Category: Playing Cards

2020 DECK OF THE YEAR AWARDS SPONSORSHIP

Posted on February 11, 2021 by Charles Levin - Campaign, Card Designers, Custom Design, Manufacturer, Partnership, Playing Cards, Press Release

“We see playing cards as an art and look to share our art with others.” – Portfolio 52

We are extremely excited to announce that Shuffled Ink is a 2020 Deck of the Year Awards sponsor! Hosted by Portfolio 52, this project celebrates all of the amazing decks released throughout the year. Our sponsorship will provide each category winner with complimentary production prizes. Shuffled Ink is producing 100 FREE playing card decks for the “Best Overall Deck” 1st-place winner and 5 FREE playing card decks for the 13 other 1st-place category winners!

DOTY Categories:

Every day we work alongside creative and talented designers whose playing card art finds its way on collectors’ shelves. Our purpose aligns perfectly with Portfolio 52’s: fostering the art of playing card collecting. We look forward to helping P52 build, support and guide those who share our passion for card innovation. Learn more about the DOTY Awards and our sponsorship here. Shuffled Ink is a multigenerational family business that specializes in printing custom playing cards, tarot & flash cards, packaging and more for businesses and individuals worldwide. ● Official Shuffled Ink website: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Playing Cards at: ShuffledInk

THE HISTORY OF PLAYING CARD PRINTING

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Charles Levin - Behind the Scenes, Entertainment, History, How To, Manufacturer, Playing Cards, Printing Service, Technology

Ever wonder how your favorite playing card decks are printed? The 20-second video below highlights one of the first steps in Shuffled Ink’s production process: printing the cards.

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Pretty cool, right? Well, technology certainly makes the production process appear effortless, and as you’re most likely aware, printing playing cards looked astronomically different back in the day.

Types of Printing

Woodblock Printing

Replace Xerox machines with blocks of wood and you’ll get Woodblock Printing. If it’s difficult to imagine creating playing cards with sharp tools and wood, then check out this helpful article: How to Make Your Own Woodblock Print Like the Japanese Masters by writer and art historian Jessica Stewart. Through step-by-step details, she even explains how to transfer any artwork and/or image onto the wooden surface.

Origins

Whether used to create a deck of cards or place images inside of a book, China, as well as Central and East Asia, pioneered woodblock printing.

Countries well-versed in Xylography, or the art of printing from carved wood, often transported playing cards to Europe. But once paper became available during the 15th century, European manufacturers were able to print decks domestically using the wood blocking technique.

The Technique

Relief printing is the process of cutting or etching with a stencil onto the wooden surface so all that remains is the printed design.

Woodblock Playing Cards: Photo from a WOPC article

Copperplate Printing

This innovative printing method began around the 15th century. It is a form of intaglio printing, where impressions and designs are pressed into copperplates either through engraving (direct intaglio) or acid etching (indirect intaglio).

Master E.S., also known as Master of the Playing Cards, developed this process of playing card printing.

The Queen of Flowers by Master of the Playing Cards

Attributed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lithography

Toward the end of the 18th century, Lithography (Latin – litho: stone; graph: write) was invented in Germany by Alois Senefelder. Many artists, as well as playing card creators, adopted this water-and-oil-based technique. Not only did it revolutionize colored impressions through chromolithographs but also introduced a cheaper printing method through limestone rather than copper.

Before

So, what did lithography printing look like? The card’s design was etched onto limestone using oil. The ink was then applied, sinking into the design area and then transferred onto paper for production. Litho printing never truly went out of style. It adapted as technology advanced.

“El Barco” Playing Cards Created Through Chromolithograph

Offset Lithography

Also known as offset printing, this modern litho process uses rubber rollers to transfer images from plate to paper. As opposed to hand-drawn designs, offset uses a machine to create the image.

Digital Printing

We use a Xerox digital printer to produce your custom projects like playing cards and games, tarot and oracle as well as flashcards. The first digital printers arrived in the early 1990s and today they reign quite popular in the printing industry.

Right now, it may seem like we have reached or surpassed the height of playing card printing, but this is only the beginning. Whether the future will enhance our modern printing machine or invent something entirely new, Shuffled Ink looks forward to many more years manufacturing your awesome personalized card products!

Xerox Printing Machine at Shuffled Ink

How We Manufacture Playing Cards

Shuffled Ink is a multigenerational family business with an unwavering, decades-old mission: to provide an unparalleled experience in customer service and product quality to ensure that all clients’ card visions meet reality.

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HISTORICAL CURIOSITIES THAT SHAPED OUR MODERN DECK (PART 1)

Posted on February 4, 2021 by EndersGame - Bridge Cards, Card Designers, Card Games, Custom Design, Entertainment, History, Playing Cards, Poker Cards, Tarot Cards

Those of us who love customized playing cards can at times succumb to the temptation to be dismissive and cool towards an uncustomized, namely a standard, deck of playing cards. You know what I mean: your typical Bicycle rider-back deck, a set of “plain” courts and face cards. The kind of deck we’ve all seen a gazillion times, so that we consider it entirely traditional and perhaps even bland. With that perspective, it came as somewhat of a surprise for me to discover that playing cards in the 1800s looked nothing like this. Let me place an imaginary deck of playing cards from that era in your hand, and tell you what you’d see. First of all, you’ll immediately notice that the card-backs are all white. Yes really: a plain white, with no back design at all. Then you look at the court cards and notice that they are all full-sized one way designs. And as you fan the cards in your hand, you notice that there are no indices on the corners of the cards. When you finally discover the Ace of Spades, you notice that it looks rather plain and ordinary, with the ornate and over-sized design typical of modern decks being altogether absent. So how did we get from this to the “standard” deck that we know today? Let’s visit some of the historical curiosities that have played a role in shaping our modern playing cards as we know them today.

Red and Black Suits

Today were expect a deck of playing cards to have red and black suits, but that’s certainly not how playing cards first looked. In fact the original suits used in Italian playing cards in the 1400s were Swords, Clubs, Cups, and Coins, and each of these had unique artwork, which wasn’t in any way strictly red and black. These suits were changed to Acorns, Leaves, Hearts, and Bells when playing cards were imported to Germany, which became a dominant producer of playing cards on the European market. But all that changed when French manufacturers developed new techniques for printing playing cards. Already in the early 15th century, France had developed its own suits as we know them today: Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, and Clubs. But the real genius came when the French producers of playing cards divided these four suits into two red and two black, and simplified the shape of pips so that they could be cheaply produced by stencil while remaining easy for card players to recognize them. Suddenly it became possible to use stencils to manufacture large amounts of cards quickly and easily by using a single image of a king, a queen, and a knave, in combination with stencils for the suit icons. Within a short time, the French had taken over the playing card industry, simply by sheer volume of production, since this method was far more efficient and simple than using wood cuts or engraving. As a result of this important commercial advantage, the French suits in red and black became familiar throughout Europe, with only pockets continuing with the German suits. And that’s how we got the red and black suits that we still use today!

