Sensu Hanafuda & Fusion (Poker) Playing Cards. (KS coming soon)

[DoubleOOJ]

Hello everyone!

We wanted to share our newest upcoming project with all of you! Sensu Hanafuda and Fusion playing cards.

We are currently planning the Kickstarter launch for August 1st.

Sensu was inspired by traditional hanafuda and the illustrations of Uchiyama Rossetsu from 1892. Each card in the Sensu deck is unique.

Sensu will be printed by LPCC on Classic Finish. The tucks will have an embossed linen texture (similar to the Cultura tuck).



We also created a Sensu edition of our Hanafuda Games rulebook. It will have the same text content as our Hanami edition (8.5”x11”, full-color, 236 pages, 37 games), but the 200+ color images will now feature the art of the Sensu deck series.



For those of you who might not be familiar with Hanafuda or our Fusion decks…

What is Hanafuda?
Hanafuda (known in Korea as 'Hwatu') are floral-themed playing cards that are rich in symbolism and popular in Japan, Korea, and Hawaii. Hanafuda cards have 12 suits. Each suit is represented by a month (e.g. June) of the year and each month is represented by a flower (e.g. Peony).



What is the Fusion deck?
Since traditional hanafuda cards lack pips and indices, we designed our own hanafuda indices to indicate the flower, month, and type of each card. We combined these indices with traditional hanafuda imagery and standard poker indices to create a multipurpose deck that could be used to play both Eastern and Western games. The Fusion deck is also a great way to learn and teach hanafuda.



Why a Hanafuda Rulebook?
Given the popularity, long history, and wide geographical range of hanafuda cards, there have been many games invented over the years. Unfortunately, rules for hanafuda games can be difficult to find and interpret, so we decided to create a rulebook that would gather these rules into a single clearly written source.

Sensu was created as part of our ongoing love for hanafuda and desire to share it with others.

There is a lot more art on the Kickstarter page.

Here is the Kickstarter Preview Link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iws/1373751704?ref=529157&token=d27af1cf

Thank you for taking the time to read our post and for checking out our project!

We look forward to reading your feedback.
Jason & Antonietta

[Don Boyer]

I think it's a lovely pair of decks, much like the Hanami set was.  There's one little detail I'd do differently - the aged, weathered look has been used and overused to the point of cliché in custom playing cards these days.  I'd go for a lovely parchment or ivory coloring but without the "left under the porch for a hundred years" look.

In fact, as traditional hanafuda tiles are often made of a harder substance (these days they're often vinyl, but I'd imagine wood may have been used at times), a nice wood look would be pretty cool, though for the fusion deck at the least, you'd want a uniform edge (non-uniform edges on faces or backs can actually render the cards readable from the side of the deck, like a not-so-well-hidden marking system), so perhaps a fade-out to the die line, similar to Bee Stingers, on the Fusion deck would be a good look.

[DoubleOOJ]

Thank you for your feedback.

The sides and the backs were created to be uniform. The sides of the faces are all uniform in one facing. The backs are actually completely uniform, even when rotated.



Interesting, we had not realized that the aged look was becoming a thing or even an overused thing. Antonietta made them for what appealed to her artistically as opposed to the market. Although we understand the importance of both. In fact, we originally were planning on a tabletop release next, but she went on long and beautiful creative tangent that led to the birth of these decks. LOL.

When she first began designing them, she was playing with watercolor and was considering a softer watercolor look as well. But, for the joy of mark making, she enjoyed the looser look and it naturally progressed to what it is.

She drew inspiration from pottery glazes, woodblocks (particularly some from Utagawa Hiroshige and other artists of that 19th century time period), and the hand illustrated drawings of Uchiyama Rossetsu.

The aged look was not created as an applied layer or effect. It is part of the art. But, a softer deck does sound like an appealing idea for a future project.

She would also love to create a deck from batiks or linos. Her roots are actually as a batik (fiber, wax and dyes) artist. But, alas, that is a project for the far future due to the lack of studio space atm.

As always, thanks for the great feedback. We will definitely keep it in mind for future projects.

Jason & Antonietta

[Don Boyer]

In regard to the uniformity of the edges in the design, the major issue you might run into is one that I've seen before with other decks - any time you're printing a pattern into the bleed, if the cards aren't perfectly registered when they're die-cut from the deck sheet, the end result is a one-way design that's visible from the deck's edge.

I actually posted a video on YouTube of this in regard to the Empire deck - while the deck was quite lovely, it had several design flaws that allowed me to do things such as separate the red cards from the black cards while face down, identify all the court cards and even find a single drawn card in a shuffled deck on sight by rotating it 180 degrees before reinserting it into the deck.  That last trick was done by taking advantage of a flaw made in the card's registration when it was cut, which made the into-the-bleed ribbon design on the sides appear at a slightly different point on the left edge than on the right edge.

