At Outer Range Brewery, the great outdoors is not a hobby, but a lifestyle.
They encourage you to “leave the life below”. Leave all your troubles in the city down below, and enjoy a few cold ones in nature with your best friends.
They have two locations, their flagship taproom in the Rocky Mountains and a brand new brewery in the French Alps. At both locations, they focus on brewing, good times, and the great outdoors.
I spoke with Wyatt, Outer Range’s brand manager, for this project.
When speaking with him, it was clear from the picturesque view behind him that the mountains and their passion for the outdoors is at the heart of everything they do. Their personalized playing cards really showcase this. The deck features images of the team skiing, camping, and, most importantly, enjoying a cold beer together.
Playing cards have been used for centuries as a way to relax and connect with friends, a core feature of Outer Range’s brand.
The idea to create playing cards with their branding stemmed from camping trips. Wyatt said they always have a deck of cards in their bags and thought of the idea to make their own.
When I asked about the process, he said the whole thing was very easy and seamless. They started by requesting samples to really get a feel for the products. After that, once they had selected their materials, it was then a matter of pulling photos to use.
Fortunately, that was easy as well. They have an onsite photographer and had no trouble finding great images to use.
When it came to the design for their tuckbox, they went back to their roots.
The design features their original logo, their motto, and a quote from Rudyard Kipling’s “The Explorer”.
“Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the ranges.
Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!”
When I spoke with Wyatt, he was very excited to mention their upcoming 4th of July party. At their home location, they are having a camping-themed release, complete with new swag, including personalized chairs.
The guest of honor for the party is their brand-new Camp Lager. It features floral notes, along with notes of biscuit and wafer cracker. The abv is 4.3%, so it’s a light beer made to keep you cool and the good times rolling.
If you are in the Frisco area and looking for 4th of July plans, we highly encourage you to join the party at Outer Range!
Bring your friends and family, it is certain to be a great time.
You can learn more about Outer Range by checking out their website and Instagram.
What happens when a few soccer friends get together for the
weekend and accidently create a soccer card drinking game?
That is the story behind our latest spotlight, Give & Go
One night in Salem, MA, a group of friends sat down together in search of a fun drinking
game to play, but were disappointed in the options they found. Existing games had pieces that would inevitably get lost, complicated rules, and were expensive to boot.
So, they decided to create their own.
They ripped out pieces of paper, wrote down their own prompts, and started playing
what would eventually become Give & Go. Fun fact: it was initially called ‘Home & Away’
While playing they felt a certain magic in their discussions and banter, all stemming from
the prompts. Rather than a one-off impromptu game, they realized this could be something.
From there, the group got to work. The idea was to create a free flowing game which
would unite & bring people together. Much like footy, the inspiration behind it all.
When CLUBELEVEN first came to us with their game, it was very much still in
the design phase. They had a great concept but needed some assistance putting it
over the goal line, which we were happy to provide.
We tested different designs and formats until we found the magic recipe. Playing
the game is super simple. All you do is shuffle your cards then pull your first prompt.
Players then take turns drawing cards, discussing the prompts, and the banter begins! Each
deck is made up of action cards, discussion-based cards, and some that are just silly & fun.
All three come together to help spark insightful banter, all centered around soccer.
We worked together to polish things and create a beautiful product to be enjoyed by many.
The team behind Give & Go printed a few prototype copies at first just to playtest.
The played in different cities and settings – at home, the pub, bus rides, and even a little at work.
This allowed them to really test the game and see what it is capable of.
Their testing went incredibly well, with the team receiving responses like
“I can’t believe this doesn’t already exist”, “This game is fire”, and
“This has brought back footy memories I haven’t thought about in years.”
It’s safe to say they were successful – Give & Go is already bringing people together,
creating camaraderie, and celebrating the beautiful game like never before.
After all those months of designing and playtesting, their project is now live on KickStarter!
We have loved seeing this project come to life and hope you check them out!
When Mason was 11, his mother tragically died and he endured great sorrow. I was blessed to be able to help take care of this kind, good-hearted, smart young man. One day he came home from school and I asked him the usual question, “how was school today?” However, on this day, he didn’t give me the usual 12-year-old “boring” response. Instead, he said that he made up a new game and drew it in his notebook.
