Penguin Magic's Ace Invaders Playing Cards

Aliens have landed and infiltrated a deck of playing cards... just in time for 'May the 4th' day! Penguin Magic's latest deck is a retro-styled borderless back design with a muted, vintage color palette that's swarming with flying saucers. 

 

The faces are chock full of alien creatures ready to beam into your next game. Despite the 100% custom design, the deck has been created with playability in mind, making it perfect for all occasions. 

Each deck includes nearly-identical Jokers with a built-in reveal, as well as 2 special gaff cards. All of the cards are placed into suspended animation inside a custom tuck box with a custom sticker seal for their interstellar travels. 

Printed in the USA on traditionally-cut Classic stock with embossed Magic finish by the United States Playing Card Company. Available NOW from penguinmagic.com for $9 (25% off RRP $12) for the first 72 hours!

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Kickstarter: Graphic Cheatsheet 2 - The Palettes Playing Cards

Introducing the Graphic Cheatsheet 2: The Palettes! This deck is the follow-up to the Graphic Cheatsheet playing cards, successfully funded on Kickstarter by Color Collective Co. The goal is to create a functional purpose within a deck of playing cards, according to the Kickstarter campaign page,

We wanted to keep the color aspect (as we think color naturally helps spark inspiration and creates a mood) and also somehow integrate useful references that can be used on a daily basis, whether you are a Graphic Designer or someone who maybe look into that career pathway.

At the same time, the team wanted to keep things simple so that anyone who picks up this deck can instantly understand its purpose. After testing several concepts, they came ended up with The Palettes. 

This time we used color palettes and combined them with useful and commonly used graphic terms, these infographic court cards will give Graphic Designers a quick and illustrative reference which they can use to share with their clients so they can quickly and easily understand these terms, but most importantly, this means more time can be spent on Design!

This new version incorporates the color combo numbered cards which can be presented to clients to get a quick idea of the type of color scheme they are looking for. 

The Courts have been redesigned with fun illustrative graphics to visually explain the differences between certain terminology that is commonly used in the graphic design industry. A useful descriptive explanation is also featured below the diagram to provide additional clarity and scenarios of where these can be implemented. 

The Backs features the integration of the front color palettes which brilliantly develops into a 2-way back design. The Jokers showcase the two main color codes RGB and CMYK - these have a visual reference and a descriptor below. 

The tuck box is an extension of the colored palettes from the numbered cards, the layout and design of the tuck box are also reminiscent of the V1 tuck box, the team wanted to create continuity between the two decks to visually fit together.

Printed by the United States Playing Card Company. Pledge starts at $13 on Kickstarter.

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Deck View: Heretic (Noctis Edition) Playing Cards

Alchemy. Hermeric. Custom.

The Heretic Noctis playing cards by Stockholm 17 feature intricate designs and imagery based on Alchemy and the Hermetic world. Designed by Lorenzo Gaggiotti, the deck features completely original work. Every aspect has been touched from pips to court cards and the back design with a dark blue colorway. Every little detail ties to the Alchemy theme. The mappings, diagrams, and "Watermarks" on the face cards to the celestial elements scattered throughout the decks just tie it all together beautifully.

The intriguing tuck case of the Noctis is just stunning featuring a "long" flap design with a dark color scheme, embossed with black foil and a splash of Gold foil accents. The tuck has the same long serial numbered seal but keeps to the Black pallet of the deck. Again keeping with the Alchemy theme the designs and imagery on the tuck are just stunning.

Printed by EPCC at the highest quality stock with 'Master Finish'.

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Jack Brutus Penny Launches Sensu Playing Cards on Kickstarter

In 2019 Jack Brutus Penny released the limited-edition art deck, Culturae Animalis in a project that helped endangered mountain gorillas, planted trees, and more. Today, Jack launched his second deck on Kickstarter! Sensu (扇子) is a gorgeous deck of luxury hand-drawn art themed around Japan and the Japanese folding fan.



Designed completely from scratch, Jack has created a unique way to marry narrative-driven artwork and the medium of playing cards. The innovative card back design creates canvas from the playing card border, taking one card as a closed 扇子, but when held together in an open fan, revealing an explosion of colorful images - a narratively driven nonsensical display of anthropomorphic animals, beasts from Japanese folklore, through the seasons and across the landscape. 

The artwork is just gorgeous. The face cards and backs have elements in metallic ink to really catch the eye and the flawless and practical two-way design is so intricate you cleverly don’t even focus on the mirroring.



The unique pips are themed on the Japanese seasons, hearts are Spring, clubs and Summer, diamonds are Autumn and spades are Winter. When they fan together, they reveal the season in all its glory! Follow the link and support the project that also helps animal welfare. What can you identify here in Japanese Spring? 

The deck also comes with beautiful simplistic aces and the fabulous jokers of Sensu art playing cards take direct inspiration from Japanese traditional hanafuda cards. 

Sensu comes in two versions, the turquoise Winter Fan and the vermillion Spring Fan. There are integral differences between the two versions, from inserts to how they are even used. These playing cards take an original concept inspired by Japanese hanafuda for how to read the cards. Interesting. 

 

The deck is packaged in gorgeous recyclable tuck boxes that come with a special washi-like textured feel and luxurious foiling. Themed around Japanese folklore and whimsical animals, this playing card deck will be a displayable treasure. 

Printed by EPCC on classic stock with linen finish. Get this Japan-themed piece of art for your family. Pledge starts at $18 on Kickstarter and the deck is used to support animal welfare in various ways, including a portion of all proceeds used to rescue abandoned and displaced cats and dogs around Japan. 

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