Fontaine playing cards

[PurpleIce]

I've heard that the long and arduous design process is already in place for his next deck...


<Heads, green. Tails, yellow.>

My money is on purple 

[Card Player]

My money's on a Fontaine Pattern Back like Kings or Dealers.

f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f

Cut, Paste & Done.

[Rob Wright]

My money's on a Fontaine Pattern Back like Kings or Dealers.

f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f

Cut, Paste & Done.

I think you're onto something there, but I think we will see Green Fontaine's first.

[Don Boyer]

My money's on a Fontaine Pattern Back like Kings or Dealers.

f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f

Cut, Paste & Done.

I think you're onto something there, but I think we will see Green Fontaine's first.

Oh, how very Blue Crown of him!  Or is it more like being very Arrco, since those reprints came first, I think...

There's just so much I could say, but it's like shooting very large ducks in a very small barrel...

Here's to Zach - let's all give him a big "f"!


               ffffffffff
             fff
            fff
            fff
fffffffffffffffffffffffff
            fff
            fff
            fff
            fff
            fff
            fff
            fff
            fff


Here's one really big "f" for you, Zach!  Enjoy your success!! 

I would say let's get back on topic, but seriously, how much can you say about a plain-jane design like this one and how much of that has already been said?  This would be an awesome deck to me - if I found it on the shelf at Walmart next to the Bicycles and selling for about fifty cents less per pack...

Rule of thumb for budding designers reading this: if your design is not as interesting as a pack of Bicycles or Bees from the corner store, Walmart or 7-11, RETHINK your design.  This falls under the category of JAFDFJAFD - bonus points to anyone who can figure that out!  The "process" consisted of finding a font with a nice-looking "f" in it.  That's it - that's the whole process!  Were you expecting a novel or something?

I'm trying to picture me using this deck.   "Hey, magic man, what's the 'f' stand for?"  Fontaine!  "Fontaine what?  Is it like a hotel or a casino or something?"  No, man - just Fontaine!  "You mean it's not even like a guy's name or something?"  No, it's not!  "Well, that's pretty effin' dumb, ain't it?"

Drat...looks like I ran out of shells after all...hey, everybody: duck dinner, grade A jumbo!  And we need some duct tape for the barrel!

[Rose]

I don't get it, I would like to able to say he earned this but after reading this comment "I designed one night in photoshop for fun." I can't say that is true. I am guessing the Orange and Red decks are selling for that much because of rarity. The Blue decks cannot be called rare. It does seem like this COPY PASTE RINSE REPEAT works for him though.

[Card Player]

Oh, how very Blue Crown of him!  Or is it more like being very Arrco, since those reprints came first, I think...

Do my eyes deceive me? How very Un-Don Boyer of you. I like it! lol

In all seriousness... I generally don't have a problem with a color change. As simple as it is, the story behind how it came to be "The Fontaine Deck" is interesting enough to build momentum as a brand. I keep having to remind myself he's only 19 years old. I was in my sophomore year of college at his age and still did not know what I wanted to do with my life. He has direction and "relevant" work experience (t11) already. I never bought a Fontaine Deck but I've seen worse. Yes, worse will be created because of decks like this.

[BiggerDee]

The simple design and color change, we've all seen a thousand times before. What gives this discussion and head-scratching so much lift is the ravenous followers who buy each new recolor faster than the last one. NOCs are simple and have a ton of colors, but they don't "Burn up the charts" like Fontaine's do.

Full disclosure: I own a quantity of the reds, and a far smaller quantity of the blues. I buy a lot of different decks that come out and something about the reds just seemed simple and fun, and I had never backed an Indiegogo at the time, so I thought "Why Not?". I bought a couple of the blues just to have a few sets since the red ones shot off to the moon after the campaign. I think that I bought literally 3 blues. I won't be involved with the new color.

It's interesting to watch a product buck all of what would seem right and sane and sell like it does. It's fun to treat it as a sociology experiment and follow the herd to see why they are doing what they are doing, when FAR more deserving designs falter. A marketing study, if you will.

Don, it's hard to get back on topic with the Fontaines because once you've talked about the design for 5 seconds, there's isn't anything left to say! :-)

[Don Boyer]

I don't get it, I would like to able to say he earned this but after reading this comment "I designed one night in photoshop for fun." I can't say that is true. I am guessing the Orange and Red decks are selling for that much because of rarity. The Blue decks cannot be called rare. It does seem like this COPY PASTE RINSE REPEAT works for him though.

Orange?  That's a new one on me!  Does his creativity know no bounds? 

Oh, how very Blue Crown of him!  Or is it more like being very Arrco, since those reprints came first, I think...

Do my eyes deceive me? How very Un-Don Boyer of you. I like it! lol

In all seriousness... I generally don't have a problem with a color change. As simple as it is, the story behind how it came to be "The Fontaine Deck" is interesting enough to build momentum as a brand. I keep having to remind myself he's only 19 years old. I was in my sophomore year of college at his age and still did not know what I wanted to do with my life. He has direction and "relevant" work experience (t11) already. I never bought a Fontaine Deck but I've seen worse. Yes, worse will be created because of decks like this.

"Un-Don Boyer of me?"  You haven't caught me on the wrong day! 

