Thalassic II: Tropical Treasure Playing Cards

Thalassic II: Tropical Treasure Playing Cards is a vibrant continuation of a pirate-inspired series, blending nautical adventure with richly illustrated, anthropomorphic characters. Produced by Marianne Larsen in collaboration with artist Patrick Leis, the deck expands its world with bold storytelling, exotic island influences, and a cast of unforgettable seafaring crews.

This second volume on Kickstarter introduces two completely distinct editions: Captain Alvaros and SFL Bautista...  each with its own artistic direction, back design, jokers, and overall identity. 

The Captain Alvaros Edition leans into a more detailed, one-way composition that emphasizes forward motion and narrative, while the SFL Bautista Edition adopts a classic two-way layout, offering a more traditional feel without losing its personality.

At the heart of the deck are twelve fully custom court cards, each representing one of four unique pirate crews. From dockside schemers and master negotiators to agile explorers and open-sea specialists, every crew brings its own flavor to the adventure, reflected not only in the characters themselves but also in the design of the aces and supporting artwork. 

The number cards continue the storytelling with hidden details woven into custom nautical pips, rewarding closer inspection.

Both editions feature premium production, including metallic foil accents, embossed tuck boxes made from vintage-style raw stock, and striking edge gilding: sunset orange for the Captain Alvaros Edition and coastal turquoise for the SFL Bautista Edition. 

The tuck designs are equally expressive, with gold and copper foiling bringing to life imagery of legendary captains, galleons, and tropical ornamentation, all sealed with antique-style labels that evoke the spirit of old maritime expeditions.

Printed on casino-quality linen-finish stock, the custom decks are designed for both durability and smooth handling. Limited to a maximum of 2,500 copies per edition, pledge starts at $25 on Kickstarter.

We Just Released Kardify Magazine Issue 102 on Patreon!

The latest issue of Kardify Magazine is now on Patreon! Patrons who pledged $3 or more will be able to download the latest issue from our Patreon page. This issue compiles selected articles published from mid-October to mid-November. Deck images, articles, and news to keep you informed and up-to-date with the latest playing card news, releases, and previews. If you love playing cards, you will love Kardify Magazine!

Also, don’t forget to check out our other cool reward tiers on Patreon! The tiers include monthly desktop and smartphone wallpapers, a mystery deck shipped to you every 4 months of ongoing contributions, social media shout-outs, and multiple sponsorship tiers! Check it out!

Funds received from the magazine will help us keep the site running and growing, and bring new quality content to you. Our aim is to support designers by backing crowdfunded projects and supporting magic and playing cards retailers with their new releases. If you want to support us, please head over to our Patreon page. If you have an idea for an article you would like us to pursue, do get in contact with us. We hope you enjoy the read. In this issue:   

+ Astro: Filled with quirky robots,  rayguns, and nostalgic sci-fi flair, Jackson Robinson’s latest deck captures the charm of vintage space-age imagination.

+ Patternwork: From Jack Brutus Penny, Patternwork is a  deck of fully-custom art playing cards inspired by Renaissance tapestry and Japanese fabric.

+ Circus Corinthia: Have a look at the third Circus deck by Marianne Larsen featuring paying homage to the enigmatic jesters of medieval festivals, masters of deception and delight. 

+ Triton 42 Club:  Antique Restoration by A. Haines Playing Cards. The deck represented the quintessential premium player’s deck designed for high-end enjoyment at gaming tables, and was printed in several different versions over the years. Find Out More!

+ Case Study: The latest deck series crafted by Dan and Dave is an exhibition of playable art after decades of study and practice. 

+ Fulton's October V2: Twelve years after the release of the original Fulton’s October, artist Steven Noble and designer Brad Fulton have reunited to conjure an all-new sequel. Check it out!

+ Fantastic Four: This Theory11’s deck pays tribute to Marvel’s First Family, inspired by the retro-futuristic style of the 1960s, the design captures the energy and optimism of the Fantastic Four’s earliest adventures!

… and more! 48 pages of articles and deck images. Enjoy!

Circus Corinthia: The Grand Finale Playing Cards

Step right up for the THIRD act of the beloved Circus series: two exquisite playing cards celebrating the spectacle of performance and the art of mischief. Circus Corinthia- The Grand Finale pays homage to the enigmatic jesters of medieval festivals, masters of deception, delight, and dazzling display.

In this festive world, jugglers, tricksters, and jesters transform an ancient kingdom of silence into a realm of laughter and light. Under the guidance of Jestia and Jiggz, the court brings life, color, and whimsy to every corner of the kingdom. 

The decks are designed by award-winning artist Marianne Larsen in collaboration with Patrick Leis, blending theatrical flair with vintage sophistication. Insides, each card is bathed in rich purples, gleaming gold foil, and intricate vintage ornamentation, capturing the mystery, theatrics, and regal charm of the court fool. 