After a lot of hard work, continual revisions, creative improvements, and his “never-give-up” attitude Mason’s March Madness “Basketball Brackets,” was ready to become a reality. The game is amazingly strategic, with a little bit of luck mixed in and is a load of fun with every move and every basket!
I soon took him to a craft store to help him buy supplies to make a prototype. We had so much fun cutting out the hand-written game cards and player pieces and and even more fun and laughter playing it. It was music to my ears to hear him laugh again! The game plays on the level of many top shelf games and is the only one of its kind that is devoted to “March Madness.” Even better, you can play it any time of the year and still have a great time.
When we completed the 1st prototype Mason had just turned 13. I then encouraged him to go online and see if any game manufacturing companies would be interested in bringing his game idea to life. Mason spent weeks and then months searching but was only met with constant rejection. Two companies wouldn’t even accept a game description without an agent. Next, tried out an “invention” company and sent in an application. Almost a year later, this company called and said that they just found the application and were interested. I asked Mason if he was interested. Mason, now being older, said that he needed to make some improvements, which he did, and sent the game to the company. This turned out to be a HUGE MISTAKE! They took a lot of my teacher’s retirement money up front and every few months kept asking for more. After draining us for more and more while they threatened not to continue if we didn’t keep sending more, we stopped with them. Neither produced a thing for us while my retirement savings was taking a big hit.
After dropping this company one of the managers called me to say that he liked Mason’s game so much that he’d share what the next step should be: to try to find a manufacturing company on our own and eliminate the middleman. We tried places in our home state of Ohio. No luck! Mason’s “never-give-up” mindset forged ahead despite his disappointments and demand to search and work harder. All the while he continued to make enhancements to the game. I was so proud of him!
It was Covid times by now, and his school shut down. However, Mason used this difficult time to keep on keeping on! During this time I would meet with him at an outdoor park near his house. There he designed a better game board, moving around cut-out paper squares and re-taping them onto a big piece of cardboard until they were just where he wanted them. He wrote 70 game cards: 30 “Assist” cards, 30 “Turnover” cards, and 10 “Heal” cards all with basketball-themed wording. He designed a spinner for concessions and he designed an actual basketball shooter among other items for his “Basketball Brackets” game.
” The game is a lot of fun; it’s like
March Madness Meets Monopoly Basketball!”
Dave Grendzinski
What happened next was Heaven sent!
We found a game manufacturing company called, Shuffled Ink whose owner, Charles Levin, is an out-of-this-world kind, helpful, caring, honest, and interested man, who agreed to manufacture Mason’s game! Can you even imagine my joy at realizing that my grandson’s creativity and hard work would become a reality?! Mr. Levin connected us with his lead graphic designer, Steve Sherrin, who is a talented and also very caring man! He and Mason emailed countless times for months to get the designs, box, game pieces, cards, spinner, directions, basketball and lever, and etc. just right and works of art. Steve often complimented Mason on his creative ideas and even on his proofreading skills. (Meanwhile, to save attorney fees, Grandma Margie wrote 21-pages to receive a gov’t patent pending for Mason’s game.)
Throughout this time, another heart-touching thing happened. I was worried that my lapses in communication (due to cancer surgery and radiation treatments) would halt some of this game manufacturing process. So I informed them about my physical condition. Unbelievably, Charles didn’t charge me for months and told me not to worry about money until we get everything done. Charles & Steve kept checking on me, just for my health and not for business or fees. Charles even sent me uplifting emails with happy emojis showing such encouragement and kindness. Honestly, this level of genuine care and kindness from a stranger throughout his dealings led to a trust and gratitude that I believe truly helped me through my cancer fight. Charles was more interested in helping me live to see my Grandson bring these games to market than getting paid. I was so blessed! What business people care more about a person, a client they never even met, than the money payment they were entitled to receive? Charles and Steve cared! Even now, I’m crying as I’m writing this remembering how much their caring helped me during my bad days even during Covid when none of my 4 children were allowed to visit me in the hospital or afterward. I fought my cancer with extra determination especially because after all the sorrow that Mason had already gone through with his mother. I just had to be here for many more years for my creative, loving grandson. So every MRI, every CAT scan, every radiation treatment, every needle in my chest, or every staple shot into my breast was okay as long as that would help me recover for my grandson, and, of course, for my whole family.
