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New to the forum, need advice on finding a deck for a very specific purpose!

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Hi guys and gals!

     I'm not a card collector, per se, but I do own and play a lot of playing card/board games. I spend a lot of my free time playing all sorts of card games, and I've run into a problem -- I don't own a single deck that I can use outdoors if the wind is blowing. I've heard of various metallic decks, which can be used on magnetic surfaces, and I'm really interested to see if anyone owns a deck and could lend me some advice on where to look for one! Also, I bet that certain card decks might be heavy enough to avoid being blown away by the wind, so a really weighty deck might be another good solution.

     The decks I've seen that I find the most intriguing are all- or partial-steel decks. Does anyone know a good place to find one? Or, is anyone on the forum looking to sell one? I haven't been a member long enough to post an In-Search-Of listing, so feel free to spread the word on my behalf. Also, as a side note, I plan on using the deck pretty frequently--which means I will likely need to replace it occasionally--so I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive option since I'll be putting some major wear and tear on the deck over time.

So, long story short, I need help with one of the following:
1) Finding a deck that is attracted to a magnetic tabletop (such as an all- or partial-steel deck), and/or
2) Finding a really heavy deck that won't blow away in the wind, and/or
3) Another creative option that I can use outside if the wind is blowing, and/or
4) General advice on researching what types of decks might help me solve my dilemma

Thanks, I'm looking forward to hearing from people!

 

 

Don Boyer

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Hello and welcome to the forum.

I've seen magnetic sets - a deck matched with a playing surface where some portion of it is magnetic.  They're considerably more expensive than a standard pack of cards and from what I've been told, what they gain in ability to stay put in the wind, they lose in playability.  And by all means, keep them away from credit/debit cards, smartphones, memory cards, keychain drives, etc. - anything capable of being corrupted by magnetism!

There are decks that are made completely out of some kind of sheet metal.  They're even more expensive and the metal is prone to scratching, leaving you with an effectively marked deck.  You don't want to imagine shuffling them and you never want to drop them on someone's foot unless you really dislike them a lot...  They'd probably be more effective as martial arts weapons in some exotic spy movie.

You need to do one of two things - negate the wind's effects or use something that ignores the wind altogether.

NEGATE: Picture a table.  Place four short, solid walls around the surface.  Cover the tops of the walls in a clear, solid material like plastic or glass, making a roof over the table.  Seal all the edges airtight.  The surface is now windproof - but you need to get at the surface in order to play on it.  Install two openings similar to those used in hospital baby incubators, just large enough to reach in with an arm, and with an elastic closure that gently tightens around the girth of your arm when inserted.  Now you've got a playing surface that negates the effects of the wind.  It won't help against things like gravity, being tipped, etc., but the wind can howl and your cards will stay put.  To prevent your cards from being disturbed when you walk away to grab a drink, use the bathroom, etc., design the openings to seal closed when not in use, like with a Velcro flap or something similar.  Make multiple openings around the table for multiplayer wind-tunnel tournaments!  If you make the walls high enough, you can even place things like beverages and snacks inside, though drinking your beverages would be another challenge altogether...

IGNORE: Play cards using a tablet, smartphone or similar device.  Let the wind blow - no scraps of paper to lose.  I used to have an app for iOS that was extremely simple - it was a games app, but it literally provided you with just the game pieces and an environment to control them in.  There were chess pieces, checkers, dice, cards, etc. and the requisite boards.  No automation, no computer opponent - using various tap-swipe-and-drag commands, you could take a deck of cards, place individual cards on the surface anywhere you wanted, stack them up, flip over the top card, etc.  It allowed you to play any form of solitaire you wanted, or, when combined with other players, any card game that could be played with an ordinary deck of cards (although concealment of hands becomes an issue; play only with those you trust!).  Mind you, it was a certain degree of difficulty harder than using ordinary playing cards, but you could play upside down or even underwater if your tablet was up to the task.  Failing that, there's hardly a card game out there that someone hasn't created an app to play - and most provide computer opponents as well as multiplayer and in some cases online or local-network (multi-device) play options.
« Last Edit: April 26, 2016, 06:27:55 AM by Don Boyer »
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Thanks Don,

     I've thought about making a wind-resistant playing area, and I've come up with several similar ideas, but nothing I think of seems to be portable enough for my needs. I like to keep cards in my car so I can play them anywhere--outdoor coffee shops, picnic lunches with the family, that sort of thing. Also, I've thought about using phone apps to play certain games, but I don't enjoy it quite as much. Yeah, I know, that's a little bit picky, but it's the truth. I just like physical cards better than digital ones.