Court cards and pips are fully customized, adorned with jewel-toned hues and intricate filigree. The jokers carry two elegant monograms: one for Circus Corinthia and one for Jestia or Jiggz. Each deck captures the essence of performance, theater, and vintage elegance, transforming a simple deck of cards into a miniature stage of art, storytelling, and spectacle.

The Grand Finale features two limited edition decks: Jestia in crimson and gold, and Jiggz in teal and gold. Each deck comes in an elegantly crafted tuck box with dual foils, spot gloss, embossed details, and fully custom, numbered seals that mark each deck’s unique place in the series.

Corinthia’s playing cards showcase opulent jester royalty:mJestia as the regal jester queen and Jiggz as the confident jester king. The Corinthia tuck backs shimmer with dual foils, ornate scrollwork, and a symbolic hand juggling a Globus Cruciger. The borderless card backs feature swirling filigree, celestial orbs, and playful jesters, perfect for spreads or displays.

Pledge starts at $20 on Kickstarter.

Thalassic Playing Cards by Marianne Larsen

Award-winning creator Marianne Larsen returns with Thalassic playing cards, a bold new project that dives deep into myth, mystery, and maritime lore. Designed in collaboration with artist Martin Helgren, Thalassic is a dual-edition deck that captures the spirit of the sea through luxurious finishes, rich storytelling, and intricate illustration.

Inspired by the legend of the Green Galleon, a ship said to have sunk in shark-infested waters with a fortune in gold and sapphires aboard-Thalassic invites collectors on a journey filled with daring pirates, mythical peacocks, and hidden maps.

Two unique editions, Blue Lagoon and Green Galleon, tell different sides of the story through distinct card backs, gilding, and custom tuck boxes adorned with vintage foil and embossing.

Each deck features original artwork for the court cards, grouped into four pirate crews: the rebellious Buccaneers, the tactical Armada, the wild Scallywags, and the sly Picaroons. 

While both editions share the same crew illustrations, the Blue Lagoon edition presents them in full-art, one-way designs, and the Green Galleon in classic mirrored layouts. The number cards hide thematic surprises, including elements of a treasure map when arranged in sequence.

Printed on M31 linen stock by MPC and limited to 2,500 decks per edition. Pledge starts at $25 on Kickstarter.

The Cursed & The Crooked Kingdom Vol 2 Playing Cards

Now seeking funds on Kickstarter, the Cursed & the Crooked Kingdom playing cards is the second volume in Marianne Larsen’s whimsical fairytale series, offering two uniquely crafted decks that transport players to an enchanted realm. Twice awarded Deck of the Year at the 52 Plus Jokers Diamond Awards, Marianne blends luxurious design with rich storytelling, as seen in her previous projects like Ragnarok Playing Cards and Shadows of London. 

Set in the merged villages of Bakus and Garsia, the kingdom is a place where nature and legend intertwine. Bakus, founded by master bakers, and Garsia, with its ancient stone and creeping vines, celebrate their union each year with warm festivities. Characters like Madeira the Huntress, Barry the Blacksmith, and King Trÿstan add depth to the narrative, with their stories further explored in the accompanying booklets.

Inside, each deck comes with embossed tuck boxes with holographic gold foil and intricate illustrations capture the kingdom’s magical essence. 

The visual designs extend to the card backs, where Bakus and Garsia decks feature distinct one-way and mirrored illustrations that reflect the union of the two villages. 

Also, add-ons are available during the campaign. This include standard brick and half-brick boxes, as well as the exclusive Festivitas Hardbox, a sturdy, linen-textured container made from recycled chipboard. Custom metal coins with 3D embossing are also available as collectibles, adding another layer of charm to this magical world.

Printed in Europe by NPCC with premium linen finish. Pledge starts at $14 on Kickstarter.

52 Plus Joker Diamond Award 2024 Winners Announced!

The prestigious 52 Plus Joker Diamond Awards were revealed last weekend at the 2024 52 Plus Joker Convention in Niagara Falls, NY. For the THIRD consecutive year, Artist of the Year went to Lorenzo Gaggiotti of Stockholm17, solidifying his place as a powerhouse in the world of playing card design.

Marianne Larsen’s Cirque Luciole deck took home the Deck of the Year award. The deck dazzled collectors with its intricate design, paying homage to the magic and mystery of the circus world. 

The competition for Deck of the Year included other notable designs like Forged Playing Cards by Chris Hage & Jody Eklund, La Mouche Playing Cards by Elettra Deganello, Nazo Nazo by Jack Brutus Penny & Portfolio 52, ShanHai Playing Cards by ARK and Space Suits by Russ Gray & Meadowlark.

Congratulations to Lorenzo, Marianne Larsen and all the nominees for their incredible work!