Finally, 6 years after Mason first invented his game, it was completed and on its way to the USA.
Finally, Basketball Brackets arrived in Orlando, FL with Shuffled Ink to store for us.
Then, another Charles Levin kind gesture! He paid to transport games to my house in Columbus, Ohio, and stored the rest in his shop, free of charge. His generous gestures during my medically and monetarily tough time, helped me not only with bills but also made me realize the goodness given to me through a stranger, a businessman, Charles. I was uplifted to recover! Most importantly, my grandson, Mason, (who is now a freshman majoring in business) has a business role model worthy of emulation. He sees, through Charles, an unselfish example that business is more than just making money, but can be about really helping people along the way!
I stored under beds, in the basement, on top of cabinets, under tables, and in every room. My house is tastefully decorated in matching brown-box décor.) Shuffled Ink stored the remaining games. I asked Charles if he would attend the Game Show Convention in Columbus, Ohio, near my home. I even offered (tried to bribe him) to make him my homemade meatballs and lasagna if he would come to the convention to help sell Mason’s games. Unfortunately, Covid postponed the convention, and Charles could not attend. (Not attending was probably a good thing for Charles because after tasting my authentic Italian cooking, he would have owed me, instead of my owing him for the work done. Ha ha ha)
UPDATE: A year later, Charles did in fact travel top Columbus and came to my home for my meatball, lasagna, shrimp cocktail, salad, 3 side dishes and 2 very large home-made pies!!! After dinner Charles and Mason went down in my basement and played Basket Ball Brackets for hours. All I could hear was laughing and carrying on so, of course I went down to serve them a lot more pie! It was a wonderful night!
Mason and I have tried to sell some games in Ohio to family, friends, former coworkers, coaches, and others and we have made just a few sales. I’ve set up tables at bazaars and have been given wonderful feedback from buyers, several returning for multiple copies saying that the game is so much fun to play. “March Madness Meets Basketball Monopoly” is the phrase that one return buyer coined for Mason’s game. Players compete to win their teams’ brackets and also travel around the outer game squares earning and losing money which will be needed later for the Championship Game where players use their skills to shoot mini baskets.
Marketing & Sales has proven to be our final nemesis as it has been extremely difficult for us to break through and sell more games. Without the needed knowhow and a large enough marketing budget it has been very tough going. Charles from Shuffled Ink has tried to help us but he’s a manufacturing guy and this is not his forte. While sales have not worked out for us, the experience and meeting Charles and working with his company has been wonderfully uplifting in a world of so much divisiveness and selfishness.
Mason’s dream and my dream for him continues and we hope that you will support us and buy a game! Not only will it help us but we promise you will have many great times playing Basketball Brackets!
Shuffled Ink is proud to announce that it has been awarded several accolades from the Florida Print Awards. This year also marks our 24th anniversary in the printing business. Over the years, we have had the pleasure of working with numerous creative clients, bringing their ideas to life!
We are grateful to the Florida Print Awards for recognizing our efforts, which include:
– 5 Judges Awards
– 5 Best of Category Awards
– 5 Awards of Excellence
We are thankful for the 24 years of support and look forward to more collaborative opportunities for the 2024 year!
Experienced card handlers will often talk about the benefits of “breaking in” a brand new deck of playing cards, to make it perform and handle optimally. So suppose we do want to break in our deck, how should we go ahead doing that? Let’s imagine that our deck is still staring at us from the kitchen table, grinning at us from within its cellophane. Starting with the very beginning, we’ll run through a whole process of things we can do to get our new deck working as smoothly as possible.
Step 1: Preparation
So what do we need to get started?
● Be clean. You didn’t see that coming did you? There you were, with your grimy hands, all ready to rip into your brand new deck, and you almost forgot this important step! The oil on your hands, and any unwanted grime that might be invisibly clinging to it, will quickly transfer to your brand new cards, and before you know it they will start looking grimy as well. So it’s important to get rid of any sweat, dust and dirt that your hands might be carrying, and give your new deck the very best start it can, rather than throwing mud at it on its first test drive! So before going any further, go ahead and wash your hands. Oh, and also be sure to dry them. Thoroughly – because we don’t want to add any moisture to our paper cards either.
