On Kickstarter, Spaghetti Playing Cards by AssoKappa

Spaghetti Playing Cards, a custom deck of playing cards for lovers of Spaghetti, the iconic Italian dish currently seeking funds on Kickstarter by AssoKappa.

The custom deck is designed by Kiran Kuruvithadam and the idea is to bring an essential part of the Italian culinary tradition directly into your hands. 

Inside, the back design is simplistic, with a vibrant color palette that will make your jaw drop… for the forkful of spaghetti that is coming your way.

Each of the semi-custom courts represents a fundamental step and/or ingredient for the preparation of the most iconic dish...spaghetti al pomodoro! From tomato sauce, garlic, wheat flour and eggs for the noodles to kitchen tools such as wooden spoon, colander, and cheese grater.

The aces have been designed to be easily recognizable: they each feature an enlarged pip in the center. The two identical Jokers represent a joyful waiter proudly serving the main course, to which the deck is dedicated.

For the magician, the deck comes in a Mnemonic stack to amaze your friends from the first use. The cards will be manufactured by the USPCC, with sustainable forest paper, starch-based laminating, and vegetable-based inks.

Definietely a fun deck created for those who love the classic look for poker nights and magic routines and collectors who appreciate discovering custom designs in every small detail. Available NOW on Kickstarter for $12.

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Card Radar: AUREAS Playing Cards by Italian Magician Hyde

AUREAS Playing Cards is a fascinating deck inspired by the mathematical beauty of the Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio. Over a year in the making, AUREAS is produced by Italian magician Hyde (Instagram: @hydemagician) and designed by Annalisa Storari and Kiran Kuruvithadam. Golden Ratio translates to "sectio aurea" in Latin. From that the name "Aureas".

Hyde is an aeronautical engineering student and he has always been passionate about maths. With that, he wanted to create a math-themed deck, by taking inspiration from the "golden ratio", a geometrical feature that derives from math and that is found both in nature and arts. Using proportions that come from the golden ratio in arts is perceived subconsciously as beauty.

Hyde told Kardify,

I wanted to create something different from the usual, as you know my mathematical vein is always evident in the things I do, I decided to create a deck that was based on that. Also, I wanted to put a personal touch on it, so in addition to using math, I used the golden proportions to create special Rubik cubes as the Jokers, which can also be used for magic effects.

Inside, there are many secrets to discover within the design, such as the use of “phi” or the golden number and the fact that the pips have been redesigned using the golden ratio geometry.

Crafted for the magician in mind, the aces have been enlarged to be more visible for productions, and the courts are standard but slightly recolored to maintain familiarity with the spectators.

As Hyde mentioned, the jokers depict a Rubik's cube (Hyde performs mostly with cards and cube-magic), and you can see that the single "wedges" again follow proportions dictated by the golden ratio.

AUREAS Playing Cards are available NOW from assokappa.cards for €16.90.

Top 12: Playing Cards of 2017

What an amazing year for playing cards! To celebrate we've compiled 12 of our favorite decks right here. This IS the most challenging list we've ever had to put together to-date. So, 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.

Tally Ho Pearl Gilded

The Pearl Tally Ho is the final deck in a four deck series by Kings Wild Project. This beautiful deck includes an embossed, pearlescent paper stock, hot foil stamped tuck case and numbered seals. The cards themselves have completely custom courts with metallic ink accents on the face cards presented in a gorgeous pearl-pale off-white colorway and subtle metallic ink on the bold back design. The deck is gilded with a stunning Pearlescent foil.

Pantheon

Pantheon Playing Cards feature greek mythology focused on the Olympian Gods. Fully custom, from the Aces, Pips, Tuck Box and the card backs, which features the 6-pointed impossible star that is the main symbol of Pantheon. Also, the gold foil card backs are STUNNING! The Pantheon tuck is embossed, double foil on the exterior and red foil interior on premium soft-touch dark blue paper. Meticulously designed by Thirdway Industries and printed by Expert Playing Card Co with Classic Finish.