Suit Pips and Names

It is hard to imagine playing cards with suits other than how we know them today: Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades. But the four suits have actually undergone a significant evolution of artwork and of names. These changes owe much to the history of playing cards, and is closely connected with the different countries that were world leaders in playing card production in different times. Playing cards likely arrived in Europe via Egypt. The 14th century playing cards from the Mamluk period in Egypt used suits in four colours, using Cups, Coins, Swords, and Polo-sticks. These corresponded to the major pastimes and activities of the upper class, which was known to have a fondness for polo, for example. Italian and Spanish playing cards from that period also used Cups, Coins, Swords and Clubs as their suits, and are apparently indebted to the Mamluk suits that likely made their way across the Mediterranean with the help of traders. Even to the present day, these are the suits found on modern playing cards used in Italy and Spain, and are referred to as the Latin suits. When Germany became the world’s leading playing card producer, these suits changed to Acorns, Leaves, Hearts, and Bells, reflecting something of German culture and interests. Playing cards from nearby Switzerland are a variation of this, with Shields and Flowers being used in place of Leaves and Hearts.

But eventually France took over Germany’s dominance of the playing card industry, with new methods of production made possible by simplifying the deck into red and black suits, and the help of the printing press. When the capital of playing card production thus returned to Western Europe, these red and black suits then became the standard suits, using the familiar pips as we know them today, although at the time they were called Coeurs, Piques, Carreaux, and Trefles. Even though the pips that were introduced and popularized in France around 1480 are the ones we recognize today, they had not yet been assigned the names that are in common current usage. While the French word Coeurs indeed means Hearts and Piques (pikes) can be translated Spades, the word Carreaux (tiles) would best have been translated by the word Lozenge, which was the word used at the time to describe a rhombus or diamond shape. And while Trefles can be translated as Clover, the use of the term Clubs actually has a closer connection to the matching Italian suit of Bastoni, and hails back to the polo sticks of the Mamluk era. We simply can’t be sure why some of the French card names were abandoned. But what we do know is that it is the English card names that gained traction, and that’s what we still use today.

Interestingly, the English-French suits and court cards have a distinctly courtly flavour, while the Latin ones are military, and the Germanic ones are rustic. Some historians have suggested the possibility that the four suits are symbolic and represent the four classes of medieval society, which varied according to geographic and cultural origin where the decks were produced. For example, it is speculated that the Latin suits correspond to the church (Cups = chalices), merchants (Coins), peasantry (Batons = clubs), and military (Swords). Similarly it is suggested that the German suits correspond to the church (Hearts), nobility (Hawk Bells), peasantry (Acorns), and middle class (Leaves); while the French suits correspond to the church (Hearts), citizenry (Diamonds = tiled paving stones used in churches), peasantry (Clover = pig food and husbandry), and aristocracy (Spades = pikes or spearheads). At any rate, the major suits that we use today were firmly established in France by the end of the 15th century, and haven’t undergone any real change since then.

Card Backs

Prior to the the start of the 19th century, playing cards typically all had white backs. These convenient sources of paper could easily be conscripted for other uses, and were often written on and used for letters, notes, or drawing; and even used as credit notes. One extraordinary usage dates back to the 18th century in the Netherlands, where impoverished mothers left their babies at orphanages along with a message on the back of a playing card – the cheapest paper available – which would function as a form of ID, and had a message from the mother along with the baby’s name. Mothers that planned to return some day would leave just half a card, keeping the matching half as future proof of their parental connection. However the white backs also created practical problems: cards could easily become marked, and this presented an obvious issue when playing card games. Options were limited, especially if money was tight – it was costly to purchase a new deck, and returning the cards to the workshop for cleaning wasn’t an ideal or permanent solution either. Manufacturing techniques did improve in time, but the use of intricate patterns or small pictures on the back initially began as a commercially smart move to hide faults in the paper, thereby enabling producers to use cheaper grades of paper, or to minimize the issue of marked backs. There was a need to hide any signs of wear and tear, and that is what led manufacturers to print designs and pictures on the reverse of playing cards, by printing repeating geometric patterns of stars or dots. The first card backs with an actual original design were created in 1831, to commemorate the coronation of King William and Queen Adelaide. With the development of full colour lithiography, it became possible to produce card backs that were richly decorated, and these began to be produced from 1844 onwards. It didn’t take long before card backs were used for advertising and marketing, as well as artistic designs that helped make the cards more attractive or highlighted the ability of the artist and designer.

Poker and Bridge Size

Poker-sized cards may seem “large” in comparison to bridge sized cards, but originally playing cards were even larger in size than the ones we use today. The reduction in size from these larger cards to the “poker-sized” ones as we know them today is a later development in playing card history. Bridge-sized cards were first developed as a result of the growing popularity of card games like Bridge, which required players to hold large numbers of cards in their hand, and yet be able to easily determine their values. Whereas a standard poker-sized card is 2.5 inches wide by 3.5 inches high (64 × 89 mm), the narrow bridge-sized card is 2.25 inches wide by 3.5 inches high (57 × 89 mm), making them about 10% narrower, and more ideal for larger hand sizes. The designations poker-size and bridge-size simply refer to the size and don’t limit their usage to particular types of card games. Bridge-size cards can equally be used for poker, and poker-size cards can be used for other games like BlackJack, and in fact are typically used as such in many casinos. But these two sizes are now more or less standard, and date as far back as 1880s in playing cards printed by USPCC. Magicians and cardists tend to have a strong preference for poker-sized cards, due to the fact that their increased width makes them more suitable for manipulation, card sleights, and flourishing.

Tarot Cards

Tarot cards appear to have had a separate origin from regular playing cards, and were not a predecessor to the standard 52 card deck, despite claims of some that Tarot cards existed first. In fact the earliest surviving Tarot cards date from a period much later than regular playing cards, and they appear to have had an early use as additional trump cards. They consisted of 22 separate designs with allegorical illustrations, and were added to a standard deck in order to create a larger overall deck which was used first of all for gaming. While this larger deck possibly also functioned as a means of instruction and education, these extra cards were not first of all added as a result of an interest in the occult or for fortune-telling. As part of a 78 card tarot deck that could be used for more elaborate and complex games, tarot cards were only used for occultic cartomancy for the very first time around 1750. The symbolism and significance of the original illustrations that do date back to Renaissance Italy has been lost over time, and it is most likely that the original artwork of these additional cards simply reflects the 15th century cultural fashions of the day. The Tarot deck may have gained a life of its own in occult circles today, but this usage doesn’t pre-date the standard deck.

About the writer: EndersGame is a well-known reviewer of board games and playing cards. He loves card games, card magic, and collecting playing cards. This article first appeared on PlayingCardDecks.com here. ● Official Shuffled Ink website: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Playing Cards at: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Tarot Cards at: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Card Games at: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Flash Cards at: ShuffledInk

DECK THE HALLS WITH HOLIDAY ART

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Charles Levin - Art, Card Designers, Custom Design, Entertainment, History, Playing Cards

Countless artists in the social media community have submitted their talented holiday/winter-themed designs to our December Card Art competition (closes Dec. 31). Each piece has already made this holiday season feel merry and bright. You can find entry examples at the end of this article. For now, let’s take a look at some holiday artwork that certainly goes down in history… just like good old Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Holiday Book Art

Christmas

Clement Clarke Moore’s “The Night Before Christmas,” also known as “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” is a Christmas poem classic filled with colorful imagery to describe one Christmas Eve night. Through both imagery and text, a face is famously put to the icon that is Santa Claus: A jolly old elf with deep rosy cheeks and a round tummy. Moore also pushes the concept of Santa’s reindeer, which was first mentioned in A New Year’s Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve Number III: The Children’s Friend, an anonymous 16-page booklet published in 1821 by a New York publisher named William Gilley. Excerpt from The Children’s Friend:

Old Santeclaus with much delight His reindeer drives this frosty night. O’er chimneytops, and tracks of snow, To bring his yearly gifts to you.

