Adobe Illustrator is the best app to use if you are going to be creating the cards using vector art.  Adobe Illustrator for iPad is in beta testing and should be available before the end of the year.  If you don't want to spend the money for Adobe, Affinity Designer is pretty good and fairly inexpensive.

Good points Don, but I would still recommend an iPad Pro because the drawing experience is much better.  The drawing on paper feel and look of the iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil is much better than the pen on glass feel of a standard iPad.

You can buy a wi-fi only iPad Pro and tether it with your phone (not sure if it needs to be an iPhone).  You don't need a cellular iPad Pro, and tethering is more economical.  If you already have a phone with a plan, see if the iPad Pro is available from the same company.

Go to an Apple Store and try the iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil 2 before deciding.  The feel of this combo is the closest to pencil on paper available by far.  I've tried other combos of tablet and stylus and everything else feels like you are drawing on glass with a pen to varying degrees, versus the natural feel of the iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil 2.  The slight distance between the surface of the glass and the actual display surface is noticeable on other tablets, including the regular iPad, especially when viewing at an angle.  With the iPad Pro there is no discernible distance, you don't see the 'glass'.

Adobe just came out with Photoshop for iPad OS and they have announced that Adobe Illustrator for iPad OS will be available next year.  This makes the iPad Pro much more of a professional choice.  There are some very good Photoshop and Illustrator alternatives available for the iPad also that are powerful and much cheaper than Adobe.  They all cost about what Adobe charges for just one month of their CC subscription.

You may want to wait before buying if you decide on this.  The iPad Pro line is due for new models early next year.  This may be important because the current iPad Pros have a limited amount of RAM, I think about 2 GB.  The next ones should have more RAM, and the Adobe apps and other graphics apps will want it.

To combine the RPS game mechanic into a standard deck you will need to incorporate the 3 game elements of the RPS game into the 4 suits, 13 ranks, and 52 cards elements elements of a deck of cards.  If you include 2 jokers to make 54 cards, you could have 18 rock cards, 18 paper cards, and 18 scissor cards (54 divided by 3).  You could also put the R, P, and S on 12 ranks of the 13, 16 of each card (48 divided by 3).  You could use the 2 through King ranks, and have the 4 Aces have a special function as well as the jokers.

Thanks for the input selfthinker.  I had no idea that many people had some form of color blindness.  I am also working on a special deck of playing cards very similar to this one which uses the color suits.  I will introduce a subtle element into the design to help someone who is color blind identify the colors.  Most of the colors are still identifiable in the tests you included, but the monochromatic is a real problem.  I intentionally made the colors about the same luminance, not realizing this could be a problem.

Thank you for the detailed response Don.

I didn’t go into much detail in my description, I was mainly interested in the question of whether collectors would be interested in a non-standard deck, which you answered.

You are right that the target for this deck would be people who play Pinochle and other card games other than Poker.  This is a niche market, and card game players who would be interested in a custom specialty deck that costs more than standard decks would be an even more niche market.  Plus there is a very limited way to promote to them, the posts on Pinochle and other card game forums are few and far apart.

I was thinking there might be some crossover of the player and collector market, but I discovered after posting here, the scarcity of forums and blogs for non-poker card games.  I’m not sure, but I think people who seriously play games like Pinochle, Bridge, Spades, and other games like that, play online against other players more than in-person games.

So, it looks like there is not much of a market for this type of a card deck.

Anyway, just for curiosity I will go into more detail about the concept of this deck.  I have enclosed a graphic showing the card faces.

First, I forgot to mention that there are 12 ‘extra’ cards in the set.  These would be used for special game rules cards for some popular games.

The concept behind this deck is to add an extra level of strategy to popular card games by adding more options when playing.  This is done by adding ‘Color Suits’ in addition to the standard suits.

For example, when playing Rummy type games, a Run meld can be made using Color Suits as well as the standard suits.  For example, a Run meld of a Blue 9, a Blue 10, and a Blue Jack can be formed.

In trick-taking games, players can follow the Color Suit as well as the normal standard suit.  For example, if the last card played was a Green Jack of Clubs, a Green Queen of Diamonds could be played and would win the trick over that card.   

Because there are 4 Color Suits, the odds of drawing a card with a certain Color Suit are the same as drawing a card with a certain standard suit.