Unity Deck on Kickstarter

Music enthusiast from New Jersey, Dexter Amistad, is fascinated with playing cards and began collecting them. He established a Facebook group called DripDrop Sounds and ShuffleCut52 to bring together individuals who share a passion for playing cards and music. As the group thrives, Dexter came up with an interesting playing cards project. He envisioned a deck which is designed by a group of playing cards designers known in the community. The designers agreed to this interesting pitch, and the decks are finally coming into fruition. Introducing Unity Deck.

The Unity Deck features designs created by renowned playing card designers within the community, showcasing both established and emerging talents. While the back design is uniformed, the face design will varied on every card.

Each designer is assigned a card to which they designed with the theme of the deck: Music and Cards. Some would work on the Courts, and some would work on the Numbers (in which he/she designed four of the same value yet different suits).

Other designers are assigned to design the tuck box as well as the extra thank you card and Jokers. There is an additional card that contains a variety of card back designs to honor the designers who had submitted their back designs. It is a one-of-a-kind Frankendeck that sends the message of unity.

The Unity Deck is available in three different editions based on the color of the tuck box and the chosen card back design. “Only For Fun” Edition features turquoise color scheme box with back design done by Bivas Bhattacharjee. “Just For Fun” Edition features ivory white color scheme box with back design done by Ritu Bhattacharya. “To The Sky” Edition features leather dark brown color scheme box with back design done by Marianne Larsen. All the cards will be printed by Kingstar Playing Cards.

For each of the Editions, there are three different versions. In the Basic Version, the cards are as standard as possible with no special features. In the Premium Version, the cards are printed with holographic foil layer on both sides. In Ultra Version, the cards are both having holographic foil layer on both sides and gilded with patterned metallic foil – “Only For Fun” features linear rainbow pattern, “Just For Fun” features prism gold pattern, “To The Sky” features radial rays pattern.

The tuck box for the Unity Deck is designed to look like an ancient tome, complete with the filigree decorations. The front side features an embedded French Horn. The back side features an emblazoned treble clef. The side of the box listed all the designers who contributed to the creation of the deck.The box is made of premium matte stock with a subtle foiled layer along with detailed embossing. These tuck boxes can be found on all the different editions and versions.

Pledge starts from $12 for the Basic Version OR $18 for the Premium Version on Kickstarter. You can get the Kickstarter Exclusive Ultra Version Set with the collector’s box for $79.

Now on Patreon, Kardify Magazine Issue 77

Issue 77 of Kardify Mag is now available on Patreon!  Patrons who pledged $3 or more will be able to download the latest issue from our Patreon page. This issue compiles selected articles published from mid-Septeber to mid-October. Deck images, articles, and news to keep you informed and up-to-date with the latest playing card news, releases, and previews. If you love playing cards, you will love Kardify Magazine!

Also, don’t forget to check out our other cool reward tiers on Patreon! The tiers include monthly desktop and smartphone wallpapers, a mystery deck shipped to you every 4 months of ongoing contributions, social media shout-outs, and multiple sponsorship tiers! Check it out!

Funds received from the magazine will help us keep the site running and growing, and bring new quality content to you. Our aim is to support designers by backing crowdfunded projects and supporting magic and playing cards retailers with their new releases. If you want to support us, please head over to our Patreon page. If you have an idea for an article you would like us to pursue, do get in contact with us. We hope you enjoy the read. In this issue:   

+ Cirque Luciole V2: Designed and produced by Marianne Larsen this deck is a follow-up to the award-winning Circus playng cards. Find out more!

+ Let’s Play: Meticulously crafted by Luke Wadey, this eye-catching deck is a fresh and innovative take on traditional playing card design. Check it out!

+ Bicycle Disney Classic Mickey: An homage to the iconic global cultural figure, Mickey Mouse, serving as visual narratives of his most endearing moments

+ White TIger: Return to the realm of Chinese astrology and celestial creatures with ARK‘s grand finale. This beautiful deck is the culmination of ARK’s acclaimed Four Beasts series! Check it out!

+ Incubo For this brand new deck series, designer Giovanni Meroni manifests the nature of monstrous nightmares onto decks of playing cards. 

+ Fantastica: Have a look at Carolina Cabedo’s striking deck, a tribute to the Circus.

 + Smoke & Mirrors 15th Anniversary: Dan and Dave with Brad Fulton, have released a new fifteen-anniversary edition in a green colorway that takes inspiration from 19th-century typography. Have a look!

+ Black Panther: Take a look at the exquisite deck by Theory11 crafted in honor of one of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most notable superheroes. 

… and more! 52 pages of articles and deck images. Enjoy!