● Get your tools. Don’t worry, you won’t need a hammer or any heavy equipment! But a sharp knife will come in handy shortly, in order to do a neat and tidy job of opening the seal.
Step 2: Opening the Tuck Box
You didn’t really think that the cards magically pop out of that wrapped box, do you? This process involves several steps:
● Cellophane. We begin by opening the cellophane, or shrink-wrap as it’s sometimes also called. Rather than ripping this from the top or bottom, I usually like to pull the tab provided for this around the deck. What this does is divide the wrapper into two halves. I typically remove the smaller top half, but leave the larger lower half on the deck. This provides additional protection to the tuck box, helping it stay in shape, and preventing the corners from becoming dinged up or tearing. Fortunately not too much can go wrong when removing the cellophane – unless you’re using a knife, in which case be careful that the sharp blade doesn’t slip and leave an unplanned but permanent tattoo on your skin or on the tuck box!
● Seal. Now for the seal itself, which is the adhesive sticker on most decks that keeps the deck closed, and which needs to be cut or removed in order to open the top flap. Again, there are wrong ways to do this. Rather than just tear this in any fashion, I like to preserve the seal as best as possible. With a custom deck, the seal has often been thoughtfully and deliberately designed with unique artwork to suit with the rest of the deck, so it’s nice to preserve as much of that as possible. Cutting it parallel with the top of the deck along the upper flap is less than ideal, because it means you’ll invariably have part of the sticky side of the seal facing inwards, where it will occasionally attach itself to a playing card, and over time accumulate dust and dirt. Instead, it’s often best to get a sharp knife, and cut the seal right along the semi-circle shape. In a pinch, you can use a thumb nail to do this. The result of breaking the seal along the semi-circle shape will be very neat and tidy, because when the tuck box flap is closed, you’ll see the two parts of the seal come together in entirety. And there’s the added advantage that you won’t be leaving any sticky surfaces around to attract grime.
● Top flap. Ideally you want to bend the top flap backwards. There is usually a line about 1cm below the top flap, which has been pressed into the deck during production, and that’s where you want to bend the top flap backwards – not at the very top of the deck itself. What this does is reveal the top centimeter of the cards, making them easy to grab. If you don’t do this, and the cards are somewhat of a tight fit in the tuck box, you may find yourself butchering the top of the case trying to get the deck out.
Step 3: Removing the Cards
Wait, do we really need a whole step that explains how to remove the cards from the tuck box, and do I really think you have an IQ lower than an Ace of Spades? I’m sure you’re bright enough – after all you’re reading this! – but the truth is that you can butcher this part of the process as well.
● Take out the cards. If you have pushed back the top flap at the line described in the previous step, you should be able to get your fingers on both sides of the top of the deck. The most natural way to do this is to have your thumb on one side of the deck in the semi-circular thumb tab (another reason for not cutting the seal directly across the top!), while your forefinger grabs the other side of the deck along the top centimeter of the cards that has been revealed when you bent the top flap of the tuck box backwards. Now you can just pull the cards out, but even that can be a little tight at times. Get gravity to help, and tip the box over, so that the cards fall naturally into your hand. Don’t forget to inhale that new deck smell – that’s not something you want to miss is it? Breathe in deeply, and smell those new cards – you know you want to! This is also a good time to remove the ad cards, so that what you’re handling is a 54 card deck without unnecessary extras.
● Smooth the edges. In the case of a USPCC produced decks, the edges of the playing cards of a brand new deck will feel noticeably rough. While this can improve over time, you might want to take your deck and rub all four sides a number of times against some fabric – denim jeans are perfect. This will remove any loose bits and can help reduce some of the roughness.
Step 4: Conditioning the Cards for Optimal Friction
Some swear that there’s a particular order of steps that must be followed when breaking in a deck in terms of how you handle the cards for the first time once they’re outside the box. Personally I fail to see how the order of what follows matters too much – although I wouldn’t begin with a riffle shuffle or spring for reasons I’ll explain in a moment. So here are the moves you should consider doing to make your cards perform better than when you have them in your hands for the first time.
