First Look: Midnight Bowl-A-Rama by Midnight Cards

We had the honor of being the 1st to handle and see the prototype decks for Midnight Cards upcoming Midnight Bowl-A-Rama deck. The decks are bold, vibrant and a bit of a departure from the norm for designer Randy Butterfiled.

That being said, I think the deck came out really well and the design concepts of all the card elements completely captures the theme of this deck. A nice vibrant back design and a really well thought out face card layout make this a really solid project.

Looking at Midnight Cards body of work, one can't help but ask why the change of direction? What inspired the Bowl-A-Rama deck?

"The short answer for why I decided on a Bowling themed design is I enjoy Bowling. Part of the long answer is to challenge myself and stay sharp. Designing Playing Cards is a creative outlet for my hectic, deadline-driven day job. During the day, I have the honor to work with some of the best Spirits, Wine and Beer brands from around the world. A lot of the projects are creative, but a good number of them are limited to specific Brand Standards and extremely tight deadlines. Designing Playing Cards at night allows me the chance to take my time and create something unique.

Over the past couple years, I've noticed that my Contract / Freelance Deck assignments are mostly going for the high-end Luxury vibe. I enjoy doing those type of designs, but if I'm doing Luxury designs for assignments, the last thing I want to do for a personal design is something with a similar feel. That's a recipe to become lazy and complacent! So, I chose to  take a chance and create a design around a fun Bowling theme. It was some of the most fun I've had designing a Deck!

It wasn't very hard to picture a cool Bowling Deck, especially when picturing the Numbers Cards. Also, the old Bowling Alley Signs from the '50s and '60s are perfect for creative inspiration! My brothers and I grew up Bowling on Leagues in our small hometown of Otter Lake, Michigan. That Bowling Alley is now shutdown, but the memories still endure. Nowadays, my family and I enjoy Bowling on a semi-regular basis. I can definitely see my kids wanting to join a League when they get a little older. Bowling is a great group or family activity. I hope these Decks do the sport justice!"

Midnight Bowl-A-Rama will be printed with two back designs and two colors, Green and Red. The decks will be printed by Legends PCC on there Classic Finish.

Bowl-A-Rama is scheduled to hit Kickstarer on March 12, 2015, so lace up your rental shoes, polish your ball and enjoy the trip down memory lane with this whimsical shout out to classic American pass time.

Kardify would like to thank Randy Butterfield and Midnight Cards for the opportunity to share the first real images of the deck and special personal Thanks from me for the honor and opportunity to shooting the pics. Once the campaign is underway stay tuned for a special announcement about the Bowl-A-Rama deck you won't want to miss!

Keep up to date on all things Bowl-A-Rama related along with everything coming along for Midnight Cards by visiting their Facebook page.

Theory11: MailChimp Playing Cards

Another beautiful release from Theory11 and probably one of the most highly sought-after deck for collectors and aficionado's alike in recent years, the MailChimp Playing Cards. Designed in the United States by Fuzzco, this very limited deck was original created as an internal promotion and giveaway item.

As for the design, Fuzzco dove deep into the history of card design to pay homage to the traditions of the genre while incorporating primates to reference the brand. The deck features custom face cards and amazing foil printing on the tuck with hidden monkeys and bananas throughout! 

MailChimp Playing Cards will be available this Monday (9th March) at 3pm EST from theory11.com. 100% of MailChimp's proceeds will be donated to the Fugees Academy, a remarkable non-profit organization devoted to working with child survivors of war. No price given at the time of writing.

Deck View: Classic Gold Playing Cards

Gold. Elegant. Classic.

In 2013 Legends Playing Card Co. (LPCC) discovered a new card stock, which was used on the rare Sharps deck. This Classic Finish is a softer and slicker paper, which is more comparable to a vintage Bicycle deck. This was then offered to The Expert Playing Card Co. (EPCC), who created the wonderful innovative Classic Twins deck set, featuring this new card stock.

The Classic Gold is Legend's exclusive take on this series from EPCC, a tuck with specialty gold paper, stamped with hot gold foil. The card back features metallic gold ink, printed inverted from the standard Classic Twins. As for the courts, the retro-style faces are drawn by hand and they resemble the faces used on many standard decks today but have their own Art Nouveau style.

Only 1,000 decks of Classic Gold were printed, with 500 of the decks containing numbered seals. Still available at JP Games.

Cardistry: The Spring/Summer 2015 Virtuoso Deck Launch Event

Over seventy five guests attended an event on Saturday afternoon (7th March) at the Hub, located on Somerset Rd, Singapore, hosted by the Virts to launch the highly anticipated Spring/Summer 2015 Virtuoso Deck.

The event saw collectors and cardists gather to watch the popular group, Virtuoso host an afternoon of announcement, performance, contest and meet & greet.

Huron Low from the Virts announced the latest version of the deck for 2015, which features the colour Red, Blue and Grey. This was closely followed by an exclusive screening of the Virts v3 trailer. Guests were also treated with a short cardistry performance, as well as an autograph session for fans who purchased the deck.

Also, the camera crew from Discovery Channel were there to film the launch.

Images of the Spring/Summer 2015 Virtuoso Deck Launch Event was provided by talented cardist Cheong Kok Leong for Kardify. No part of this article or images can be reproduced without written permission from the author and Kardify.