Moore’s holiday story and the art that goes along with it, is widely known in households across America. Since its publication in 1823, hundreds of artists have tried their talented hands at illustrating this timeless story. Here are a few examples of artist’s cover art as well as a Coca-Cola advertisement based on the book.

Artist Unknown (1889)

Artists: Hilda Miloche and Wilma Kane (1947)

Artist: Marcin Nowakowski

Since the 1920s, Coca-Cola has included Santa Claus in ads

Hanukkah

Publishers often incorporate every major holiday into their children’s books, especially under big brand names like Curious George and Corduroy. This not only allows children from all backgrounds to feel included but also opens a plethora of doorways for artists to showcase their talent in a family-friendly and educational way.

Artists: H. A. Rey & Margret Rey

Artist: Lisa McCue

Artist: Amy Wummer

Kwanzaa

Picture books help children grasp the holiday, and while the text is undeniably important but for young kids, it is the artwork that first draws them into the story.

Artist: Arielle Phoenix

Artist: Karen Katz

Artist: Constanza Basaluzzo

Christmas Biblical Art

Artist: Pieter Bruegel the Elder – The Census at Bethlehem

There’s a lot going on in this 1566 Pieter Bruegel the Elder oil painting. At first glance, you’ll notice a few things that may remind you of the holiday season: snow sticking to the ground; hustling to run errands; walking shoulder-to-shoulder with family and friends. But let’s dig a little deeper. Bruegel takes words and transforms them into visual art, displaying a visual scene from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, verses 1 to 5: “In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered in their own towns. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem … with Mary with whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.” Chaos fills the canvas as children throw snowballs, adults congregate to pay taxes and villagers fulfill daily tasks. Amid such contemporary normalcy, Bruegel weaves in the biblical excerpt above. To explore this piece further, click here.

Winter Art

Our manufacturing facility is located in Orlando, Florida, so it’s nearly impossible for us to experience a winter wonderland holiday. But for those of you who have to shovel snow while waiting for your car to warm up, here are a few stunning, and probably familiar, holiday pieces that we believe capture the essence of Winter.

The Magpie by Claude Monet – Courtesy of claude-monet.com

Winter Landscape by Wassily Kandinsky – Courtesy of wassilykandinsky.net/

Moonlit Night. Winter by Konstantin Korovin – Courtesy of arthive.com/konstantinkorovin

December Card Art Entries

This provides a lovely transition into today’s artists who have submitted original holiday art to our competition. The winner, which will be voted on and announced during the first week of January, will receive 10 poker-sized playing card decks with their submitted artwork on the card backs. Here are the winners from our October Art Contest: Marna Blakewell and Brittni Barraco. Below are some awesome submissions we’ve received so far: The last chance to submit (max of 3 designs) is Dec. 31 at 11:59 p.m.

Artist: @susanashleypaints

Artist: @grindelldesign

Artist: @brittnibeeart (October Contest Winner)

Artist: @tinac28

Artist: @kerelukallana

Custom Holiday Cards

Personalize a playing card deck for any holiday! When you create with us, we strive to ensure your vision meets reality. This means that our team of project managers and graphic designers work with you every step of the way. For more information about our products and services, feel free to call us anytime at 407-298-3579.

Shuffled Ink is a multigenerational family business that specializes in printing custom playing cards, tarot & flash cards, packaging and more for businesses and individuals worldwide. To receive complimentary samples of our card products include your delivery address and phone number on your custom request a quote form. ● Official Shuffled Ink website: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Playing Cards at: ShuffledInk

PEOPLE ARE ‘ALL IN’ ON CUSTOM PLAYING CARDS & CARD GAMES

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Charles Levin - Card Games, Playing Cards, Podcast

Shuffled Ink Featured on The Debbie Nigro Show:

During the first week of December, Shuffled Ink‘s father-son duo, Charlie & Matt, discussed 21 years of producing custom playing cards and games on The Debbie Nigro Show. Since 1999, we have produced millions of custom printed decks, including playing cards, card & board games, and tarot & flash cards, for globally recognized brands, leading game designers and countless individuals.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CIn22EwAjjL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Connect with Debbie Nigro on Social:

Instagram: therealdebbienigro Facebook: The Debbie Nigro Show Twitter: DebbieNigro LinkedIn: Debbie Nigro Debbie Nigro is the owner and executive producer of The Debbie Nigro Show. The show currently airs live on 1490 WGCH & 105.5 FM during the weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon EST in the NY & CT areas. Her podcasts can be accessed here as well as on iTunes, Tune In, The Debbie Nigro Show Facebook Page and more.

● Official Shuffled Ink website: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Playing Cards at: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Tarot Cards at: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Card Games at: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Flash Cards at: ShuffledInk

THE HISTORY OF ART & DESIGN

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Charles Levin - Art, Custom Design, Entertainment, History, Playing Cards

Style. Technique. Time period. These are just a few details that critics look for when placing artists into art movements. Art has a long history, which means pure originality may be rare at this point, but this isn’t to say that innovative art concepts are completely nonexistent. If anything, art’s extensive past provides contemporary artists with an endless supply of ideas to sample from. It’s likely that even your custom playing card and tarot designs emulate artwork that originated several millenniums ago. Let’s take a look!

Ancient Cave Art (B.C.E)

The earliest homo sapiens who walked the Earth etched and painted animals, human hands, symbols, etc. onto cave walls and rocks. What may look like simple drawings today are, in actuality, novelties. These are among the first pictures known to humankind, paving the way for future artists to advance the art form.

Rock shelter in India. ~ 13,000 B.C.E.

Drawings of a gaur, or Indian Bison, and human-like figures.

Frozen in time for us to reflect on, the clay illustration above heeds warnings of the Indian Bison’s threat toward humankind. Journalist Jo Marchant and photographer Justin Mott visited the caves where art and design were born, and in 2016, the Smithsonian Magazine published their article “A Journey to the Oldest Cave Paintings in the World”. These drawings and engravings tell stories, some of survival methods, others of fatal demises. But all with the intent to inform. While the names of the first artists may remain unknown forever, we recognize their tremendous impact on establishing art, whether they understood its future significance or not.

Medieval

Mosaic Art

As time progressed, so did the the intricacy of art. The Greeks created mosaics, or floor and wall designs. Artists used small pieces of assorted material like shells, glass, stone, tile and pebbles to produce images like the one below. This medieval art style captured ancient lives, from their appearances and clothing attire to religious beliefs.

Church mosaic detail, Athens. Photo by: Helen Miles Mosaics

Renaissance

The European Renaissance focused on finding a new way to embrace life; a means for rebirth. Not only did politics, culture and the economy play into this way of thinking, but so did art. The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous Renaissance portrait paintings. Leonardo da Vinci redefined how women appeared in portrait art. Other artists used jewelry to emphasize status and side profile shots to highlight neutrality. In the Mona Lisa painting, da Vinci manipulates the woman’s mouth into a sly grin. This small but remarkable detail suggests that this Renaissance woman had a mysterious and enigmatic personality, which was an uncommon representation during this time.

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Neoclassicism

Neglecting its art predecessors Baroque and Rococo, Neoclassicism implemented a realistic depiction of life. So, rather than painting with rose-colored glasses on, these artists urged to illustrate knowledge with reason. When a new art form surfaces, artists may undermine previous styles and genres, or even try to add their own flare to other works. To be frank, art shouldn’t have many restrictions. Artists should have the freedom to reap any style. But many Neoclassicist artists fought to erase art that they did not deem rational like the two previously mentioned. This new movement impacted not only art but society as well. The French Revolution was sobering and Neoclassical art mirrored that.

Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David

Romanticism

Ironically, the next genre to enter the art domain was Romanticism, which fell further from Neoclassical’s rational approach and expressed melodrama and sensationalism. The Age of Reason attitude was pushed to the side, allowing room for encouragement, emotion and ideation. Art does inspire art in many ways. In this case, Romanticism sparked insurgence. “Romanticism is precisely situated neither in choice of subject nor exact truth, but in the way of feeling” — French poet Charles Baudelaire.

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog: Caspar David Friedrich – The Kunsthalle (Hamburg)

Academic

This movement condemned creative liberties, dictating nearly every aspect of the piece. I wrote that art shouldn’t have many restrictions, but during the Academism period, artists adhered to strict, conventional formulas taught at the French Academy of Fine Arts, or Academie des Beaux-Arts and other European institutions. Academic art professionals, critics and teachers during this time would probably laugh at the phrase, “anyone can be anything.” If you weren’t already prestigious at the craft or didn’t know someone who could pull strings, then being part of the academic movement was probably not in the cards for you.

The Shepherdess by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

Symbolism

Let’s travel to the beginning of the 20th century, when art spiraled into daunting images of skulled faces, morbid death, and immoral spirits. This work is comparable to Romanticism. Both intend to capture emotion, but they do so in wildly different ways. In a literature or art class, you may have been asked, “What is the deeper meaning?” On a few occasions, perhaps you could not find the depth in someone’s work. Well, if it wasn’t painstakingly obvious by the title, every single speck of symbolist art is meant to be symbolic and meaningful. The image below shows death taking the soul of a grave digger. This symbolizes how death creeps up and can take one’s life at any moment.

The Death of the Grave Digger by Carlos Schwabe

Expressionism

Taking a page from Symbolist art, Expressionism was also full of dark disturbances. One characteristic that separates these artforms, is the use of unconventional human appearances. In “The Death of the Grave Digger,” death is portrayed by a beautiful slender woman. If an Expressionist artist were to remake that painting, the soul-taker would look more haggard and disfigured.

Cardplaying by Otto Dix

Abstract

In 1910, this type of art resurfaced with a new name to account for prehistoric drawings like religious symbols and various shapes carved into stone. Of course, these artists had access to more than just knives and stone, as well as loads of knowledge from past creators. Impersonal shapes, figures and colors decorated the canvases, lacking a clear subject.

Composition 5 (1911) by Vassily Kandinsky

Contemporary Art

Abstract, surrealism, photorealism, pop art, conceptualism, minimalism, street art — these are just some styles that fall under contemporary, or present-day art. All artists create in their own distinct way. At Shuffled Ink, we manufacture custom products like playing cards, games and tarot. This allows our client innovators to design without limits. In October, to reach out to more artists in the card community, we hosted a Card Art contest. The idea was to promote originality in one’s craft. Its structure intentionally resembled the canvases our contestants would be drawing on — blank and open for opportunity. During our month-long competition, we received hundreds of submissions from insanely talented artists. After learning a bit about these art movements, it may be easier to group these artists into certain categories. Featured below are some pieces entered to #ShuffledInkArt on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

1st contest winner. Submission by Marna Blakewell

2nd contest winner. Submission by Brittni Barranco

Among the 5 finalists. Submission by @mad_is_sin_gremlin

Among the 5 finalists. Submission by @zhade_evgenia

Among the 5 finalists. Submission by @joe_livingston_illustration

As long as there are thoughts, ideas and talented hands, art will continue to evolve. We can’t wait to see what’s to come. Shuffled Ink specializes in printing customized playing cards and games as well as tarot & flash cards for business, personal, promotional, advertising, and/or marketing purposes. ● Official Shuffled Ink website: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Playing Cards at: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Tarot Cards at: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Card Games at: ShuffledInk

AN INTRODUCTION TO PLAYING CARDS AND COLLECTING BY VETERAN COLLECTORS TOM AND JUDY DAWSON

Posted on November 13, 2020 by EndersGame - Card Collectors, Card Designers, Card Games, Custom Design, Entertainment, History, Playing Cards, Poker Cards

Who are Tom and Judy Dawson?

Once in a while, while traversing the wilds of the internet, you unexpectedly come across an outstanding resource. That’s exactly what happened to me when I came across a fantastic video featuring playing card collectors Tom and Judy Dawson, where they talk about playing cards as part of a 40 minute interview. Before I show you the video, you need to know a thing or two about Tom and Judy, who hail from Toronto, Canada. They are not your every-day playing card collectors. Tom was a former President of 52 Plus Joker, the American Playing Card Collectors Club, and was an active member until his sad passing away in 2016. At the time, they had the unique distinction of being the only members who had attended all 29 conventions up to that point, and Judy was editor of their newsletter for some 28 years. She remains involved on an executive level, and the club’s official website designates her as “Club Queen”.

They can rightly be considered experts in their field, and their credentials as authorities on the subject of playing cards is confirmed by an important work they co-authored and completed: Gene Hochman’s authoritative Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards. This four volume set of books was originally the creation of respected collector Gene Hochman, and was first published between 1976-1981. Very few people would have sufficient knowledge and expertise to revise and expand a work of this sort, but that’s exactly what Tom and Judy Dawson did with this impressive series of keystone books. With a main focus is on American playing cards, as the title indicates, it is a comprehensive guide to various decks of playing cards that were produced in the United States from the late 18th century onwards. As part of its catalogue it includes important information on scarcity, and besides covering individual decks it also covers different producers and brands. For serious collectors, it’s an essential reference tool. Lee Asher, the current president of 52 Plus Joker, offers this glowing praise for this book: “This is the best resource on collecting American playing cards, ever written. They took all of long-time collector Eugene Hochman’s research, and compiled it into one big volume.”

In 2013, Ben Train interviewed Tom and Judy about playing cards, as part of Chris Mayhew’s “Series of Unfortunate Effects”. In this interview, Tom and Judy share some valuable information about the history of playing cards, different ways that they are used, as well as advice about being a collector, and much more. It was made available online by the current president of 52 Plus Joker, Lee Asher. The video is 38 minutes long, and I highly recommend watching it in entirety. In the material below, I’ve summarized some key things that you’ll learn from this interview, and share some of the material that these two passionate playing card collectors cover.

The Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOrkv8chxvw

History of Playing Cards

The interview starts with Tom giving a broad overview of the history and development of playing cards. While we can’t be certain of their true origins, this is likely in the Far East, possibly as an easier and cheaper way of playing chess-style war games. From here they eventually made their way through the Middle East and North Africa into Western Europe, and that’s where the first definite record of playing cards can be found in the late 1300s. Italians, French, and Spanish playing cards weren’t standardized like today, but used suits with a variety of symbols such as clubs, swords, and bells, and also had varying numbers of cards in a deck. The French were especially renowned for their playing card manufacturers, and today’s playing cards are largely based on old French designs. The backs of playing cards were originally blank, but over time things were added like images on the card backs, corner indices, double ended artwork for the court cards, and coatings on the paper. Playing cards were at one time called “pasteboards”, and were originally thick and bulky. But improvements in manufacturing led to thinner playing cards, with improved quality and handling. Prior to the adoption of indices, one manufacturer used miniature pictures of the card on opposite corners, which were called “Triplicates”, and the indices we use today were developed in competition to these, and were first described as “Squeezers” in light of the ability to hold a larger hand of cards. I was especially fascinated by Tom Dawson’s observation that although many people have tried to introduce innovations to playing cards, these never last, and the traditional style and designs always return. Evidently there is something truly “classic” about the deck we have inherited today!

