PlayingCardForum.com - A Discourse For Playing Cards
Playing Card Chat ♠ ♥ ♣ ♦ => Playing Card Plethora => Topic started by: Rob Wright on September 13, 2013, 12:41:04 AM
-
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2060803491/civil-unrest-civil-war-playing-cards-with-unique-t?ref=users
Project by RJ Tomlinson
First created, $14,000 goal
1st of 3 planned decks with the theme of unrest
"Custom Playing Cards Printed by USPCC Containing Cryptic Codes Leading to an Actual Hidden Treasure"
"Stretch Goal #1 - If we reach 200% funding the silver stash will be valued at $500."
-
Hmmm not a bad deck and definitely show signs of effort being placed into designing this deck. And as much as I appreciate the theme of the deck, it lacks a certain "umph" for me. Not exactly sure what it is but I'm not the biggest fan.
-
My take...
Straight-up appearance - War of Currents slept with a Virginia Slims deck, the baby fell back in time about 60 years and got some ugly pip tattoos.
The treasure thing's been done before. TBC did it last with Altruism and people shared the clues so quickly, the prizes were gone way too fast. The whole "treasure as enticement to buy" thing is kinda tired.
The name sounds vaguely familiar - this creator make any other decks?
Let's just hope this isn't the next Founders...
-
Just noticed that one of the pledge tiers include a "Wizard Deck" (I guess a politically correct, but technically incorrect, version of a stripper deck). He mentioned he didn't want people thinking of bad things.... $14 for the stripper deck and $11 for the early bird regular deck.
The treasure thing's been done before. TBC did it last with Altruism and people shared the clues so quickly, the prizes were gone way too fast. The whole "treasure as enticement to buy" thing is kinda tired.
He also mentions though the secret codes would lead you to physical locations in Pennsylvania. Cool in concept but impractical for backers out of state and especially backers out of country. Kind of cool too in my opinion. I totally forgot that the Altruism deck had a secret code thing associated with them too but it had nothing to do with physical locations.
-
He also mentions though the secret codes would lead you to physical locations in Pennsylvania. Cool in concept but impractical for backers out of state and especially backers out of country. Kind of cool too in my opinion. I totally forgot that the Altruism deck had a secret code thing associated with them too but it had nothing to do with physical locations.
Yeah, it kinda annoys me when people include gimmicky stuff to try and increase sales. Sometimes the design suffers for it as they attempt to shoehorn the clues into the cards.
-
Well...the box is kind of neat.
And that's about it. I think those courts look hideous and I can't imagine anyone outside Pennsylvania would actually participate in a treasure hunt there.
-
This guy lives very close to my hometown where I have tons of family and friends. I do not know him but I would definitetly love the option to pick this deck up if its funded instead of getting it shipped to me. Picking it up would allow me to pick his brain about playing cards and get to meet someone offline who also shares this interest. I pledged for this deck because I love the theme and think its done very well.
-
Just noticed that one of the pledge tiers include a "Wizard Deck" (I guess a politically correct, but technically incorrect, version of a stripper deck). He mentioned he didn't want people thinking of bad things.... $14 for the stripper deck and $11 for the early bird regular deck.
Actually, I believe that "Wizard Deck" is one of the many names that have been used over the years for what we call a stripper deck today. Not a bad price for a stripper, but this isn't really a design that's well-suited to magic performance.
From Wikipedia, in the article "Trick deck":
A Stripper Deck (also known as a Tapered Deck, Wizard Deck, or Biseauté Deck) allows the magician to control the main location of a card or group of cards easily within the pack. Even after being shuffled into the deck by a spectator, the magician can cut to a selected card. Similarly, even after being lost in different parts of the deck, the magician can move multiple cards to the bottom or top of the deck with a few innocent shuffles.
-
Actually, I believe that "Wizard Deck" is one of the many names that have been used over the years for what we call a stripper deck today. Not a bad price for a stripper, but this isn't really a design that's well-suited to magic performance.
A well I've only known them as "Stripper Deck(s)" so I guess I assumed it was just a term he wanted to use. And I would agree, this deck is not well suited for magic performance. I can see them being collected and used for playing but not so much for magic.
This guy lives very close to my hometown where I have tons of family and friends. I do not know him but I would definitetly love the option to pick this deck up if its funded instead of getting it shipped to me. Picking it up would allow me to pick his brain about playing cards and get to meet someone offline who also shares this interest. I pledged for this deck because I love the theme and think its done very well.
That would be a pretty cool experience for you I'm sure. I haven't met anyone in my area that shares the same interest in playing cards as I do.
-
--Here's some hi-res images of the playing cards. As far as the style keep in mind we are celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. I was going for a vintage yet modern feel.
--As far as the treasure hunt... it wasn't meant as a gimmick but a way to bring attention to ghost towns in Northern PA that many people don't know about. I have decided not to hurt the design by putting the codes on the card. I plan on giving a map with codes to everyone who buys the cards. I felt it was in the best interest of the design to do it this way.
--With the feedback I've gotten I decided to update the back of the card.
Let me know what you think!
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz129/rjtomlinson1977/NewBackofCard_zpsaa53247d.jpg)
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz129/rjtomlinson1977/CardBox-TuckCase-Civil-Unrest_zps6523a76c.jpg)
(http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz129/rjtomlinson1977/NewKINGS_zps6b5b5561.jpg)
-
--Here's some hi-res images of the playing cards. As far as the style keep in mind we are celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. I was going for a vintage yet modern feel.