First of all, you want to give your cards a workout to help ensure optimal friction. These first moves are geared to ensure that the cards slide smoothly over each other. Cards have a coating that is designed to optimize how they glide over each other. But in the factory the cards have just been produced, and have never actually rubbed over each other yet, so there may be some small imperfections. We want to make sure that with the help of some warmth, wear, and pressure, everything is in good order and sliding smoothly and evenly. A helpful way to think of this is that you are polishing the cards by rubbing them against each other.
● Overhand shuffle. Shuffle off all the cards one at a time, to ensure that all the cards move freely, and there are no clumps of cards sticking together. It’s important to make sure that all the cards are properly separated.
● Wash. At this point some people recommend “washing” your cards. No, don’t get out the soapy water! A wash refers to spreading all the cards on the table, crudely overlapping each other, and shuffling them around over each other. The term “granny shuffle” is also used for this method. Personally I think that a systematic series of overhand shuffles accomplishes the same thing, is neater, and does a better job of looking after your cards, but you might find it more satisfying and effective to give your cards a “wash” as just described.
● Fan. A few fans are now the order of the day, in both directions. The idea of this and the previous step is that you get the cards sliding over each other every which way.
If you did the above steps face up, now repeat them face down. This ensures that each card has gone through its paces in each and every direction, from both sides.
Step 5: Conditioning the Cards for Optimal Flexibility
But cards don’t only need to slide over each other smoothly, they also need to be able to flex in different directions. If they were stiff and rigid like wooden boards, there’s no way you could handle them at all, so we want to make sure that they are malleable and soft. That’s something that the printing process won’t do for us by bending them in different directions to soften them up, but fortunately it’s something we can easily do, by giving the cards a workout to help ensure optimal flexibility.
These next moves are geared to ensuring that the cards flex properly, and return back to their natural shape easily and quickly. I strongly suggest doing these steps after the ones just described to get optimal friction, because when sliding the cards across each other, you don’t want them to be previously bent as a result of riffle shuffles or springs. Although if you find that your deck is warped out of the box, these flexibility routines will help straighten it out, so you may need to adjust the order of things.
● Aeration. This is a simple and interesting “flex-ercise” in which you hold the deck similar to the beginning of a spring, squeezing both ends towards each other. This causes the deck to bend into a C shape, and you’ll notice the cards all separating from each other with a layer of air between them. This helps separate the cards, and helps prevent the oil or coating causing them to stick together. Do this in both directions.
● Riffle shuffle. Now it’s time for a good riffle shuffle, since not only do you want the cards sliding smoothly over each other, but you also want them flexing nicely. Do this both face up and face down, completing each shuffle with a bridge, so you don’t end up with bent or warped cards, and so that the cards are flexed in both directions.
● Faro shuffle. Another good move to do at this point is a faro shuffle. Given the new deck order, the central place that splits the deck exactly should be even easier than usual to find – for most standard decks it will be right between the King of Clubs and King of Diamonds. You can complete the shuffle by bridging the cards, or by cascading the cards together if you know how to perform that flourish. A faro shuffle will also tell you immediately whether or not a deck has a traditional cut or a modern cut, depending on which way you need to weave the cards together for the faro shuffle.
● Spring. Just like a riffle shuffle, a couple of good springs will help, and be sure to do these in both directions (face up and face down).
To round things off, you might want to conclude with another series of overhand shuffles, just to make sure that the factory coating has had another pleasant polish and final warm up, so that it can behave optimally.
Closing Thoughts
In most cases, for the average person anyway, there’s no real need to artificially “break in” a deck. Just go ahead and use it! How it will handle and feel will change naturally over time, and as long as it’s a good quality deck, often this may make the handling smoother and better.
But if you’re a performing professional, it may be important to make sure that a deck is in optimal handling condition ahead of a performance. In that case you will want to put a new deck through its paces before using it for the first time on the stage. Usually the best way to do this is by a systematic series of shuffles, fans, spreads, and springs, as described above, to break the cards in faster, and to ensure that they have optimal friction and flexibility ahead of your performance. It’s not a complex process, and simply spending five or ten minutes with your deck in this way should do the trick.