Uses for Playing Cards

In this section of the interview, Tom and Judy share some of the fascinating ways playing cards have been used throughout their history, besides more obvious uses like card magic, and for playing the thousands of card games that exist. But even decks used for card games come in different sizes, e.g. containing 32 cards, or 40, 48, 52, and even 78 or more. So a deck of cards can mean a lot of different things, and many of the games played with them are very regional. Playing cards have been used very seriously for fortune telling, sometimes with individual cards having fortune information on them. Tarot decks typically have 78 cards, and each of the 22 trumps in these decks has a different picture and is assigned a different meaning. While such decks are sometimes used for the occult, many of them do have fantastic designs and artwork. This makes them very collectable, and even Tarot decks that are barely 20 years old can be worth large sums. Playing cards were also used for educational purposes (e.g. to teach math, science and more). Souvenir decks have been popular, because they have a picture on each individual card. When these started being produced in the 1890s, photography was still quite new and expensive, so a souvenir deck functioned as a nice miniature photo album. Because cards originally had plain white backs, they proved useful for note-taking, indexing, invitations, coupons, IOUs, and more, especially in a time when paper and cardboard was rare and expensive. Besides these secondary uses, there was even a time in the 1700s in Quebec when they were used as money cards. There are also people who build enormous card houses with playing cards, made out of hundreds of decks of cards. Brian Berg is well worth looking up given some of the unbelievable things he has made out of playing cards.

Card Boxes

In today’s market, some publishers like Theory11 devote a lot of attention to producing high end tuck boxes, and it is a big part of the marketing. While today’s techniques may be new, the idea of an attractive tuck box is not new, and throughout the history of playing cards there have been manufacturers doing interesting things with the card boxes. Tom explains that originally playing cards were just packaged in relatively plain paper wrappers, and there was no box at all. As the 1800s progressed, wrappers made way for something more sturdy, which led to the development of all kinds of boxes. Various interesting packaging was used, including boxes that had outer and inner cases, and small drawers. Congress Playing Cards used a packaging that would display the designs of the deck on the outside of the box. I really enjoyed seeing some of the unique ideas for packaging that Tom and Judy showed in this part of the video. One of my favourites that they displayed was a beautiful war deck from 1935 that was housed inside a book! After showing a lovely custom wooden box for the Circus Transformation Deck that was produced in 1988, Judy explains what transformation decks are, showing some example cards. In transformation decks, the pip cards are transformed into a design, by using the pips as part of the picture. I immediately felt a sense of kinship with the Dawsons at this point, because apparently transformation decks are a favourite for them, just as they are for me.

Collecting Cards

Tom and Judy decided to focus their own collection on standard playing cards (i.e. those with a traditional layout and traditional court cards), primarily older cards that are American in origin. It’s not that they don’t like custom decks, but the simple matter is that if you’re collecting anything you need to specialize in some way and have a focus. Tom gives an extensive list of different kinds of cards that are available to collect, including comic cards, tobacco insert cards, advertising cards, transformation cards, and war cards. All the wars have been commemorated in playing cards, as are many births and other important events in the lives of royalty. Judy puts it well: “You can actually create a whole history from playing cards.” She’s absolutely right, and in that respect playing cards are a mirror of life. Besides people who collect decks, there are also those who only collect single cards. This is usually due to their interest in the card backs, and they might specialize in backs on a particular topic like horses or landscapes. But there also people who only collect a particular card, like a Joker, or the Ace of Spades, in light of its special design and the name of the maker, effectively making it like the title page of a book. Judy considers collectors of Jokers the bane of other collectors, because these are one of the most prized parts of a deck, and a deck that is otherwise complete but missing an unusual Joker drops significantly in value. The condition of your cards is also important, and this is something Tom and Judy know more than a thing or two about, not just from their own experience, but also as authors of the Hochman book. Obviously the less used a deck is, the more valuable it is. Judy also makes some very good remarks about how a modern deck that is purchased and preserved won’t nearly have the same value as an older deck that is preserved. There are plenty of collectors today who have limited edition versions of modern decks, while in contrast vintage playing cards are much more scarce since they were typically bought in order to be used rather than collected. This is one reason the Dawson’s own interest is especially in old decks, or decks that were only produced in extremely limited editions (e.g. only 50 produced). Tom points out that a nice aspect about collecting playing cards is that you get the opportunity to do research and learn about your decks. There’s a lot of great books that can assist with this. There are also playing card clubs like 52 Plus Joker, and similar clubs in other countries, so there’s a lot of good resources available.

Show and Tell

In the final ten minutes or so of the video, Tom and Judy show us a range of different playing cards to illustrate some of the things they’ve covered. One deck shown is extremely scarce, with only 50 made. There’s even an example of a valuable deck of which only seven total were made; Tom and Judy believe that these decks were withdrawn before going up for sale. You’ll also see a card from a deck published in 1950, where the entire deck would be worth $15,000, and you’ll see a single card picturing a baseball hall-of-famer that on its own is worth up to $1500. As well as a range of historic Aces of Spades, a range of old Jokers is also shown, many from different advertising decks. Decks that advertise famous companies like Coca Cola are even more prized, since there are so many collectors of Coca Cola memorabilia around the world. Tobacco insert cards often featured lively burlesque artwork, and because they were released individually, people had to collect these decks one card at a time, making a complete deck of these even more prized. A charming music-themed German deck from around 1850 has cards with spectacular designs that can be placed alongside each other to produce a complete piece of music. You’ll even see a card from one of the 1805 Cotta transformation decks, and some other terrific examples of cards from old transformation decks.

Conclusion

Impressions

Tom and Judy’s passion for playing cards really shines through in this wonderful interview. From how comfortable they are with the subject material, it’s very evident that they are experts who are extremely knowledgeable. They were obviously a great team, and extremely respectful of each other, giving each other opportunity to share from their wealth of knowledge. Given that the focus of their own collection is on older standard playing cards, not everything they say applies to modern custom decks. Even so, there’s still a lot that can be learned from what they have to say, and my own knowledge about collecting playing cards was enhanced by learning about an area that I don’t have as much first-hand experience with myself. I also really enjoyed the opportunity to see some rare decks from the early 1900s and some playing cards that even hailed from the 1800s. I highly recommend that playing card enthusiasts take the time to watch the whole video, and learn from this lovely couple, who are keen to inspire others in the wonderful hobby of collecting playing cards.

Where next?

