Kickstarter: Artemis Playing Cards by ARK Playing Cards

[EndersGame]

Artemis Playing Cards by ARK Playing Cards (Kickstarter)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elementplayingcards/artemis-playing-cards-by-ark

An exquisite luxury tuck case and deck of Artemis-themed playing cards

Current funding level: already funded
Kickstarter ends: Saturday, March 15, 2025

In recent years, ARK Playing Cards has been knocking it out of the park with their stunning luxury playing cards.  These typically feature decks that come with extravagant tuck cases that unfold into remarkable origami creations like kites, playing cards with exquisite artwork and holographic foils, as well as limited edition boxed sets.  It's a dream for playing card collections.  And so is their newest project: Artemis Playing Cards. 



This corresponds to a project that ARK completed about a year ago: Apollo Playing Cards.  This featured Apollo, famous from Greek mythology as one of the twelve main gods associated with Mount Olympus.  The tuck case had a pop-out feature that unfolded and rotated to form a complete circle, representing the sun which symbolizes Apollo.

But Apollo had a twin sister, Artemis, who was associated with the moon, and that's what this new project is about.  Artemis is considered to be the goddess of both the moon and the hunt, and to embody what is pure and noble, and so these are the themes that the artwork draws on, with a baroque style. 

It features a similar tuck box mechanism as the Apollo project, this time creating a full-moon shape, along with artwork that features Artemis.  Behind the tuck case is a mechanism that employs a sliding structure and magnets to make all this work smoothly.  The image on the circular tuck-case display features sacred deer pulling Artemis on the hunt in a golden chariot. 



Appearing throughout the deck is the central figure of the moon itself.  The card backs are framed by the architecture of the Artemis temple, along with other details from the rest of the deck.  There's been careful attention to detail for the images found on all the cards, which capture aspects of the stories of the famous gods and goddesses of Greek mythology.

Once again the card faces depict the famous twelve gods of the ancient Greek pantheon, as well as other aspects of Greek mythology. 



As with previous ARK projects, the Artemis Playing Cards is available with four different levels and styles of luxury packaging, and the main decks are as follows:

● Standard Deck (limited edition of 3333): single deck (US$30)
● Artist Boxset (limited edition of 999): holographic foil deck & monochromatic deck (US$75)
● White Beech Boxset (limited edition of 333): gold foil deck with gilded edges, plus a gold coin (US$185)
● Luxury Black (limited edition of 99): black and white deck, plus an embossed metal plate (~US$150, only available as part of the "All-In" reward)

Extra add-ons like uncut sheets and coins are also available.



Here's a preview of how each of the above four packaging and deck options look.

1. Standard Deck

The standard deck comes with all the features that make this project unique, including the special tuck case that unfolds into the circular moon shape shown above.



The court cards depict the Greek pantheon, while the number cards adopt a similar baroque artwork style.





The Ace of Spades has extra detail, with its shape comprised of Artemis with a cypress tree; a scene that also incorporates one of her deer and a buzzard.  But all the aces include extra details of design.



The Jokers each picture items associated with Artemis, one a bow and the other the skull of a golden-horned deer, while silk ribbons and the hanging moon and pinecones further complement the scene.



2. Artist Box set

The Artist Box set is beautifully presented in a lovely box, which includes two decks, the first being a deck with holographic foil.



The holographic foil deck

The gift box opens up to reveal two decks, and the real highlight is the one that is a vibrant green, drawing on the theme of tranquility and harmony associated with Artemis.



The cards a special holographic finish that helps emphasize the moon's circular shape, providing a further link to the deck's theme. The project describes it as "a special gold foil coating meticulously applied between the resilient black core paper and high-quality printing inks. From different angles, the surface creates dynamic, multi-dimensional circular light refraction effects."



This deck also has edges with green/gold gilding.  Here's a look at some of the other cards:



Like the standard deck, the tuck box can be unfolded into the stunning circular moon shape.



The monochromatic deck

The other deck in the Artist Box set is called the "special edition".



It has a monochromatic design for all the artwork.





The album

The Artist Boxset comes in a gift box that can be disassembled and changed into a bilingual English-Chinese book that displays large pictures with artwork from the deck itself, along with aspects of the design process.



3. Beech Box set

This set has a box with white beech wood, with a lovely embossed display, inside of which is a gold deck.





The gold deck here really does look gorgeous.





To complete the flashy look, this deck has the added luxury of gold gilded edges.



Once again the tuck box can be opened up into a moon shaped circle.



Here's a closer look at some of the beautiful artwork that is part of the circular display.



There's also a special collector's coin that comes with this set.



4. Luxury Black set

This special deck is only available to collectors opting for the "All In" reward. 



The cards feature artwork in white set against a jet black background.





In keeping with the overall colour scheme of this deck it has fully black edges instead of metallic gilding.



An individually numbered embossed metal plate is another special feature of this reward.  Head to the project page to see some more images and animations that help showcase the beauty of these gorgeous collector's pieces.

I continue to be impressed with what Ark Playing Cards is producing, and this project is another fine example of their creativity and quality!

Kickstarter link

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elementplayingcards/artemis-playing-cards-by-ark