Exquisite Bolder

Three years in the making, Expert Playing Card Co's Exquisite Bolder Playing Cards is an eye-catching deck using Expert's brand new Perfecta Foil on the card backs and the tuck and 3d embossing on the side-way tuck. This amazing process creates foil with the illusion of depth built in. Also, the deck features standard courts, face cards, and incredibly thin (1mm) borders on the card back!

Cardistry Touch Origin

Crafted from scratch specifically for cardistry, the deck features a unique geometric design that accentuates spins, flourishes and large, multi-card displays. Also, a single design is repeated on each card for an enhanced cardistry experience. Printed by Cartamundi on a premium quality paper with a softer stock and coated in brand new "cardistry finish", which feels broken in right out of the box. All 51 cards are housed in a very unique swivel box. The team at Cardistry Touch won the Cardistry deck of the year at Cardistry-Con 2017 in Los Angeles.

Apothecary

This gorgeous deck is exactly what you come to expect from Seasons Playing Cards. Stunning foil, exquisite artwork, and entrancing design! Apothecary is an homage to old world illustrations. Reveling in the realm of true artisan craftsmanship, these cards embrace the engraving style intricacies and the custom illustrated courts elevate the experience with entrancing details.

Radia

A bold new vision in playing cards. Encarded's RADIA is the first modern deck to combine the finest traditional paper stock with a complete coating of metallic foil and the highest quality printed details. By printing an intricate design inspired by a 19th-century Spanish gold engraving right on the foil, RADIA has unparalleled shine and visual dimension, but with its high-performance coating it also handles like any modern playing card should, fanning and shuffling beautifully. The deck is housed in a beautiful tuck with pearlescent paper, purple ink, gold foil, embossing and a custom die-cut, RADIA is the perfect combination of simplicity and complexity.

Origins Shadow of History

The Origins Shadows of History deck by Rick Davidson is inspired by the elegance and charm of playing card history. The deck is beautifully crafted and features an ornate premium quality tuck case, embossed and hot stamped with stunning metallic foil. The face cards are entirely custom with vibrant gorgeous courts, diptych jokers and a bold Ace of Spades, printed with ornate metallic ink backs.

Winterberry

Beautifully designed by Estonian graphic designer Toomas Pintson and produced by Got Magic?. The enchanting deck is fully custom, and meticulously hand-illustrated from the ground up. The deck features a distinctive style of illustrations making it truly a unique piece of art inspired by the beautiful and cold Nordic winters. The goal was to create an elegant and beautiful deck of cards that card collectors would appreciate. The cards are housed in a gorgeous tuck case crafted by Clove St. Press on a deep-black soft-touch paper with silver foiling. Sealed by a tax-stamp style seal.

Golden Oath

This year, Lotrek's Golden Oath Playing Cards won Joker Plus 52's 'Deck of the Year' award for his painstaking work on this stunning deck. All the artwork are foiled including 2 foils (gold and red) on the card back and 3 foils (gold, silver and red) on the face cards. A tremendous technical challenge!

Dystopia

Dystopia Playing Cards by Joker and the Thief is a disturbed tribute to cult movie Mad Max, Muscle Car Culture, the Australian Film Industry and Outback. This blood and fuel injected deck features 100% custom illustrations by Pedro Oyarbide - a symbolic back design, a striking ace of spades, tyrannical court cards, insane jokers, and of course, a stunning tuck box from professional letterpress studio Clove St. Press, capped with a custom shaped seal.

Drifters

From Dan and Dave, Drifters Playing Cards is a gorgeous deck designed by Curtis Jenkins, illustrator of Monarchs playing cards. Born from the wilderness, a sense of adventure and the wonders of the unknown, the Drifters Playing Cards showcase the majestic beauty of the great outdoors. The deck features fully custom courts, jokers, beautifully illustrated aces, and gorgeous back with incredible line work. Every shuffle and cut of the cards is a reminder to never settle, to chase a life of freedom. The cards are housed in an eye-catching custom letter-pressed tuck case featuring intricate detail and incredible line work.