With their dedication and enthusiasm as collectors, Tom and Judy have left a legacy for us all. Not only can we benefit from the Hochman Encyclopedia they helped write, but we can also continue their passion for playing cards. Especially if you are a serious collector with an interest in American playing cards, here’s what you can do next: ● Get the book: If American playing cards are your thing, the Hochman Encyclopedia co-authored by the Dawsons is a must have. It also contains helpful information about grading and dating playing cards. If you’re interested in learning more about this, Tom explains the grading system they use in a separate interview clip that you can listen to here. Lee Asher also has two excellent articles which I highly recommend in relation to this. The first is about How to date a deck of USPCC playing cards, and the second is about How to grade playing cards. The grading scale that he presents there is taken straight from the Hochman Encyclopedia, and gives descriptions for how to grade a deck of cards into one of the following categories, on a sliding scale: As Issued, Mint, Excellent, Good, Poor, and With Faults. ● Join the club: The 52 Plus Joker Club has been around since 1985, and was originally created to meet the needs of American collectors of antique playing cards. The scope has since broadened, and what they offer today includes things like a printed and digital club magazine, an annual club deck, and playing card auctions. The highlight of 52 Plus Joker is undoubtedly the club’s annual convention in October, which is where collectors, designers, manufacturers, and enthusiasts come together to talk about playing cards, listen to lectures, buy and sell, receive awards, and much more. The Dawson Award is one of the awards given, and is a special achievement award named after Tom and Judy. ● Go to the convention: Attending the annual 52 Plus Joker convention is a highlight for playing card enthusiasts, although in 2020 the convention was held online using video conferencing, due to current COVID-19 restrictions. Check out the Convention page to find out more. Want to learn more? Visit 52 Plus Joker, the American Playing Card Collectors Club. ● Official links: Official website, Conventions, Instagram, Facebook ● Interviews: Lee Asher (President), Don Boyer (Vice-President)

THE THREE MOST PLAYED SOLITAIRE CARD GAMES IN THE WORLD

Posted on October 30, 2020 by EndersGame - Card Games, Online Games, Playing Cards, Poker Cards, Solitaire

Which Games Are They?

Solitaire card games played with a traditional deck of playing cards have existed for decades, going back as far as the 19th century. But there’s no doubt that the arrival of the personal computer into office spaces and homes has had an enormous impact in introducing these classic games of patience to the masses, and in popularizing them. Arguably the single biggest reason for this is Microsoft. Microsoft first began packaging a simple version of Klondike Solitaire with their operating systems with Windows 3.0, which was the third major release of Microsoft Windows, and came out in 1990. At the time, desktop computers had only just become a staple in homes and work-places. Part of the rationale for including a solitaire card game was to assist new users in learning how to use a mouse, and to help them become familiar with features like dragging and dropping, and the overall graphical interface of a personal computer. As Microsoft continued delivering new versions of their Windows operating system in later years, a couple of other solitaire card games were added, notably Spider and FreeCell. This development single-handedly revolutionized office-culture around the world. It’s a little known fact, but sources within Microsoft have stated that Solitaire is in fact the most used software program in the entire Microsoft family, even ahead of programs like Word and Excel. At the time, it even led to debates about whether introducing computers into the workplace would actually decrease productivity, due to real concerns that Microsoft Solitaire was leading to many hours of time wasted by employees.

What accounts for this tremendous success? First of all, digitizing what was already a popular game meant that it removed the practicalities and constraints involved in using a physical deck of cards. By eliminating the hassles of shuffling, dealing, and physically moving cards, and taking away the requirement for a reasonable amount of table space, all the book-keeping and tedious elements of the game were instantly eliminated. Now solitaire card games could be played much more quickly and easily. Software versions also created new opportunities for the game that didn’t previously exist. Digital implementations made it possible to record percentages of wins, best times, and win streaks, all of which give additional incentives to return to the game. They also made possible forms of the game that – for logistical reasons – would be difficult or impossible to play in real life with a physical deck. Digital versions of solitaire were also easier to learn, given the enforced rules, automated layouts, and instructional tutorials that typically accompanied them. And of course, solitaire has an addictive quality about it, given the inherent challenge of trying to win from a deal. Being able to easily and quickly play a game of digital solitaire makes it a highly attractive time-filler. Despite the advent of flashier and more impressive games, people keep returning to the simplicity of dragging cards around for a quick five or ten minute fix of Solitaire. But this also explains how the three most played solitaire card games in the world accomplished this status. As Microsoft Windows was slowly conquering the world and asserting its monopoly on the global market of operating systems and personal computers, their versions of solitaire were the ones that became firmly established into homes and offices. So we have Microsoft to thank for making Klondike the solitaire game that nearly all of us are familiar with. For many people, this is the game that they identify “Solitaire” with. With Microsoft adding Spider and FreeCell in later years, these two games were quickly adopted and became beloved by solitaire fans as well, causing them to leapfrog many other classic solitaire games in popularity, and make them the most commonly played versions of solitaire behind the evergreen Klondike. With the release of Windows 8 in 2012, this trilogy of titles was rebranded under the name “Microsoft Solitaire Collection”, as part of an ad-supported freemium package that also included two new solitaire additions: Pyramid and TriPeaks. While there are many other classic solitaire games that exist and are played around the world, in terms of the sheer number of games played, Microsoft’s holy trinity of Klondike, Spider, and FreeCell unquestionably reigns supreme. As proof of its success, Microsoft Solitaire was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2019, alongside other greats like Doom, Donkey Kong, Tetris, Super Mario Kart, World of Warcraft, and The Legend of Zelda. To get there, it had to meet criteria that included being widely known and remembered, having enduring popularity, and not only influencing other games but culture in general. It’s estimated that it has been installed on over a billion devices, localized in 65 different languages, and is considered to be instrumental in paving the way for the growth of the casual game market.

Of course today there are many more ways to enjoy these popular solitaire greats. Besides apps for your mobile device, all you need is a web browser, and sites like Solitaired.com enable you to play them for free online wherever you are in the world, as long as you have an internet connection. Besides dragging and dropping cards with the click of a mouse on your personal home or office computer, touch screens have only helped to increase the number of ways you can play solitaire, especially on mobile devices. So let’s take a closer look at the three most popular solitaire card games.

Klondike

Overview: Klondike is the solitaire game most of us will be familiar with from our personal computer, or that we’ve seen bored staff playing in the office. It’s the quintessential solitaire card game that everybody should at least try once, and is the game most people have in mind when they think of “solitaire”. Its name has its origin in the late nineteenth century gold rush in the Klondike part of the Canadian Yukon, where prospectors would play the game in order to help pass the time. It sometimes goes under other names like Canfield (in the UK), although this latter name is technically incorrect, and actually refers a different solitaire game. Game-play: Using a single deck, the aim is to arrange all 13 cards of each suit in a complete sequence from Ace through King. These sequences begin with the Ace as the foundation and build upwards, hence games like this are typically described as builder type solitaire games. Cards are placed in an area called the tableau, and the initial deal involves laying out seven piles, ranging from 1 to 7 cards on each, and with only the top card of each pile turned face up. These cards can then be arranged within the tableau by building downwards in alternating colours, and moved between columns to in order to access other cards. Only a King or column built down on a King can be transferred to a free space in the tableau. Unlike an open game where all the cards are visible and face-up from the start of the game, Klondike is an example of a closed game, because not all the cards are known, and slowly become revealed as you make them available. Variations: The most common way of using the stock is to deal three cards at a time, but many people also play with an alternative rule in which you deal one card at a time, which is sometimes called Las Vegas Solitaire, and even played as a gambling game in some casinos. This gives you access to many more cards and increases your chances of completing the game successfully. To make the game harder, you can also limit the amount of passes through the deck to just three times, or only once. My thoughts: Depending on which variation you’re playing with and how many redeals you allow, a skilled player should be able to win standard game of Klondike nearly half of the time. It is very satisfying to finish a game and get all the cards onto the foundation, but be warned, because it’s also very addictive! Once you’re familiar with how the game works, you can polish off an entire game in as little as five minutes, making it an ideal choice for a casual game to keep returning to. It’s also a game you can get better at, and for some excellent suggestions on improving your strategy, check out the article 7 Strategies to Win Solitaire.

