Kickstarter: ShanHai V2 Playing Cards by ARK Playing Cards

[EndersGame]

ShanHai V2 Playing Cards by ARK Playing Cards (Kickstarter)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cardcollection/shanhai-v2-playing-cards-by-ark

A sequel to ARK's Shan Hai that unlocks new artwork, plus an unfolding tuck case and flip-book animation

Current funding level: already funded
Kickstarter ends: Saturday, March 15, 2025



At the end of 2023, luxury playing card creator ARK Playing Cards launched their project for ShanHai Playing Cards, which raised over US$100,000 with the help of almost 800 backers.  It was a huge success, like many of their other projects.  If you browse the comments from happy backers, you'll find gushing compliments like these: "These cards are amazing!" "Fantastic", "Amazing looking cards", "Really beautiful, I love it", "Such gorgeous art and quality", "Amazing deck, Ark's best so far", "Definitely very mindblowing on all the artworks of the deck", "Really nice design and quality.", and "Everything far exceeded my expectations, and I couldn't be happier".

Now, more than a year later, again with the help of Kickstarter, they're producing a sequel: ShanHai V2 Playing Cards.  This new release has everything that was beautiful about the first project, drawing on the same inspirations but with new creatures and artwork, and implementing the same amazing design features.  There are three things that make this deck stand out from the crowd:

1. The artwork

Like the previous deck, this is inspired by Chinese mythology, specifically the Shan Hai Jing. Also known as the Classic of Mountains and Seas, this classic Chinese book originates from more than 2000 years ago, and is a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. The new deck further explores and expands this fantastic world and includes more mysterious creatures, featuring all new artwork.  The illustrations utilize techniques from Chinese ink paintings, with the illustrations of new beasts on the court cards being a highlight.





2. The tuck box

The tuck box has an unfolding double layer.  The inner layer consists of four separate compartments, each used to store the cards from a different suit, and these unfold into four panels, producing a single panoramic image.  This is inspired by Chinese screens, and the unfolded polyptych pictures the mighty leader Lord Dongwang on the front, and the Four Divine Beasts on the back.





3. The card backs

The card backs also combine to create a single expansive image when the entire deck is spread. In addition, there's a flipbook animation on the card backs, so when you thumb through them at high speed it generates a movie effect, with the two tigers on the back design rotating rapidly against a changing background.





As with previous ARK projects, the ShanHai V2 Playing Cards are available with four different levels and styles of luxury packaging, and the main decks are as follows:
● Standard Deck (limited edition of 3333): single deck (US$30)
● Artist Boxset (limited edition of 999): holographic foil deck & monochromatic deck (US$75)
● Rosewood Boxset (limited edition of 333): holographic foil deck with gilded edges, plus a collectible coin (US$185)
● Luxury Black (limited edition of 99): black and white deck, plus an embossed metal plate (~US$125, only available as part of the "All-In" reward)
Extra add-ons like uncut sheets and coins are also available.



1. Standard Deck

The standard deck comes with all the features that make this project unique, including the flip-back animation and panoramic image of the card backs, and the special tuck case with the four-panel unfolding design.



The Aces on all the decks picture four divine beasts which are also featured on the unfolded tuck box panorama: the turtle Bi Xi, the unicorn-like Qi Lin, the winged snake Ming Snake, and the majestic White Tiger.



The court cards depict some of the rarer and more exotic creatures from the Shan Hai Jing classic.



The number cards use a style that matches the ink painting design evident on the rest of the cards.



The Jokers combine to make a diptych.



2. Artist Box set

The Artist Box set has a beautiful presentation.



The holographic foil deck

The Artist Box set  includes two decks, the first being a deck with holographic foil.



The card faces feature similar artwork as the standard deck, but colors are added to the background to give a more vibrant look.







The monochromatic deck

The other deck in the Artist Box set is a special deck with a monochromatic design.







The album

The Artist Boxset comes in a gift box that can be pulled apart and changed into a folding album that displays large pictures with the ink painting artwork from the deck itself. 



3. Rosewood Box set

A beautiful feature of this box set is the wooden box.





This deck has the added luxury of gilded edges.



The cards feature holographic foil for extra luxury.



The wooden box can be displayed in four different ways, including one which showcases a special collector's coin that comes with this set



4. Luxury Black set

This special deck is only available to collectors opting for the "All In" reward. 



It has fully black edges that are individually signed in silver paint.



The cards feature the ink drawings in white set against a jet black background.



An individually numbered embossed metal plate is another special feature of this reward.

Head over to the project page for more images of these extravagant and gorgeous collectors pieces.

Kickstarter link

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cardcollection/shanhai-v2-playing-cards-by-ark