Cryptid Playing Cards
Cryptids of North America : Card Decks
Cryptids of North America is the first in what I intend to be a series of Playing Cards. All design and production done in the US; designed by me in Texas, and printed in Florida.
This specific set is, and will remain, very limited. There will not be an additional print run. Sets designed in the future will also only be printed once. Size of the print run was determined by crowd-funding on Kickstarter.
There are exactly 200 sets:
- 100 in smooth finish, and
- 100 in linen finish.
Extra seals were printed, to be used in part of the packaging.
The Kickstarter ran from mid-November to mid-December and late pledges are currently available via the backerkit on GameFound. It features 4 cryptids from different regions as the suits, and 2 more as the Jokers.
Originally available as a Kickstarter, with late pledges available on GameFound.
Overstuffed Playing Card Deck
This initial set includes 6 North American cryptids. Specific efforts were made to avoid a majority from any specific region of the continent. The 6 cryptids included in this set are Batsquatch, Bigfoot, Chupacabra, Flitterbick, Mothman, Fresno Nightcrawler.
The set features custom faces and backs, along with a number of extra cards. A standard deck of playing cards has 13 cars per suit (52 cards), a couple jokers, and an informational card or two for around 56 cards.
My set includes 15 cards per suit; the standard Ace-King, an informational card, and a gaff card. Also included are two jokers, each with a gaff card, info cards, and a dealer/cut card. Lastly, I've also included a few trick cards which can aid in sleight of hand magic tricks. Our set totals at 72 cards.
Card Design: Pip & Rank
Typically, the pip and rank are both included in the top left and bottom right of playing cards. I experimented with this in a number of different ways. Including both the pip and rank takes up more visual space than I was comfortable with. However, you do want to be able to quickly distinguish between card suits by just looking at the corners.
To keep the suits distinguishable, notice the variation in color between the rank indicator (K for King). Also, the orientation of the subtle lines behind them alternates, and the border colors also differ.
Card Design: Backgrounds
The backgrounds of all the cards are similar, but not identical. Each card background uses vintage maps, with most including a location specifically marked. These locations are all specifically related to reported sightings of the cryptid.
Not all cryptids have enough sightings for all the cards, so some may have general areas for where the cryptid is believed to frequent. Flitterbick is the only exception. There are accounts of interactions with the Flitterbick, but they are not recent and do not include specific locations.
Let's see the cards...
Each suit has been shifted to represent a cryptid. The shape takes notes from both the traditional playing card suit, as well as the cryptid. The red hearts and diamonds use a blue and purple color scheme, and the black clubs and spades use a blue and green color scheme.
Hearts > become > Mothman
Diamonds > become > Chupacabra
Clubs > become > Flitterbick
Spades > become > Batsquatch
The Red Joker is the Fresno Nightcrawler,
and the Black Joker is Bigfoot.
See the whole set in the image carousel shown here.
Green Considerations
Every component was also ordered domestically and shipped using ground transport- reducing shipping distance and thus the environmental impact.
Tuckboxes are made from recycled material. Card manufacturer is in Florida. They have a good track record for their card quality, follow more rigorous material safety standards, and are more environmentally friendly than competitors. Sticker seals for the card decks are not compostable. I will find alternatives for the sticker seals on future sets.
Nearly all packaging material is from recycled material and/or is compostable. Shipping boxes, kraft packaging paper, cardboard, bubble wrap, bubble mailers/padded envelopes, and tape for this project are all compostable. Packaging tape is made from recycled materials, but the ink is not biodegradable. I will find an alternative for future sets. The wax seal (when ordering decks) are neither compostable nor from recycled materials. I will find alternatives for future sets.
See the Campaign on Kickstarter >>
Originally available as a Kickstarter, with late pledges available on GameFound. Purchases currently available again on GameFound.