Related games: If you want an easier Klondike style game that you should be able to win nine times out of ten, try Westcliff, which has ten columns; or Thumb and Pouch. There’s also the easier two deck version of Klondike called Double Klondike, as well as Gargantua and Harp; while the two deck game Lady Jane is even easier yet, and you should be able to win 99% of the time. If you enjoy Klondike and want to try similar games, variations worth trying include Agnes Bernauer and Agnes Sorel. Easthaven adds a tricky Spider-like method of dealing the stock, while Bind Alleys and the closely related Pas Seul use a 6×3 tableau. Many other Klondike-inspired builder games exist which change more significant things about the game-play. One of the more popular ones is Yukon, in which the entire deck is dealt at the outset, and where you can move columns of cards even if the cards being moved aren’t in sequence. This gives you easier access to cards, but the columns consist of more cards to begin with. Two players: For a version of Klondike that enables you to play competitively with another player using two decks of cards, take a look at Double Solitaire. Players have their own deck and tableau, and the aim is to be the first to play all your cards to eight foundations piles which are shared. As well as turn-based play, this can also be turned into a real-time race game of frenzied simultaneous solitaire.

Spider

Overview: One of the two games that lurks most closely in Klondike’s shadow is Spider. Along with FreeCell, it has risen into prominence courtesy of Microsoft Windows, and chances are good that you’ve seen a version of it on your home computer along with other common games like Chess, Minesweeper, Hearts, and Spades. It is said to be a favourite of president Franklin D. Roosevelt. Many consider it to be the best solitaire game since it gives a lot of room to overcome the luck of the draw by skillful play, and comes with a good chance of winning the game. According to Gregory Trefry’s Casual Game Design, by 2005 it had outstripped Klondike and become the most played game on computers that had Microsoft Windows, largely due the increased challenge it offers over the more luck-based Klondike. Game-play: A game of Spider uses two decks of cards, and the game starts after dealing out 54 cards out in a tableau of ten piles. Like Klondike, the aim is to get cards of the same suit in order from Ace through King, but in this case there are no foundations. Columns of cards remain in the tableau until you line up a whole column of a suit in order, descending from King down through Ace, at which point they are removed from the game. Cards can be moved within the tableau in a somewhat similar fashion to Klondike, but whenever you need fresh cards, the 50 cards remaining in the stock are dealt out 10 at a time across the entire tableau. Variations: In the standard form of the game, which is the hardest way to play, you play with all four suits, and while descending columns of alternating colours can be built, you can only move a stack if they are all of the same suit. This is generally considered the more Advanced form of the game, while an Intermediate form of Spider uses two suits and makes the gameplay easier by only using Spades and Hearts. The one suit game only uses cards from a single suit, and can be considered the beginner version, and serve as an excellent introduction to Spider. Officially all spaces in the tableau must be filled before dealing from the stock, but a more relaxed form of the game is possible by removing this requirement. My thoughts: Unlike Klondike, in Spider all the building happens within the tableau, so that immediately gives it a different feel. Winning Spider, especially in its standard form, can prove quite a challenge. But it’s also one of the best solitaire games in view of the analysis and skill it allows for. New players should begin with one suit Spider, and you can always progress to the more difficult and strategic versions later. Single suit Spider is easily winnable most of the time, and is a more relaxing way to play. But even an easier game of Spider will take two or three times as long as a game of Klondike. While taking longer to play, it gives more room for skill and thoughtful play, and comes with the reward of increased chances of completing the game successfully. Microsoft’s versions of Spider incorporated a scoring system, so that players could use “undo” in order to discover hidden cards and use this to determine their choices, but with a small point penalty.

Related games: Given the popularity and success of Spider, many other solitaire games exist that take over its basic concept, such as Mrs Mop, which has all the cards dealt face-up at the outset, and Beetle. Tarantula and Black Widow both make Spider easier by allowing you to move sequences in the tableau that are of the same colour (Tarantula), or of any colour (Black Widow). Spiderette is a single-deck version of Spider, and uses just seven columns Instead of ten, which are dealt out in a triangular style much like Klondike. Like the standard game, the way the cards are dealt can play a big role in whether or not a particular deal is solvable. Other common one-deck Spider games include Will o’ the Wisp (which has a 7×3 tableau) and Simple Simon. Special mention should be made of the popular game Scorpion, which allows stacks to be moved within the tableau even if they aren’t arranged in order, in the style of games like Yukon. It’s not easy to win, however, and the Wasp variation increases your chances significantly by allowing any card or stack to be placed in an empty space in the tableau, not just Kings. Three Blind Mice is another favourite Scorpion variant, and uses a 10×5 tableau.

FreeCell

Overview: FreeCell emerged out of relative obscurity in 1995 as a result of its inclusion in Microsoft Windows 95. Even though it was created by Paul Alfille already as early as 1978, it was only when it was brought into the public eye with the help of Windows, that it quickly became an addictive pastime for many, and gained a loyal following. Just a few years later it was included along with Minesweeper in the chapter “Computer and Online Games” of the published version of Hoyle’s Rules of Games. Fan websites were even created for it with information about the different deals, and strategies. Game-play: At the start of the game, a single deck is dealt face up into eight columns. There are four foundation piles, and as in most solitaire games, the goal is to build cards from each suit in ascending sequence from Ace through King. But in addition to these foundation piles, there are four storage cells that can be used to temporarily store a card from the bottom of any column, and that’s where the real fun of FreeCell lies. Cards in the tableau are arranged down in alternating colours, and such sequences can be moved between columns – but only with the help of available cells – while a space created in the tableau can be filled with any card. Variations: FreeCell has inspired many variants and related game, which are too many to list. Several of these are true to the basic concept, but simply increase the number of cards in the game. For example, there is also a two-deck version called FreeCell Duplex. There is also a version with three decks and one with four decks. My thoughts: FreeCell has the distinction of being a solitaire card game that lends itself particularly well to a digital implementation. In the Windows version, each unique deal was assigned a different number, nearly all of which were solvable, and people could use this number to attempt the same deal as other players. The computer could also calculate which moves were possible and which were not. While later versions came with over a million unique deals, the original Microsoft FreeCell supported 32,000 numbered deals, dubbed as the “Microsoft 32,000”. In the hey-day of FreeCell in the mid 1990s, a crowdsourced project assigned all these deals to different people, successfully completing all but one of them. Given that all the cards are visible at the start of the game, FreeCell is an open game and you have perfect information to work with from the outset, so there are no surprises awaiting you. Winning requires sheer skill, and there is very little luck.

Related games: FreeCell has among its ancestors Eight Off and Baker’s Game. In both games you build down in the same suit instead of in alternating colours. Eight Off gives players the added advantage of having more storage cells to use. It was the novel use of alternating colours that helped make FreeCell a big success, but these two predecessors are also very good. Given its tremendous popularity, FreeCell has inspired many other games of its kind, many with small twists to the setup or rules. One popular take on this style of the game include Art Cabral’s excellent Seahaven Towers, which has a different starting layout. Also highly recommended is David Parlett’s Penguin, which has seven reserve cells, and gives you three of your starting foundation cards but buries the fourth one at the bottom of the first column in the tableau; this is the “penguin” that you must free.