--As far as the treasure hunt... it wasn't meant as a gimmick but a way to bring attention to ghost towns in Northern PA that many people don't know about. I have decided not to hurt the design by putting the codes on the card. I plan on giving a map with codes to everyone who buys the cards. I felt it was in the best interest of the design to do it this way.
--With the feedback I've gotten I decided to update the back of the card.
Let me know what you think!
Mr. Tomlinson - deck creator, I presume?
First, welcome to the Discourse. We're an opinionated bunch, but only because we're passionate about playing cards.
My personal assessment - leaving out the treasure hunt was a good idea. Too gimmicky. You could, however, simply include the map you mentioned as an ad card in the deck and forgo making a gaff card. Another way to include it that would cost less than printing maps would be to create a QR code which you can place on the ad card or on the box somewhere, inside or out, which redirects to a page where you can make the map available with all those nice Google features for navigation and such.
On the deck itself... I'm not a huge fan of the pips, if you haven't noticed. But that's just me. My best suggestion in that regard would be to SWAP COLORS in the indices and pips. You have the black suits represented by the lighter of the two index colors and the red suits by the darker one - I've found it to be mentally distracting when using decks arranged like that. Switch the court faces if you must to match the color change.
I would also remove the engraving effect from the court card faces. You're already printing the cards on an embossed surface, assuming you're using a stock that isn't utterly smooth, and you have all those wavy lines in the background. It takes away from the art to keep the faux engraving lines on the faces on top of all of this. That, and you'll have too many people thinking you cribbed the idea from the Federal 52 series of decks. You might even consider ditching the way lines in the background as well. Just go for a look that replicates color illustrations of the time - not printing, but painting. It would do your art much more justice to present it that way.
The backs appear fine, but you're basing the overall pattern on a deck back (the Bicycle Rider Back) that didn't exist until 1893, nearly three decades after the War Between the States ended. Look at the Bicycle Americana deck and draw inspiration from that back instead, minus the faux weathering, and I think you'll have a much more attractive back design.
-
Is the art on the court cards original? They appear to be colorized vintage photographs. As far as the treasure bit goes, God bless him for trying to appeal to the masses. As far as the deck goes, I like the back and the tuck box. If I didn't open my decks, I'd be happy to include this in my collection... but I play with my cards so I'm on the fence about this one. I may still get one because of the tuckbox. I've never bought a deck just for the wrapping so it'd be a first for me.
-
Is the art on the court cards original? They appear to be colorized vintage photographs. As far as the treasure bit goes, God bless him for trying to appeal to the masses. As far as the deck goes, I like the back and the tuck box. If I didn't open my decks, I'd be happy to include this in my collection... but I play with my cards so I'm on the fence about this one. I may still get one because of the tuckbox. I've never bought a deck just for the wrapping so it'd be a first for me.
The art's been tweaked to appear as if printed with an intaglio press, like American currency is. I have no idea if the art is sourced, original or some blend of the two.
-
I have to say, this is the deck I'd play WAR with. :) But honestly, I thought the twist was that the south won this time.
-
For the face cards I worked with old photographs but I obvisiouly added items and/or arms where there wasn't any. I wanted to make sure that each court card held an item of importance. All photos during the Civil War were black and white so colorization was an important step. I used the engraving effect to help blend in the real with the added items and/or arms.
-
Oh, I forgot to mention, I was actually thinking of using one of the ad cards to put the rules of Civil Unrest which is just a modified version of WAR.
-
Oh, I forgot to mention, I was actually thinking of using one of the ad cards to put the rules of Civil Unrest which is just a modified version of WAR.
So you're saying that the south could win? I will let all my redneck buddies know, they've been waiting a long time for something like that. ;)
-
With this updated back I'm a big fan now. Somehow I like this better and as mentioned already, some of the "gimmicky" stuff removed makes this a little more attractive. Best wishes for the deck! Still looking or the money to back so will do that if I get the funds.
-
I think this is a great concept, I like the backs and pips. I hate the photoshop look of the courts. If it was an artist rendering of the characters. This would be an awesome deck.
-
The Civil Unrest project has been updated and re-launched. A few design modifications and lowered goal. http://kck.st/1gfY1Cl (http://kck.st/1gfY1Cl)
-
decks NOW AVAILABLE through their Amazon page:
http://www.amazon.com/Civil-Unrest-Custom-Playing-Confederate/dp/B00I6ZD7PG/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A1AF87KHYSL3UU
(http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/ae240/1rideout/91vfxpxJlTL_SL1500__zpsd1349410.jpg)
(http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/ae240/1rideout/1025516_580634915361960_1875387585_o_zpsd0c6bbb9.jpg)
CBJ
-
Just got mine today. they look pretty cool. Hopefully he will relaunch the next deck in the trilogy
-
Just got mine today. they look pretty cool. Hopefully he will relaunch the next deck in the trilogy
And hopefully change the design. I hated how some cards didn't have a background since they weren't in the area of the map and how the back design was too similar to Propaganda.
-
Just got mine today. they look pretty cool. Hopefully he will relaunch the next deck in the trilogy
And hopefully change the design. I hated how some cards didn't have a background since they weren't in the area of the map and how the back design was too similar to Propaganda.
+1 agreed 100%.