For most of us, none of this really matters enough, and wearing in a deck is what happens automatically as we use it. Even so, it is good to be aware of how to treat a deck well, and to be familiar with some of the things you can do to help give your playing cards that familiar feel, and ensure that they won’t let you down. Treat your cards right, and they’ll treat you right!
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.
Many spiritualists love using tarot cards as a great tool to gain insight into the past, present, and future. With each card having a specific meaning for interpretation, this has inspired artists to create their own custom tarot card decks to become more significant and sentimental to them while also helping provide others with guidance and clarity. Today we are sharing the story behind one of many artists we have worked with who went above and beyond creating her own custom tarot card deck called “Northern Animal Tarot” by Linda.
“Look, Listen to the Nature Around You. Nature Is a Free Show. It Takes a Bit of Time to Enjoy It.”
When we asked Linda about her creative process behind the “Northern Animal Tarot” deck, she shared with us that it was her first deck. She mentioned that she faced a nice challenge in making the entire deck feel cohesive. Linda also talked about how she drew inspiration from the forest creatures she observes in nature every day while creating these beautiful cards!
Advice for Artist
Great advice from Linda for those who are interested in creating custom tarot cards is to sketch them out on paper as mini cards to see the overall theme of the deck. This is a great tip for artists who are looking for new ways to take cohesive themes to the next level!
Why Shuffled Ink?
Finally, we asked Linda why she chose to bring her wonderful project to life with us. Here is what she had to say, “Some deck creators get their decks made by you, and I had tried a few other places closer to home with mixed results. So, I thought I would give you a try since other deck creators were happy with your work. And now I see why – you listen, care, and have great communication throughout the whole process.”
We are grateful to Linda for giving us the opportunity to collaborate with her on this project. We hope her journey in creating custom tarot cards will inspire future artists!
The Artist
If you are interested in purchasing your very one Norther Animal Tarot card deck, visit her online shop here and be sure to check out her Instagram for daily updates!
Visit her Kickstarter for the next upcoming project!
At some point you are almost certain to come across the often-repeated claim that the first playing cards were in China. It is a particularly common assertion that you will find online in basic and simplified articles about the origin of playing cards. And we all know that everything on the internet is true, right?
Certainly there is some historical evidence that points in the direction of supporting this claim. China is where paper and printing was first invented, and it’s also where we find games like dominoes and mahjong, which bear some resemblance to playing cards. So it’s not surprising to discover that an early ancestor of playing cards did exist in China. But were playing cards actually invented there?
Fact: Uncertain
The reality is that we can’t be sure. Certainly it appears to be a real possibility that playing cards were invented in China during the Tang dynasty around the 9th century AD, as some believe. There is some evidence that games involving cards in some way were used in this time, although we can’t be sure whether these cards functioned as currency for other games, as stakes for gambling, or whether they served as the game itself. But if playing cards did originate during this time, possibly from or alongside tile games like dominoes and mahjong, it would mean that they have their first beginnings prior to 1000AD. From China, playing cards would have proceeded west via India and Egypt, and eventually made their way to Europe.
But it is also possible that playing cards were invented in Persia, and from there spread east to places like China and Korea, and only then west to Europe. Historians really can’t be sure, because paper is a very fragile product, so there’s very little evidence that has survived the centuries and which we can reliably go by.
Playing cards unique to the native Americans of the 18th and 19th century also exist, with colours, suits, and icons that are derived from their own culture, and manufactured on rawhide and horse skins. Does that mean that they also invented playing cards? Not at all, because it is obvious that they just adapted an existing concept that was brought over to America from Europe by the early settlers. In most cases these native American decks were simply adaptations of existing Spanish decks they had already been introduced to. It is not impossible that the same happened with Chinese decks, which may actually have originated elsewhere.
What does appear to be certain is the striking resemblance between the first playing cards that emerged in Europe in the late 14th century and those used in Egypt prior to this. Playing cards first appeared in Italy in the late 1300s, and the four suits used there (cups, coins, swords, and clubs) are a close match to the goblets (cups), gold coins, swords, and polo-sticks found on playing cards used in Egypt during the Mamluk period.