Conclusion

The above three solitaire games can all be described as builder-type games, and there are many other builder-type solitaire games that have been inspired by them or are related to them. The most popular ones besides the trilogy covered here include: Baker’s Dozen, Beleaguered Castle, Canfield, Forty Thieves, La Belle Lucie (Lovely Lucy), Scorpion, and Yukon. Each of these games is in turn a representative of its own family of games that provides variations of the same theme. So it’s worth trying each of these other titles too, to determine which ones you especially enjoy playing, and then exploring further within each family. But despite the tremendous diversity, these three reign supreme: Klondike, Spider, and FreeCell. Nearly everyone who has had a Microsoft Windows operating system on their computer at some point in their life will be familiar with one or all of these three solitaire games. This is particularly going to be true of those who were the early adopters of personal computers in homes and offices. Those who found themselves behind an office computer in the 1990s, lived in an era when video games weren’t nearly as advanced, impressive, or varied as what they were today. This was a time when social media didn’t yet exist, and when the world wide web consisted largely of text based websites that were accessed with slow dial up modems. In this environment, solitaire was the ideal companion for a lonely and boring day behind the computer, and a welcome distraction. The positive reception of Klondike, Spider, and FreeCell by this audience, has ensured that these three brands of solitaire will continue to have an enduring legacy, far beyond what even Microsoft ever imagined when first making them our friends. Almost 30 years on, these solitaire games have already stood the test of time, and will undoubtedly continue to be enjoyed by future generations. Where to play them? Head to Solitaired.com and try a game of Klondike, Spider, or FreeCell right now!

About the writer: EndersGame is a well-known reviewer of board games and playing cards. He loves card games, card magic, and collecting playing cards. ● Official Shuffled Ink website: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Playing Cards at: ShuffledInk

POLITICAL PLAYING CARDS OVER THE YEARS

Posted on October 7, 2020 by Charles Levin - Art, Card Collectors, Card Designers, Card Games, Custom Design, Entertainment, History, Playing Cards, Poker Cards, Political

Political playing cards were created during the 17th century by artists who wanted to convey specific messages through art. They put well-known figures in the hot seat, bringing attention to presidential candidates, members of congress, war generals, parliament and more. These cards are fairly similar to political cartoons. Both use satire to illustrate politicians, public figures and worldly happenings. The portraits, which are still produced today, address newsworthy topics in an artistic and entertaining way. So, since 2020 is a presidential election year, now is the perfect time for a playing card history lesson. Let’s explore how these illustrations and messages have changed over the years.

Knavery of the Rump (1679)

In 1679, artist Francis Barlow designed playing cards to characterize Oliver Cromwell’s Government. As the head of state in the Commonwealth of England, Cromwell fought to remove the monarch from power. The 10 of clubs reveals Cromwell’s imbalance between his faith and morals. The card reads, Oliver seeking God while the K. (Don Hafelrigg K) is murdered by his order.

The Head

This infamous fact shows some perspective on the people’s perception of Cromwell — a couple of years after his death, those who supported the monarch dug up his grave, detached his head from his body and displayed it outside of Westminster Hall on top of a pole. It remained there for 28 years.

French Republic Playing Cards (1793-1794)

For obvious reasons, Liberal Republicans from France completely revamped their playing card deck in 1793. The rule of law, which suggests that no one is above the law, and the French Revolution, inspired the Revolutionnaire playing cards above. Since the French Revolution ultimately ended the monarchy, traditional court cards didn’t seem appropriate anymore. The Kings, Queens and Jacks were replaced by Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. This holy trinity continues to act as an important part of their national heritage. The “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” motto was even written into the constitution in 1958.

Army & Navy Deck (1865)

Including text is not a necessity on political playing cards. Most of the time, when done properly, an illustration can successfully deliver the message on its own. In 1865, artist Andrew Dougherty commemorated the switch from wooden to ironclad warships through playing cards. The King, Queen and Jack court cards display caricature-like drawings of civil war naval members. These cards show the new iron ships in action as well as soldiers yielding rifle-muskets during the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack in 1862.

Anti-Religions Propaganda Deck (1931)

In 1931, Russian authorities created these playing cards to push their anti-religion agenda. The Joker card directly above quickly sums up the USSR’s motives. The winged man symbolizes capitalism and the kneeling figures are the four religions. The suits depict each religion as well: Clubs for Eastern Orthodox; Hearts for Roman Catholicism; Spades for Buddhism; Diamonds for Judaism. These drawings suggest that the Russians wanted their citizens to see religion as skewed and untrustworthy. This radiates propaganda, instilling the message that all respected religious figures are not as moral as they appear. The King of Diamonds features a rabbi reading the Torah while also engrossed by money. The Queen of Clubs shows an Eastern Orthodox nun with a man in the background. This insinuates that the woman finds him desirable despite her loyalty to God. The Jack of Hearts illustrates a Roman Catholic priest wrongfully thinking lustful thoughts amid a prayer.

Atouts de la Vie Card Game (1940)

During WWII, Madame Lucien Willemetz designed various card games. She is well-known for creating the educational board game Le Jeu de l’histoire de la France as well as the wartime card game Atouts de la Vie. This card game emphasizes work ethic, honor, discipline, etc. Ironically, the French government did not adhere to the principles they so desperately sought to instill in their citizens. Nevertheless, the object of the game is to collect all ten virtues.

NEWS & ART

Connecting news and art through playing cards is such an innovative way to tell a story. 2020 has certainly been jam-packed with activity. So, if you’re looking to create custom cards similar to the ones above, then find a person who or an idea that is important to you and illustrate it onto any playing card product. Some of our clients, including our own company, created COVID-19 decks at the start of quarantine. These decks are informative and capture the pandemic in all its uncertainties. You think it, we print it. To receive complimentary samples of our card products, include your delivery address and phone number on the custom request a quote form. ● Official Shuffled Ink website: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Playing Cards at: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Card Games at: ShuffledInk

TRUE LIFE HABITAT: ECO-FRIENDLY PLAYING CARDS

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Charles Levin - Client Feature, Eco Friendly, Playing Cards, Press Release

UPDATE: ECO-FRIENDLY SHIPPING: PARTNERING WITH ECOENCLOSE

True You Cards

We are super pumped to partner with True Life Habitat to manufacture their eco-friendly True You Cards. The custom tuck box is made of 30% post-consumer recycled material and the deck itself holds 30 messages to encourage mental stillness. This transformational deck is insightful and inspiring with the intention to help quiet your mind. While using True You Cards, you will discover new insights and a deeper understanding of how our thoughts dictate the way we feel about ourselves, others and the world around us. This deck will help you see that freedom of the mind is found in understanding how thought really works.

The Better Packaging Co.

Shuffled Ink would like to thank founder, Gabe Gandzjuk, for sending us complimentary sustainable packaging, including comPost packs & comPostable labels; both are available for purchase here. ⠀

An Environmental & Safety-Minded Manufacturer

At Shuffled Ink, we’re proud to use nothing but the best in high-quality materials for your custom playing cards and games. Not only are they more durable and have a longer shelf life, but they are also significantly more environmentally safe. Unlike other manufacturers, our products and materials are all safety-certifiable. Plus, everything we offer is competitively priced, backed by our complete quality assurances and serviced by our experienced first-class team. Shuffled Ink specializes in printing customized playing cards and games as well as tarot & flash cards for business, personal, promotional, advertising, and/or marketing purposes. ● Official Shuffled Ink website: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Playing Cards at: ShuffledInk ● Make Your Own Custom Card Games at: ShuffledInk