Poker can be played using this deck with variations of the Poker Hand Rankings.  I won’t go into all of the specifics but the main difference would be players would be able to more easily form an “of a kind” hand and it would be harder to form Flush based hands.  The Poker Rank Order would change according to the probabilities.  This would effect strategy when exchanging cards and make it more interesting, but the real strategy in Poker is in the “betting” more than card selection.  The average winning hand would change with this deck, but once players learned the difference, the game would basically be the same although bluffing would be easier.

I have tested the games, mostly Poker, and used that to develop the rules, but not extensively with a lot of players.  I do have fairly well developed rules for a lot of games and I will them use them on another deck I am designing which is similar in concept to this one.

Thank you again for your advice.

I am working on a custom 112 card deck of cards which would primarily be useful for playing a new variation of Double Deck Pinochle, but can also be used to play interesting variations of other card games.  It would be Bicycle branded with the card faces having a variation of the standard Bicycle card faces.  The card backs would be custom.

The main purpose of the deck is to add a new level of strategy to card games by adding 4 Color Suits to the standard 4 standard suits.  When playing Pinochle with this deck the 4 Color Suits can be used to make melds as well as the standard suits, for example a Run of a Blue Jack, a Blue Queen, and a Blue King.  When playing tricks in Pinochle, the Color Suit of a card can be followed as well as the standard suit.  This applies to other meld forming games like Rummy, and trick-taking games like Bridge.

The deck would consist of 4 stripped decks with the Ranks of 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace in the 4 standard suits (a Euchre deck of 24 cards), each in a different color.  In other words a Blue, Red, Green, and Purple Euchre deck, all with the same backs.  There would also be 4 Jokers, 1 in each color.  The set would use 2 uncut sheets for printing.

The deck would include Game Rules cards or a booklet with rules for playing Double Deck Pinochle, Pinochle, Euchre, Poker, and other games using the custom set.  There would also be a website with rules for variations of most popular card games.

The cards would have metallic gold ink on the front and back and possibly foil and embossing on the tuck box.  The artwork would be of a quality consistent with professionally designed decks.  The Tuck Box would be twice the thickness of a standard deck.  The Kickstarter Reward and retail price would be around $15.

I have seen other posts here where decks with more than the 4 standard suits are considered kind of amateur, but the extra suits in this deck have a purpose.

My question here would be, would the fact that it is not a standard deck of 52 cards plus jokers, and thicker than a standard deck, make it undesirable to custom card collectors or would it just be an interesting new type of custom deck?

Is it reasonable to offer a custom deck on Kickstarter with MPC as the printer with stretch goals of upgrading to Expert Playing Card Company then upgrading to USPCC (possibly as a Bicycle brand as well)?

The main difference between these printers in terms of a total Kickstarter goal is the minimum print run.  USPCC has a minimum of 2500 decks, Expert has a minimum of 1,000 decks, and MPC has no minimum, but a practical minimum in terms of individual deck cost is 500 decks.

Using MPC would allow for a lower stretch goal with more possibility for success, then if the design is popular, the ability to upgrade the quality of the cards. Extras such as metallic inks, foil, and embossing could also be stretch goal options.

Would potential backers be influenced by these stretch goals?

Have any card designers used this method?

During the evolution of this game there was a design that used standard playing cards. 

The design used 2 standard Bicycle decks in a Poker Set configuration with one deck having a gold Rider back and the other having a silver Rider back. The suits were in 4 different colors which matched 4 colored dice in a dice set. The 4 dice combined with a 5th black dice were used to match a 2 dice roll with every card in the deck. 

It was submitted to the custom card division of Bicycle (USPCC).  The custom division liked it, but the brand manager and legal division rejected it because Bicycle does not produce games, only cards and dice as separate products.

The Bicycle game set would have actually cost more than the current design and because the minimum amount to be printed would have been 2,500, the Kickstarter goal would have been significantly higher.

If all of the games in the set were mostly card based, then a standard card variation would be more advisable.  There are several mostly dice based games in the set, and there are board game games that use dice and the special board game cards.

I will definitely consider your suggestion of a Rule Book based product for the future.  It actually fits in somewhat with another "rules based" card product I am working on.

Hi Don,

Putting this post in The Conversation Parlor is more appropriate.  I rarely look at this section and I forgot about it.

There are 2 main reasons this playing set is unique. 

First, most card games or dice games just use cards or dice, all of the games in this set use both cards and dice.  The combination creates interesting new versions of standard games.  There are new game mechanic combinations which give the games new mixes of luck and strategy.