Gemini

Two years in the making, Gemini is a fascinating deck of playing cards designed by Lorenzo Gaggiotti of Stockholm17. The Gemini Playing Cards has been meticulously crafted to give it a classic medieval feel. The deck features aces that are depicted as axes and the royals of the court cards interact with their own pip, becoming part of the illustration. The number pips are bold and BIG. The striking Gemini tucks are adorned in gorgeous foil on thick black paper and feature beautiful calligraphic text.

Honorable mention: Butterfly Playing Cards by Ondrej Psenicka, Papilio by Kiran Kuruvithadam, Titans by Jody Eklund, RAVN Purple Haze by Stockholm17, Bharata by Sunish Chabba, The Confessions Series by Ellusionist, National Playing Cards by Harold Apples, Hocus Pocus 40th Anniversary deck by Edo Huang, Pearl Playing Cards by Hanson Chien Production Co, and Regalia deck by Shin Lim.


The selection expressed in this top12 are solely those of the author. 

Holiday Gift Guide 2017: Playing Cards for Card Enthusiasts, Magicians and Cardists

Looking for the perfect and reasonable prices holiday gift idea for the card enthusiasts, magician or cardists in your life? We are here to help! Find their interest and we will recommend a deck of playing cards. Check out the list below:


For The Adventurer: Drifters

The deck from Dan and Dave features fully custom courts, jokers, beautifully illustrated aces, and gorgeous back with incredible line work. Every shuffle and cut of the cards is a reminder to never settle, to chase a life of freedom. The cards are housed in an eye-catching custom letter-pressed tuck case featuring intricate detail and incredible line work. Available now from dananddave.com for $12.


For the Cardist: The Virts Fall/Winter 17 Edition

This is probably the most anticipated cardistry deck of the year. For the first time, theVirts are releasing a Fall/Winter Edition of the popular deck, away from the usual Summer/Spring Editions. Taking Adaptive Aesthetics to the next level, the deck features a brand new multi-faceted design forming a fluid yet rhythmic patterns in spreads and displays... and paints the air with incredibly expressive movements across countless other moves from cuts to cascades. Available soon on thevirts.com


For the Magician: Butterfly

This groundbreaking deck features two unique marking system hidden in its beautiful back design that can be used separately, and they will make you a miracle worker if they are combined. This gorgeous deck comes with standard faces as it is intended mainly for magicians who prefer standard faces as they are familiar and easily recognizable by the audience. The cards are printed in Belgium by Cartamundi. Also, the explanation of the marking system is included, as well as a link to online video instructions. Available from hocus-pocus.com for $29.


For the Historian: Origins Shadow of History

The gorgeous Origins Shadows of History deck by Rick Davidson is inspired by the elegance and charm of playing card history. The beautifully crafted deck features an ornate premium quality tuck case, embossed and hot stamped with stunning metallic foil. The face cards are entirely custom with vibrant courts, diptych jokers and a bold Ace of Spades, printed with ornate metallic ink backs. Available from origincards.com for $16.25.


For the Nature Lover: Papilio Ulysses

Inspired by the beauty of the butterfly, designer Kiran Kuruvithadam has created the Papilio Playing Cards to bring the beauty and elegance of the butterfly to your fingertips. The deck features gorgeous illustrated courts with gold and green metallic inks, semi-custom pips, a beautifully crafted Ace of Spades, eye-catching card backs with thin borders and a simple but elegantly designed tuck. Available right now from Murphy’s Magic for $9.95.


For Her: Pearl

Inspired by the beauty of nature, Pearl Playing Cards is a set of custom decks designed by Hanson Chien Production Co. The gorgeous decks are designed from the ground up and feature a unique and very colorful hand painted back design and custom court cards that complement the overall design of the decks. Both Sunrise and Sunset editions are fully customized from the Ace of Spades, Jokers to the Courts with color palettes to match the deck. For the deluxe set, both decks are contained in an attractive collector box and comes with an individually numbered and signed certificate.