If you're ever interested in working with me on future designs, I'd enjoy the opportunity to do so - I've done consulting work for playing card designers before, most notably for Linnea Gits and Peter Dunham, collectively known as Uusi.  I worked with them on several of their decks, starting with Bohemia.

[DoubleOOJ]

Wow. Never play poker with a cardist!  lol

And to think, I had even watched your video about the Empire decks (albeit it was some time ago).

I knew strong bands and side markings would be a problem, but I had assumed our more subtle pattern (paired with LPCC’s accuracy) would have very little if any discernible difference.

Interesting to know. We like the Uusi decks. Unfortunately, we’re only just starting out, so we really don’t have the budget for consulting atm. But, we will keep you in mind for the future.

[Don Boyer]

Wow. Never play poker with a cardist!  lol

And to think, I had even watched your video about the Empire decks (albeit it was some time ago).

I knew strong bands and side markings would be a problem, but I had assumed our more subtle pattern (paired with LPCC’s accuracy) would have very little if any discernible difference.

Interesting to know. We like the Uusi decks. Unfortunately, we’re only just starting out, so we really don’t have the budget for consulting atm. But, we will keep you in mind for the future.

Trust me - I can be very reasonably priced!  I've been known to work for trade or even for free under the right circumstances.  I'd rather see you make a great deck.

[DoubleOOJ]

So, I just realized that I had uploaded an older version of the tuck image in the original post here. I went ahead and updated the image to the newest version. The only difference being that we had decided to move the Sensu kanji to the back of the tuck and put the fan emblem on the front instead.

@Don
That's good to know for future projects. We will definitely keep you in mind.

[Don Boyer]

So, I just realized that I had uploaded an older version of the tuck image in the original post here. I went ahead and updated the image to the newest version. The only difference being that we had decided to move the Sensu kanji to the back of the tuck and put the fan emblem on the front instead.

@Don
That's good to know for future projects. We will definitely keep you in mind.

One of my favorite projects was helping out with Sarah Ferone on Cocktail Hour - and I did that for free.  I believed in the project and felt it was worth the investment of my time and effort.  I think she did a stellar job on it, and really didn't require a huge amount of input from me - and I doubt you'd require much, either, having a little experience with cards under your belt now.  Besides, my wife loved the first deck enough to buy more for herself!

[EndersGame]

I love the antique and weathered look of these cards, which fits well with the style and overall direction of the artwork.  The Fusion deck is also a great concept, because it gives the cards a wider scope for use besides straight Hanafuda games.

And the rulebook is amazing - there are people who pledge for this project just to get the rulebook!  I've seen a digital copy (from the previous Hanami edition), and it is super impressive - 236 pages, with instructions for 37 games.

For more detailed thoughts and impressions, see my two reviews posted here:

Hanami edition: http://www.playingcardforum.com/index.php?topic=12270
Sensu edition: http://www.playingcardforum.com/index.php?topic=12271

[DoubleOOJ]

@Don
Thank you for your confidence in our project. We hope your wife is enjoying her decks and rulebook! Your knowledgeable input and dedication to the playing card community are valuable assets and we are always open and happy for feedback so that we can continue to improve and grow.

@Ender’s Game
Thank you so much for your comprehensive and articulate review!!!

[DoubleOOJ]

We have received some great feedback about the poker indices that will improve the look and functionality of the fusion deck even more!

We have decided to implement this change by updating the poker indices on the Fusion deck so that the numbers on the heart and diamond suits are red instead of black (as is typical for a standard poker deck).

We have updated the artwork in the Kickstarter to reflect this change.

It is a subtle change, but an important one. (^_^)

[EndersGame]

We have received some great feedback about the poker indices that will improve the look and functionality of the fusion deck even more!

We have decided to implement this change by updating the poker indices on the Fusion deck so that the numbers on the heart and diamond suits are red instead of black (as is typical for a standard poker deck).

We have updated the artwork in the Kickstarter to reflect this change.

I like it - good improvement!

[DoubleOOJ]

We have received the proof of our hanafuda rulebook. We are really happy with how they turned out and wanted to share some pictures with everyone! 






Some 16mm dice and our Hanami deck added to show the scale.



As always, if you have any questions or feedback about our project feel free to contact us.

Thanks,
Jason & Antonietta

[DoubleOOJ]

Sensu has funded. ✿.*･｡ﾟ(ﾉ^^)乂(^^ )ﾉ｡ﾟ･*✿

Thanks for all the feedback and support. (^_^)

Jason & Antonietta