Review: Fungi Mystic Mushrooms deck (Azured Ox)

[EndersGame]

Fungi Mystic Mushrooms Mycological Playing Cards

I love a good pun, and there's some great one-liners about mushrooms.  You may have heard classics like these:
Why did the Mushroom get invited to all the parties? Because he's a Fun-gi! (fun guy)
Why did the Fungi leave the party? There wasn't Mush-room.
Did you hear the joke about the Fungus? I could tell it to you, but it might need time to grow on you.

It turns out that mushrooms aren't just a useful ingredient for punny jokes or tasty meals, but they also make great subject material for decks of playing cards.  The newly released Fungi Mystic Mushrooms Mycological  Playing Cards is a deck that is dedicated to mycology, which is the study of fungi.  And sure enough, as you'd expect, it's full of mushrooms!  The designer is Azured Ox, also the creator of a couple of other designs produced by PCD, namely Friendly Felines and the Royal Vortex anniversary deck.

Here's how the official ad copy describes it: "You will find a selection of various fungi represented throughout the deck, colorful digitally hand-painted designs enchanted on a dark background. This fun, functional, unorthodox deck can be used for all your playing card needs and makes a great deck for your collection."



Tuck box

Our first glimpse of this magical world starts with the tuck box, which features exactly what we might expect: a mushroom, surrounded with sprinkles of magic, and some appropriately purple text.

The back of the tuck box features the colourful design that we'll soon see over and over on the card backs.  Meanwhile the sides of the tuck box give a hint of the trippy design on the inside, each side featuring nine different circular designs with brightly coloured digital colours.   There's also a  Six of Spades card reveal on the inside flaps of the box.



Card backs

The design on the card backs has already been introduced on the back of the tuck box: it's a full-bleed design featuring a colour spectrum from an aqua blue to a indigo violet.   As you'd expect, the design looks particularly beautiful in fans and spreads, and reversing the fan or spread produces a whole new look.



Court cards and Aces

But perhaps the highlight of this deck are the court cards, each of which depicts a different fungus in a digital hand-painted design.   Each of these features psychedelic and vibrant colours, which stand out boldly against a dark background, and they are decorated with magical sparkles to help set an enchanting and charming tone.  Apparently there are actually mushrooms that do glow in the dark, and this entire deck has a glow-in-the-dark feel about it.



For those with a mycological interest, here's the complete list of fungi that are pictured on these cards, in order of Ace, King, Queen, and Jack for each suit:
Clubs: Enoki Mushrooms, Puffball, Death Cap Amanita, Black Trumpet
Spades: Oyster Mushrooms, True Morel, Parasol, Charcoal Burner Russula
Hearts: Amethyst Coral, King Boletus Porcini, Fly Agaric Amanita, Saffron Milkcap
Diamonds: Shimeji Mushrooms, Chanterelle, Amanita Caesarea, Shiitake Mushrooms



Jokers

The two Jokers provide us with some additional fungi as follows:
Jokers: Magic Psilocybe, Devil's Bolete



Number cards

The background on the cards numbered 2 through 10 is a range of colours with a gradient that creates a rainbow look.



Meanwhile the suit colours are pictured in red (hearts and diamonds) and white (clubs and spades).



Extra cards

Two gaff cards bring the deck to 56 cards, with a standard double backer plus a double backer with an alternate colour scheme which can be used for a magical colour changing effect.



Impressions

Is the Fungi Mystic Mushrooms deck for you?  Given that it's produced by USPCC, it will come as no surprise that it handles smoothly and evenly, although you might start seeing signs of wear more quickly than usual since the cards have dark rather than white borders.

But the real appeal of this deck lies in the very lively and colourful design, in which each and every single card looks and feels unique.  Certainly anyone with an interest in the world of plants in general, and mushrooms in particular, will be drawn to the mycological theme.  But you don't have to be a fan of mushrooms to be able to appreciate the vivid colours and vibrant style of this deck.  While mushrooms aren't really to my taste in the real world, I certainly was quite taken by the colourful design, and the charming look of this deck.

And I'm not the only one who has a positive impression.  Sample comments from satisfied Kickstarter backers include the following: "Niiice!!!" "Absolutely beautiful." "Very beautiful, unique cards! Glad to have these in my collection." "They look awesome."  "Beautiful cards."  So whether you have an appetite for mushrooms, or for colourful playing cards, this might just be a deck for you!



​Want to learn more? You can find this deck on PlayingCardDecks.com here:
- Fungi Mystic Mushrooms Mycological Playing Cards