For the Collector: Verum Videre White Edition

Verum Videre issues in a new chapter for Kings Wild Project and the first deck of playing cards that Jackson Robinson have letterpressed tuck case, in-house, and hand assembled. Printed by the United States Playing Card Co. on Bee Casino Stock with embossed Finish and features 5 Metallic Inks. Available from Kingswildproject.com for $24.


For the Designer: Gemini

Two years in the making, Gemini is a fascinating deck by Lorenzo Gaggiotti of Stockholm17 meticulously crafted to give it a classic medieval feel. The deck features aces that are depicted as axes and the royals of the court cards interact with their own pip, becoming part of the illustration. The striking tuck box design is a collaboration between Lorenzo and Calligraffiti ambassador Karl O'brien from UK. This beautiful calligraphic text has been handcrafted by Karl and it looks like an ancient manuscript. Available on rareplayingcards.com


For the Bachelor: EVA

EVA Playing Cards is a fully custom deck dedicated to the First Women, with all female courts. Designed with a sharp, modern style and symbology can be found throughout the deck. The NSFW EVA Playing Cards is printed by the United States Playing Card Co. Available for $50 from Thirdway Industries.


For the Sci-Fi Fan: Dystopia

Dystopia Playing Cards by Joker and the Thief is a disturbed tribute to cult movie Mad Max. This blood and fuel injected deck features 100% custom illustrations by Pedro Oyarbide - a symbolic back design, a striking ace of spades, tyrannical court cards, insane jokers, and of course, a stunning letterpressed tuck box and capped with a custom shaped seal. Available from jtplayingcards.com for $16.


For the Poker Player: LUXX Redux Red

LUXX Redux Red Edition is based on the original LUXX playing cards designed by Randy Butterfield. The Redux Red is a rework of the original and features a stunning tuck, all new design, and an improved back design. An affordable and luxurious deck for the game night. Available from JP Games for £10.99.


For Secret Santa: Rockets

Rockets Playing Cards from Ellusionist are born from a world of pure imagination. This tasty looking deck is styled from a popular frozen treat of time past, giving a sense of nostalgia. The deck is semi-custom featuring a simple, imperfect border back design, a fun looking custom Ace of Spades and Joker, and standard pips and courts with a brighter and more radiant color consistent with the overall theme of the deck. Available now from Ellusionist for $8.95!


For the Minimalist: NOC Out Black Edition

Alex Pandrea to create a borderless NOC deck and NOC Outs Black Edition is the result. This deck features everything you know and love about the NOC Out White edition, but inverted to display a classy and elegant black deck of cards. The design is simple but effectively implemented. Printed by the USPCC and available now from House of Playing Cards for $7!


For the TV Enthusiast: Saturday Night Live Playing Cards

The Saturday Night Live Playing Cards are a fitting tribute to the popular show that has entertained audiences of all ages since 1975. Fully custom, every aspect of the design was inspired by Saturday Night Live, with iconic illustration elements featuring the SNL stage backdrop, and Studio 8H. From Weekend Update to Stefon and The Ladies Man, these cards are a fitting tribute to countless hilarious segments. Available now from Theory11.com for $9.95.


For that Card Collector Who Has Everthing: Carat Card Cases

You can't go wrong with these stylish display cases. Carat cases comes with a variety of sizes and will keep your decks completely visible, dust-free, and away from curious hands. While the case keeps your decks securely enclosed, it will open and close with the utmost ease. Choose from a single deck to 3 decks and even 6 deck displays! Every collector loves to show off their prized collection. What better way to do it than these affordable and luxurious displays. More info on CaratCardCases.com

News: Issue Six of Kardify Magazine Now Available!

The sixth issue of Kardify magazine is now available to Patrons who pledge $3 or more on our Patreon page. The monthly magazine will be a compilation of selected articles we’ve published over mid-October to mid-November. Our goal is to help you stay on top of playing card news.