I, too, have no problem with color changes in general.  But this is a "design" only in the laziest sense of the word...  Made it in one night - his parents must be very proud.  But hey, he's making money at it, so how awful can it be, especially if it inspires so many other lazy, tired designs from teenagers wanting a drink at the money trough?

The simple design and color change, we've all seen a thousand times before. What gives this discussion and head-scratching so much lift is the ravenous followers who buy each new recolor faster than the last one. NOCs are simple and have a ton of colors, but they don't "Burn up the charts" like Fontaine's do.

Full disclosure: I own a quantity of the reds, and a far smaller quantity of the blues. I buy a lot of different decks that come out and something about the reds just seemed simple and fun, and I had never backed an Indiegogo at the time, so I thought "Why Not?". I bought a couple of the blues just to have a few sets since the red ones shot off to the moon after the campaign. I think that I bought literally 3 blues. I won't be involved with the new color.

It's interesting to watch a product buck all of what would seem right and sane and sell like it does. It's fun to treat it as a sociology experiment and follow the herd to see why they are doing what they are doing, when FAR more deserving designs falter. A marketing study, if you will.

Don, it's hard to get back on topic with the Fontaines because once you've talked about the design for 5 seconds, there's isn't anything left to say! :-)

At least with the NOCs, there's been changes in every single version, changes more substantial than moving a few color settings around.  Version 2 had simplified courts and a marking system, Version 3 had a new tuck box and a new printer.  All this has is a few shifts of the color sliders - and this being black, it was the easiest of all colors to find next to white!

You have to hand it to him that he's found a way to both make cash for a few finger strokes AND suck the originality out of the custom deck market.

[Rose]

I don't get it, I would like to able to say he earned this but after reading this comment "I designed one night in photoshop for fun." I can't say that is true. I am guessing the Orange and Red decks are selling for that much because of rarity. The Blue decks cannot be called rare. It does seem like this COPY PASTE RINSE REPEAT works for him though.

Orange?  That's a new one on me!  Does his creativity know no bounds? 

Oh wait, that is just the red ones on his ebay image, sorry.

[Don Boyer]

I don't get it, I would like to able to say he earned this but after reading this comment "I designed one night in photoshop for fun." I can't say that is true. I am guessing the Orange and Red decks are selling for that much because of rarity. The Blue decks cannot be called rare. It does seem like this COPY PASTE RINSE REPEAT works for him though.

Orange?  That's a new one on me!  Does his creativity know no bounds? 

Oh wait, that is just the red ones on his ebay image, sorry.

No sweat - I figured that was the case, anyway!  Just pulling' your chain for a bit!

[Justin O.]

I'm trying to picture me using this deck.   "Hey, magic man, what's the 'f' stand for?"  Fontaine!  "Fontaine what?  Is it like a hotel or a casino or something?"  No, man - just Fontaine!  "You mean it's not even like a guy's name or something?"  No, it's not!  "Well, that's pretty effin' dumb, ain't it?"

Fontaine is the name of one of his early magic tricks or cardist routines, something like that, I appreciate where the name comes from. I am jealous he is making so much money off of color reprints of the same deck, but I do think it is an attractive, if simple, design, independant of whether it took time, skill or effort to create.

[hecrob]

Well first... Happy New Year to everybody... 


Now i don't like the Fontaine cards... reasons were explained by everybody here... Its just not a good design...

But all the kids want the cards... its crazy... i started a preorder on this new black fontaines and im sold out of 36 decks that i originally ordered.

Its so  popular...  That it forced me, a small card store in méxico, to get a lot of those cards.

The only other cards that were equally wanted were the KINGS (the very first run they made) and the Red gatorbacks (the unattainable deck of cards that its selling for 5 times its original price).

So the kid (which is so easy to hate because of his ego) was successful on creating a deck of cards and selling it to everybody.

 

[Don Boyer]

Well first... Happy New Year to everybody... 


Now i don't like the Fontaine cards... reasons were explained by everybody here... Its just not a good design...

But all the kids want the cards... its crazy... i started a preorder on this new black fontaines and im sold out of 36 decks that i originally ordered.

Its so  popular...  That it forced me, a small card store in méxico, to get a lot of those cards.

The only other cards that were equally wanted were the KINGS (the very first run they made) and the Red gatorbacks (the unattainable deck of cards that its selling for 5 times its original price).

So the kid (which is so easy to hate because of his ego) was successful on creating a deck of cards and selling it to everybody.

It's really simple.  You're in a business.  You don't have to love the deck, you don't even have to use the deck - you just have to find customers willing to BUY the deck at a profit for you.  It appears you've found that and then some.

[Rob Wright]

DANIELmadison

7 hrs ·
.

Who can put me in touch with Mr Fontaine?

Probably wants to ask him what color the next DM deck should be. 

[Don Boyer]

DANIELmadison

7 hrs ·
.

Who can put me in touch with Mr Fontaine?

Probably wants to ask him what color the next DM deck should be. 

I hope he didn't honestly think there was a "Mr. Fontaine" anywhere.  It's like me asking him how Mr. Kings, Mrs. Gamblers, Mr. Players and Ms. Hustlers are doing...