     As far as scratching and marking goes, I'm really not very concerned for their condition--as long as they're still usable for real play. I've got plenty of opportunities to keep other decks in perfect condition, so I don't mind having one deck that I let get scuffed up as long as I can continue to use it regularly.

     And about the expense: I have seen some old kickstarter ads for things like the Steel Bear and the Bronze Staghorn decks, so I know they can be expensive, but I know there are other similar options that are a bit less costly. Additionally, I don't mind paying a moderate price for a marked deck if someone is trying to get rid of one. After all, I'm sure there are lots of collectors that would rather sell off a marked all-steel deck at a discount so they can have the funds to buy a few of the brand new decks they've been eyeing. I'll be on the lookout for a good deal :)
 

 

Don Boyer

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I think I may have discovered a less-expensive alternative, something I used to play with as a kid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rummikub

Rummikub was a popular game in the late 1970s.  The game's pieces are tiles that approximately correspond to two decks of cards and two jokers for a total of 106 tiles.  Aces, Jacks, Queens and Kings are replaced with 1s, 11s, 12s and 13s.  The suits are removed - colors are used instead: black, blue, red and yellow.  But putting those differences aside, the game is played like a massive game of Rummy, with players making melds in either runs (consecutively-valued tiles in the same color) or in groups (like-valued tiles of different colors).  The object of the game was to run out of tiles, and players could create new melds, add to existing ones or break up larger ones to make smaller ones, as long as no unmelded tiles were left over.

They're not exactly like playing cards, but the plastic tiles are very similar to mahjong tiles in size - slightly larger in length and width and much less thick.  This would make them wind-resistant, waterproof and relatively portable, though not exactly pocket-sized.  Then again, I don't think metal playing cards would be more or less portable, considering the thickness of the metal - a deck would have to be double or more in thickness compared to paper cards or the metal would be thin enough to become easily damaged by bending or denting.  Regardless, a cheap Rummikub game can be had for as little as under $10, while deluxe versions with fancy carrying cases and wooden tile stands run up to four to five times more in price.  Amazon has a handy travel version marketed under a different name that comes with a zippered storage pouch - it's on sale for only $13.99, marked down from $19.99.

http://smile.amazon.com/Travel-Rummy-boards-players-strong/dp/B017WQV9RW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1461734123&sr=8-6&keywords=rummikub

The one issue you'd run into is if you play solitaire a lot, a four-color "deck" isn't as easy to work with as a two-color deck.  But that's not a major problem in this case because of the choices of colors - "cold" colors (blue and black) can be used for black suits while "warm" colors (red and yellow) can be used for red suits.  If you really had to have suits on your cards, you could get a couple of Sharpies in red and black and simply draw suit images onto the tiles themselves - there's empty space below the value with a circular indentation, designed as a touch point so you can slide tiles around on a table but still see the values and colors as you move them.  Doing this, you'd make each tile look a lot like a playing card index.  If you opt for the marker method, get some cardboard and a hobbyist's razor knife and cut out a stencil for each pip shape so when you draw them, they come out uniformly the same (or close enough to it) on all the tiles of the same "suit."
« Last Edit: April 27, 2016, 01:34:14 AM by Don Boyer »
Card Illusionist, NYC Area
Playing Card Design & Development Consultant
Deck Tailoring: Custom Alterations for Magicians and Card Mechanics
Services for Hire - http://thedecktailor.com/
Pre-Made Decks for Sale - http://donboyermagic.com/
 

 

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Rummikub -- that's a great idea! Thanks for helping me come up with a creative solution :)

I may eventually buy a steel deck just for the heck of it now, but at least I won't feel the need to scratch it up playing with it :P