Funds received from the magazine will help us keep the site running and growing, and bringing new quality content to you. Our aim is to support designers by backing on crowd-funded 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:

+ Murphy's Magic Tangram Playing Cards: A tribute to one of the most popular dissection puzzles in the world, designed by Kiran Kuruvithadam.

+ Two new decks from D&D: Find out about the two new releases in conjunction with their 33rd birthday.

+ 52 Plus Joker Club deck by Alex Chin: The STUNNING deck unveiled at this year's 52 Plus Joker convention.

+ Game-changing decks from the Expert Playing Card Co.: Find out more about the three incredible decks Bill Kalush announced during the 52 Plus Joker convention.

+ Royal Los Angeles Playing Cards: Check out Toomas Pintson's sixth deck of the year.

+ Ambassadors Playing Cards: A classic deck with Lotrek's take on the standard courts and an intricate back design.

… and more! 38 pages of articles and deck images!

Card Radar: Papilio Ulysses Playing Cards From Murphy's Magic

Inspired by the beauty of the butterfly, designer Kiran Kuruvithadam has created the Papilio Playing Cards to bring the beauty and elegance of the butterfly to your fingertips. The design goal is to come up with a design that is familiar and fresh.

There's so much to like about Papilio Ulysses Playing Cards! The deck features gorgeous illustrated courts with gold and green metallic inks, semi-custom pips, a beautifully crafted Ace of Spades, eye-catching card backs with thin borders and a simple but elegantly designed tuck.

Ulysses is the third version of Papilio and it has been enhanced with the working magicians in mind. Hence, the cards are crafted to feel and look great in performances.

The Aces are slightly bigger and the familiar design of the faces allows the cards to be easily recognizable by spectators, making them very presentable. Also included in the deck is a double-backer and a duplicate card.

The deck will be printed by the United States Playing Cards Company on their best available stock with air-cushion finish. Available right now from your favorite Murphy’s Magic retailer!

5 Things You Should Know About Tangram Playing Cards

Designed by Kiran Kuruvithadam and produced by Murphy’s Magic, the Tangram Playing Cards deck is a tribute to one of the most popular dissection puzzles in the world. What makes this deck truly unique is that every artwork has been designed using Tangram shapes. 

From the card back featuring 2 koi fish swimming in an aqua blue-green pool to the pips, courts, and Ace of Spades- all creatively created utilizing the 7 Tangram shapes. Due to the subdued color palette used, the deck is unassuming at a first glance but when you take a closer look at the artwork design, it is brilliant! Here are 5 things you didn’t know about the Tangram Playing Cards.

1. The design was inspired by Knights Playing Cards. 
Kiran was inspired by Daniel Madison and Chris Ramsay's Knights and by the principle of creating a tabletop game themed deck of cards. Kiran explained. "I wanted to create another 'puzzle/game' themed deck, but no game came into my mind that could be useful for designing a deck of cards until I found my old elementary “arts-project”: a Tangram set that I made out of wood."

2. This is the first deck of cards, where everything has been designed using the Tangram Puzzle.
The ancient game originated in China. The seven tiles are called trans, and according to the game's rules they all have to be used and they have to be positioned without overlapping.

3. Kiran originally thought to contact ArtofPlay 
"Given Dan and Dave’s passion for puzzles as Tangram can be seen on their shelves at the ArtOfPlay headquarters, but I put the project on hold until I was approached by Murphy’s magic for my previous Kickstarter project Papilio playing cards. I took the opportunity and pitched the idea of the Tangram playing cards."

4. The deck includes extra cards for people to solve the Tangram Puzzle.
One card includes instructions and can be cut along the guidelines. Another card contains tangram-silhouettes of creatures from the Chinese calendar and sea related figures that have to be solved.

5. This water-themed deck of cards could have a follow-up edition.
"Probably air or fire themed…. but no spoilers…!"


Available right now from your favorite Murphy’s Magic retailer!