Cirque Luciole, Vol 2 in the Circus Playing Cards Series

Circus is a travelling performance still favored by both adults and children. They always captivate the audiences with their acrobatic skills, grand performances, and epic illusions. Marianne Larsen designed and produced Circus Playing Cards, which won the 52 Plus Joker Diamond Award in 2021. Now, the next volume is ready for the world to enjoy, Cirque Luciole Playing Cards, the next volume to the Circus series.

Cirque Luciole is an imaginary and visionary ensemble of spectacular stage performers known as “The Fireflies”, from Paris in the early 1920’s. It is a group cast of mentalists, illusionists, magicians, and acrobats who are performing grand acts to bring marvels to your eyes.

The deck is available in two editions: Stella Nova and Luna Polaris. Each of the editions has a print run of 3000 decks and it comes with a custom numbered seal placed on the bottom of the box.

Stella Nova deck features tuck box in premium dark blue pearlescent stock adorned with elegant, embossed gold foil details. It features intricate artwork of stars and the moon within the metallic framework.

The box features UV elements: stars will glow under UV light. The back design of the cards mirrors the artwork featured on the box. The court cards presented for this edition are shown as two-way character illustrations.

Luna Polaris deck features a box in premium black pearlescent stock adorned with embossed gold elements. The front side features a poster of a performer holding the moon in his hand with his beautiful costume. The box features vibrant holographic foil elements, creating the sparkles for this very edition.

The back design of the cards features two-way illustrations of graphical illustrations of a woman performer holding the stars on her hands. The court cards presented for this edition are shown as full-length one-way character illustrations.

This volume comes with a booklet explaining the characters showcased in the deck. The project also comes with an exclusive custom-designed brick box for 6 and 12 decks. Printed by Noirs Playing Cards Co. with premium linen finish and pledge starts at $14 for a single deck on Kickstarter.

Final Hours on Kickstarter! Cursed and the Crooked Playing Cards

After taking home the Deck of the Year at the 52 Plus Joker Diamond Award 2021 for Circus Playing Cards, Marianne Larsen is back and has launched The Cursed and The Crooked Playing Cards on Kickstarter.

The dark fairytale decks feature different fantasy characters, all richly illustrated with incredible details. There are two different editions, the Cursed and the Crooked. The Cursed Edition is more towards the standard design of playing cards: four corner indices, normal arrangement of customized pips, and two-way court cards.

The Crooked Edition is more towards the heavy artwork deck of playing cards: heavily detailed illustrations on the faces – detailed frames on both numbered and court cards, along with one-way full-length courts showing the characters clearly.

The court cards and Jokers featured heavily detailed illustrations of at least 20 different fantasy characters. Some are mischievous and dangerous, while others are friendly and helpful.

The card back design for the Cursed Edition shows a two-way design featuring a rich detailed illustrations of folklorish floral ornamentation and the ever-staring eyes from the depths of the forest. The card back design for the Crooked Edition shows a borderless design. It features a myriad of creatures from the dark fairytale hidden within the dark forest. The dark color scheme with the heavily detailed illustration would create an appealing visual fan.

The tuck box for both editions are done with premium stock. The Cursed Edition comes with a dark brown stock with gold, copper, and purple foil, while The Crooked Edition, in a dark green stock with gold and copper foils.

The front of the box for the Cursed Edition showcases an illustration of an antique key with filigrees along with the series name. The box for Crooked Edition featured an illustration of a forest with the series name – the back features the fairytale of the series done in gold foil. Both tuck boxes featured numbered seals placed on the bottom of the box.

The cards will be produced by Noir Arts Playing Cards on premium linen finish stock and pledge starts at $12 on Kickstarter.

Find Out Who Won the 2021 52 Plus Joker’s Diamond Awards

The 2021 52 Plus Joker Diamond Award winners have been announced on this weekend’s virtual event by 52 Plus Joker. The ‘Artist of the Year’ award went to Alex Chin for NPCCD Hindsight Edition, which had five main decks – two ungilded (Destruction & Disease) and three gilded decks (Dissent, Disaster and Death) – and one bonus deck only available with the purchase of the limited-edition “6 Spirit” set (Hope).

As with Alex’s past designs, there are some interesting innovations he devised, pushing the envelope of playing card design and packaging. One stand-out feature is the box; not a traditional tuck box, but a box that unfolds from the face to open, revealing an interior and exterior design meant to evoke a Greek temple.

Circus playing cards by Marianne Larsen and Martin Helgren won the ‘Deck of the Year’ award. Circus, comes in two versions, Deluxa and Black Mosquito. The Deluxe edition employs two-headed court cards while the Black Mosquito edition has one-way, head and torso portraits, both performed in a dark, Victorianesque style.  The details include a unique deck seal, individually serial-numbered and printed to look like a ticket to the show, metallic inks on the cards, and embossing on the tuck boxes. 

Congratulations to both Alex and Marianne. 😀