But while playing cards appear to have made their way into Europe via Mamluk Egypt, this still doesn’t establish their origin. In fact, in his book about the history of playing cards, Roger Tilley argues that it is even possible that playing cards in Europe had an altogether independent development. Perhaps we will never know where they first emerged on the pages of history, although once we get to the 14th century onwards in Europe, there is ample evidence about their function in society and culture.
With the absence of solid historical evidence, we may never be entirely certain about the precise origin of playing cards, although it does seem likely to have been in somewhere in the East, with China being at best a strong candidate. Unfortunately inaccurate information can easily acquire a life of its own in our internet age, and the oft-repeated claim that playing cards originated in China reflects a rather simplistic interpretation of the facts, that while undoubtedly well-intentioned and having some basis, remains to be proven. While we can’t thank the unidentified ancestors that bequeathed us with playing cards today, we certainly can thank the many modern designers, publishers, retailers that are building on the foundation inherited from the past, and are giving us wonderful playing cards to enjoy today!
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.
Oracle cards have become a popular tool for people seeking guidance and clarity while navigating difficult situations in their lives. Unlike tarot cards, which allow for more interpretation, Oracle cards offer a specific message on each card. In this article, we’ll share the story of Dana Whitby, one of our clients who created the Inner Compass Oracle Deck. We’ll dive into the details of her mission and the meaning behind her oracle deck.
How It All Started
We have all been stuck on a project where we overthought every detail, practically becoming paralyzed by overwhelming thoughts of “what, when, where, and how.” Dana shares a similar instance, which she learned how to overcome, “This is my first card project! I originally thought that I was meant to write a book, and so I began putting pen to paper about the idea of how to use your inner compass (aka intuition) in a tangible way. Once I had written several thousands of words, I experienced writer’s block and truly didn’t know what else to say. I had to step away from the project for a while to clear my head and understand what it was that I was supposed to do with this idea. One day I had the divine download that this project was an oracle deck. Once I had this realization and committed to the new idea, the writing began to flow easily again as I dismantled the book and turned it into an oracle card guidebook.”
A Divine Mission
The Inner Compass Oracle deck was created to “teach readers in a tangible way how to open and follow their intuition”. Which is intriguing to new Oracle card users who are looking for guidance within spiritual work. Dana goes on to explain, ” The concept of listening to an “inner compass” is widely known, yet the process of how to do so is made difficult in our modern society. The Inner Compass Oracle is a tool which can be used to initiate or deepen one’s relationship with their higher self in order to receive clarity and guidance on their life journey.”
How It Was Created
Dana mentions that she collaborated with artist Jennifer Birge who owns Coral Antler. “I originally asked her to create 4 pieces of art for 4 of my cards as a trial, and I was blown away by her ability to take the mundane and make it absolutely magical. She took the visions I had for my card artwork and elevated it!”
“You’ve always had the power, my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.” – Glinda The Good Witch
As all projects come with a bump in the road, Dana describes her toughest battle/ lesson. “For me, the largest hurdle I had to overcome was patience! I began writing the guidebook several years ago, and never would have dreamed it would take this long to come to fruition. But I have learned through this process that oftentimes, the best things in life are worth waiting for, and taking your time to complete in a way that honors the depth and breadth of the project.”
Why Shuffled Ink
Here is what Dana has to say about her experience printing her cards here at Shuffled Ink, ” I chose Shuffled Ink because I love that it is a family-owned business located here in the United States. So many Oracle deck printers are found overseas, and I preferred to support an American business, and especially one with such an amazing reputation. While I haven’t received a final copy of my deck yet, the samples I received were gorgeous, and I am so impressed with other decks I own that have been printed by Shuffled Ink”. We thank Dana for the opportunity to be a part of this insightful project! It’s always interesting to hear how these creative card decks come about and we hope this story helps inspire those who are looking to create their own custom cards!
Some of Kyle Quinn’s prototype homework
Caleb Huff and Kyle Quinn take the prototype for a spin.
RustBots artists Glen Brogan and Jesse Lewis
Caleb Huff and Kyle Quinn contain their excitement 