Second, there are 50 different games in the Rules Book.  That’s a lot of games that can be played with a small game box.  There are also a wide variety of games in the set.  Everything from easy strategy games kids can play to high strategy games with little or no luck.  All of the games are new and exclusive to this set.  There are only about 20 of the games on the website now, but more will be added as the Kickstarter gets closer.

There are simple dice rolling games that are mostly luck for kids and families, as well as dice games that use push your luck, bluffing, and wagering strategy.  There are even a few dice games that are contests of the player’s ability to roll dice accurately, similar to Bocci Ball or shuffleboard.

There are board games that are interesting variations of some classic board games as well as some original ones.  There will be variations of Backgammon, Checkers, and Chess for example.  The Chess-like game uses dice with different numbers up to indicate how many moves the piece can make and other rule variations, but it is still a high strategy one-on-one game.

There are a lot of card games in this set which are variations of classic card games with dice mechanics worked into the game.  Your comparison to Uno is appropriate, in the sense that Uno uses color suits and is a variation of the classic card game Crazy Eights.  The difference is my set has lots of card games, not just one, and they incorporate dice.  There is a cards and dice variation of Crazy Eights in the game rules book coincidently.

One of the card games is a variation of Blackjack called Stand Or Bust.  In this game, instead of the goal number being 21 every game, dice are rolled to determine the goal number, so the goal number in this game can be anywhere from 18 to 24.  The dice are rolled for each round of players versus the dealer, so each round is different.  The ranks of the cards are only 1 through 6, so it’s less risky to hit, which also makes the game different.

There are also Poker games in the rules book.  In addition to incorporating dice into the Poker games, there are extra hands that can be made using the decks in this set.  The cards in the set belong to 1 of 6 color suits, and are 1 through 6 in rank.  This means that the odds of drawing a particular suit or a particular rank are the same, 1 in 6.  This makes an interesting symmetry.  The odds of drawing a hand with 3 of a Kind using 4’s is the same as drawing a hand with 3 of a Kind using Green suits.  So the Poker hands in this set include "Of A Kind" hands using the same color.  For example, 4 of a Kind using Blue cards.  The standard way of making "Of A Kind" hands with ranks does still outrank ones using colors.  For example, 3 5’s outrank 3 Oranges.  Also because the ranks only go up to 6, it's trickier to determine how good of a hand a player may have. 

Do we need another Blackjack or more Poker games?  Of course not, but variety is the spice of life, and it’s fun to try new things.

As far as the difference between this set and just bringing standard cards and dice, it’s all about the games in this set.  The combination of the cards and dice, with the 36 cards in a deck matching the 36 sides of the 6 color dice, also make it physically different from standard cards.  There are 2 decks of 36 cards for a total of 72 cards.

People could buy 3 decks of standard cards and modify the Ace through 6 with permanent markers to replicate the cards.  And buy colored D6 dice or modify white dice with permanent markers to replicate the dice, then use the rules from the website to play the games.  But I think if people go to the trouble of that, they will probably be interested enough to buy the set.  It’s common for a lot of card and board games to have a "print and play" digital version of the game on their website to generate interest and allow players to test a game before they buy it.

Your question gets to the heart of the matter.  Did you visit the website?  I think it is explained better there.

The 3 sides of the box top which can’t be seen in the photo say 'BRING 50 GAMES WITH YOU ANYWHERE', 'ALL 50 EXCLUSIVE GAMES USE BOTH CARDS AND DICE', and 'PLAY FUN VARIATIONS OF CLASSIC CARD, DICE, AND BOARD GAMES'.

I am going to change the the Games section of my website based on your input.  Right now I have the games listed with a very brief minimal description of the games.  I am going to give each game a page of it's own linked to the list.  The page will have a more complete description of the game and a link to the PDF rules.

Thanks for your comments.

There are some obvious qualities a card design should have like proper indices, legibility, and a professional level of illustration, but there are more aspects that I don't fully understand.  There are designs with beautiful illustration that fail to meet their Kickstarter goal, and decks with mediocre artwork that do succeed.  There is clearly more to a successful deck than just the quality of the illustration or even the design.

I would, and I'm sure other card designers would, be interested in what makes a successful custom deck of playing cards.  I would be interested in the opinions of serious collectors and designers who have had success on Kickstarter.

Introducing the Bicycle Myriad Playing Card Set.

