Each card features adorable copper-foiled Bakeneko artwork and sake trivia, perfect for parties or relaxed evenings with friends. The round design is easy to shuffle, splash-proof, and made for fun drinking games... flip a court card, take a sip, and let the night flow.

Both decks celebrate craftsmanship and culture. The waterproof version even comes packaged in a traditional Japanese masu sake cup, handcrafted from wood and wrapped in a red foil sleeve — a perfect gift symbolizing prosperity and good fortune. 

Printed by WJPC and pledge starts at $23 on Kickstarter.

Top 12 Playing Cards of 2022

Another great year for playing cards! We’ve compiled our favorite decks for 2022 right here. This will be the third of four articles counting down to our Deck of the Year reveal later this week. If you think we’ve missed your favorite deck, let us know in the comment section below.

Note that the selection expressed in this top 12 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.

Victory

Joker and the Thief’s Victory playing cards are crafted for those who seek Victory, in any endeavor. This stunning deck comes with an embossed tuck box with letterpress inks and foil both interior and exterior. The borderless card back comes with a repeated JT logo design with metallic inks. The court cards are modeled in classics to create a distressed vibe associated with the brand.

52 Plus Joker Club Deck 2022

The elegant 2022 52 Plus Joker Club deck is created by Jody Eklund exclusively for 52 Plus Joker. This limited edition deck is a superb deck that embodies the world’s greatest playing card collector’s club. Inside, the deck features a borderless card back design, fully customized regal and refined courts, and jokers. Stunning full flood foil has been used on both sides of the cards, making them look incredibly stunning.

Mastermind

Mastermind playing cards by Keymaster games features an embossed and foil-stamped deck box, custom card backs, and royals planning and executing elaborate strings of heists. The deck is based on the board game Caper: Europe, a game where players recruit a crew of skilled thieves to outmaneuver, steal valuable goods, and dominate the most famous landmarks across Paris, Rome, London, and Barcelona!

Sterling

Sterling playing cards is the latest addition to the Legal Tender series by Kings Wild Project. Inspired by the beautiful artwork of British currency, the stunning Sterling features both holographic foiling and hot-stamped gold foiling on the cards and tuck case. 

MEDCHA

MEDCHA playing cards is a thematic deck by Hyuga & Mijiko that centers around tea and its usage in healthy meditation. The deck is an infographic deck designed to teach you how to enjoy your tea and use it for healthy meditation. The cards have stunning foil on the card back and features graphic artworks of tea. Also, the cards are gilded with sharp orange metallic foil.

Devotion

Thirdway Industries designed this exclusive deck that tests the loyalty of its followers. The tuck box for this deck is made of premium black matte paper stock with embossing on the artwork and metallic hot foiling for both the inside and outside of the box. Inside, the cards featured metallic hot foiled artwork on the back design and metallic inks on the card faces. Also, the cards will be gilded with metallic foil!

Tale of the Tempest

The Gentleman Wake’s Tale of the Tempest Playing Cards features artwork by Lotrek. The courts of the deck are based on 19th-century courts that feature beautiful royals that are classically inspired and artfully refined. The card back showcases waves of intricate filigree and Victorian-inspired design along with the elegant TGW monogram. 

The Illusionist

The Illusionist by ARK is an incredible-looking playing cards set with meticulous hand-illustrated and intricate details. The box set depicts a fantasy theater for magic with unprecedented structure and design for the Illusionist playing cards. The entire design concept adopts a classical and luxurious visual style to restore the classic and mysterious art form of Magic. The illustrations on the entire deck of cards are very intricate and littered with fine details.

Vivid Kingdoms

Vivid Kingdoms is the most successful ever in Kickstarter’s history for a playing cards campaign. This fully custom transformation deck features beautifully illustrated artwork, vibrant colors, and unique characters. Ten Hundred’s artwork is inspired by cartoons and anime, street art and graffiti, childlike imagination, comics, world cultures, religions, and folklore.

Kings Wild’s The Lord of the Rings

The beautifully illustrated deck by Jackson Robinson is based on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and The Fellowship of the Rings. Every aspect of this deck of cards is uniquely illustrated and designed with as much detail as possible to create a deck of cards that will be loved by Tolkien fans all over the world. Each of the characters from The Fellowship of the Ring deck is pulled from the text and brought to life in a new and fresh way

RX Almanac

Meadowlark Pharmacy‘s Rx Almanac Playing Cards is designed to look like a vintage pharmacy almanac of the mid-1900s, with advertisements of medications along with other types of items from milk to bird seed. The face cards illustrations are hand-illustrated by Italian designer Elettra Deganello features display pages from the almanac and the tuck box would be the leather cover of the almanac.

Black Requiem

This special edition Black Requiem Counterspell by Lorenzo Gaggiotti comes with fully custom artwork and features darkness and pain as a theme. All court cards and aces have a magick sigil overprinted with cold foil application on the center (gold for hearts and diamonds, silver for clubs and spades). The tuck box features white foil, black foil, embossing, and inner color in deep shiny red on black paper stock.

Honorable mention: Mechanimals by Celcius Pictor, Odd Fellows by Stockholm17, Vacuum Tube Space by Vitaly Sinkevich & Deallez Pro, Four Clans by Docs & Native Tongue, Mistborn by Kings Wild Project, Memoria by Thirdway Industries, Eye of the Ocean by Stockholm17, Ghost of Kyiv by 3rd Dominion, Singularity by RedBlack Inc, ICONS Anniversary by Oath Playing Card, 3 Musketeers by Kings Wild Project, and Stratosphere Meteorite by Legends Playing Card Co.

Note that the selection expressed in this top 12 are solely those of the author and the list is in no particular order.

MEDCHA Playing Cards by Hyuga & Mijiko

Hong Kong-based designer Mijiko (Instagram: @gove_craft) has released a cute and interesting infographic deck about tea and meditation. Introducing MEDCHA Playing Cards, a thematic deck that centers around tea and its usage in healthy meditation. The deck is an infographic deck designed to teach you how to enjoy your tea and use it for healthy meditation.

The numbered cards have the informative text and visual images that explain topics on how to brew tea: like the manual, health benefits, and tea cocktails. The Aces feature the 4 principles of meditating using tea: Taste – Feel – Observe – Smell. Each suit represents the 4 different types of tea.

The court cards feature cute animals from the Chinese Zodiac, along with a health horoscope in 2022 for each respective animal zodiac. The tuck box will be done on premium matte paper with orange-brown metallic foiling and debossing on the intricate details.

The cards will have stunning foil on the card back. It features graphic artworks of tea. Also, the cards will be gilded with sharp orange metallic foil. It will be produced as waterproof PVC cards – the producer will be announced.

The Collector Tin Set provides nice packaging for the deck and getting extra items – tea tin with a numbered seal, feng shui coin, and a certificate of authenticity. More perks will be added to the decks once stretch goals have been achieved.

Pledge starts from $18 for a single deck OR the collector’s tin set for $30 on Kickstarter.