A Deck for Everything
by Alex J. Coyne © 2017 Gifts for Card Players
Breaking out a themed-deck for a game of bridge, poker or blackjack can be a lot of fun, and many players turn into card collectors. Alex shares his coolest and weirdest picks for themed card decks.
Art Playing Cards (Green Board Games)
These are great for the art-lover, and contains 54 famous paintings. It was created in collaboration with Green Box Games and The National Gallery.
Gangsters Regulation Playing Card Deck (Piatnik)
This set of playing cards contains 54 famous gangsters as playing card faces, some of which are taken from their most famous (or is that infamous?) mugshots and pictures. It’s just short of $16, and the set includes two decks. Perfect for that poker game!
Lovecraftian Playing Cards (Cthulhu Shop)
Illustrator and graphic designer Darrell Tutchton and Andrew Leman combined forces to create this gem. Cthulhu, Shub Niggurath and Nyarlathotep. The likeness of HP Lovecraft himself is used for the joker. This one goes for $15 apiece, but if that’s not your thing, consider buying a commemorative Cthulhu idol for your, um, collection.
Star Trek Playing Cards (Aquarius)
Perfect for your inner-Trekkie, this classic deck of Star Trek playing cards runs you $6.50 on Amazon and contains 52 different pictures of characters from the Star Trek universe. You can also go for the Star Trek: New Generation playing card set, currently listed at $7.05.
Serial Killer Playing Cards (SerialKillerCards)
This deck might get you some weird looks, but it’s worth it if you’re into collecting the oddest of oddities. This deck from Serial Killer Cards features – what else? – 54 different serial killers. Each card contains a write-up with some history on which killer you’ve ended up with. One deck costs $17, with discounts on bulk-orders just in case you have some use for 500 of these.
The Hallucinatory Deck of Playing Cards (Glow-in-the-Dark)
This trippy-looking deck is one of several odd playing card decks produced by Newts Games. The description says that it was made with two glow-in-the-dark inks, and comes with a glow-in-the-dark box to keep your cards in. It’ll run you $11.99, and they only ever printed 1008, which makes this a collector’s item. (For play, they recommend the equivalent non glow-in-the-dark hallucinatory deck). Has anyone seen the white rabbit?
Cats: Pips and Paws (NewtsGames)
Another one from Newts Games, especially cool if you love cats – and mysteries. What makes this deck cool is that the suits – pips – have been hidden somewhere in the card images. Created by artist Peter Wood, this one will cost you $7.99. Newts Games produces quite a couple of weird, cool and interesting decks; and they offer bulk discounts.
Crooked Playing Cards (Kardwell)
Probably one of the weirdest on this here list is this set of crooked playing cards. They make a great addition to anyone’s card collection, and while it’s definitely not going to be allowed at your local bridge tournament, it could be a lot of fun for cards at home. One thing is for sure: You definitely won’t be building any card houses with these…
What’s the weirdest card deck in your collection?