This new product is a special 4 deck set of custom Bicycle Playing Cards in blue, purple, green, and red, all with the same backs. The 4 decks used together form a unique mega deck of 208 unique cards with 16 different suits. The 4 standard suits in 4 different colors.

With this original playing card set you can play fun variations of your favorite card games or create new ones.

The custom aspect of this playing card set is in the unique game playing elements, the artwork is the standard Bicycle art with some small additional game elements. Playing card collectors may want to add this set to their collection though, because it has unique colors (including metallic gold and silver inks) and elements not found in any other Bicycle® playing card design.

I began designing this set almost a year ago and have been working on it on and off. I am just now beginning to promote the set through Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, etc.

I hope to put it on Kickstarter by midyear. Because it is a 4 deck set, it will have a large funding goal. When I think it has had enough promotion and support, I will announce the launch date.

For much more info on the set, visit the website at http://myriadcards.com.

I welcome your comments as collectors, and as card players.


Here are some photos from the website:


Myriad box with tuck cases


Myriad box as 2 trays


Tuck cases with Aces


Card backs fanned


Myriad kings


Myriad Jokers


Myriad cut cards


Myriad blank cards


Myriad custom game elements


Myriad Poker hand ranks


Full Set

Here is a reference list of the best playing card designers. All of the designers listed here have successfully Kickstarted multiple decks or produced multiple decks for playing card publishers.

If you are working on or considering designing your own custom playing card deck, look at the work of these artists first. Really analyze what you like most about each designer’s work.

One thing all of these designers have in common is a professional level of illustration. Playing card “design” is almost a misnomer, there is more “illustration” involved in a good custom playing card design. You don't have to be a professional illustrator to create a successful card design, but you should refine your artwork to as high a level as possible.

Some of the common aspects of their design and illustration are consistency in style, consistency of line weight, use of the entire card surface without weak areas, and proper use of the indices.

Here is the list of links to the designer’s and studio’s sites in alphabetic order. There are a few others I wanted to include, but they didn’t have a functioning website.

Designers:
Valentina Badeanu - https://dribbble.com/valentinabadeanu
Blackout Brother - http://www.blackoutbrother.com
Randy Butterfield - http://midnight-cards.myshopify.com
Paul Carpenter - http://encarded.com
Alvin Cheung - http://www.sishouplayingcards.com
Alexander Chin - https://www.seasonsplayingcards.com
Lai Ching Pua - https://www.instagram.com/thebocopoplayingcardco
Tyler Deeb - http://tylerdeeb.com
Jody Eklund - http://www.blackinkplayingcards.com
Billy French - https://www.billyfrench.com
Lorenzo Gaggiotti - http://www.stockholm17.com
Jason Goldklang - https://vandacards.com
Sam Hayles - http://www.dose-productions.com/playing-cards
Brendan Hong - http://www.brendanhong.com
Ben Jones - https://elephantplayingcards.com
Emmanuel José - http://emmanueljose.com
Scott King - http://www.crookedkingscards.com
Roman Kotiv - http://noir-arts.com
Mike Lambert - http://www.metropolcards.com
Marianne Larsen - http://isolatedthunderstorm.com
Vince Lepera - https://eliteplayingcards.com
Lotrek - oathplayingcards.com
Lee McKenzie - http://cargocollective.com/kenzii
Giovanni Meroni - http://www.thirdway.it
Steve Minty - http://www.steveminty.com
Chris Ovdiyenko - http://deadonpaper.com
Jackson Robinson - http://kingswildproject.com
Nathan Schipul - http://www.emberwaves.net
Natalia Silva - https://nataliasilva.net
Mark Stutzman - https://www.behance.net/markstutzman
RJ Tomlinson - http://www.barclaymountain.com
Emmanuel Valtierra - http://emmanuelvaltierraillustrator.com
Joe White - https://www.behance.net/yeoldestudio
Karin Yan - https://bonafideplayingcards.com

Studios:
4PM Designs - https://4pmdesigns.webs.com
Brain Vessel Studios - http://www.bvcargo.com
Edgy Brothers - http://edgybrothers.com
Joker and the Thief - http://jokerandthethief.net
Erik Mana & Alvin Campana - http://www.manaplayingcards.com
Passione - http://www.passioneplayingcards.com
Pocono Modern - http://shop.poconomodern.com
Uusi - http://uusi.us

Of course there are many very good designers who have created one custom deck, these designers have produced multiple decks. If you think I missed someone, post a link to their site.