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Nurul · « **on:** August 03, 2014, 06:53:51 AM »

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/394719098/kids-deck-playing-cards-designed-for-kids

Here's a fun little deck for the little ones and magicians who perform for children. Originally there was a bicycle version, but doesn't seem like he's doing a branded bike version anymore. Will update when I get answers.
The following is taken from Facebook. I've invited the creator to come and tell us a bit more about the deck.

"I am excited to introduce The Kids Deck. A deck of cards specifically designed for kids and magicians. 3 decks in total, a red & blue backed deck containing 52 beautifully hand drawn cards done in a kids style, two fun jokers, and a double backed blue/red card to be used for awesome magic tricks. The third deck was spawned from my time as an elementary school teacher. We call this the ABC123 deck which includes alphabet cards (A-Z) and numbers (1-26). Kids will be able to practice multiplication with the numbers and memory games with the letters. And magicians will no longer need to use boring black block letters when magically spelling a persons name. The decks will be printed by the USPCC at the highest standards.

The Kids Deck will be on kickstarter later this month. At certain reward tiers, decks will include an instructional DVD titled "Card Tricks For Kids...No Rabbits Required", fun T-shirts, and full card sheets to hang on the wall."

Don Boyer · « **Reply #1 on:** August 03, 2014, 07:00:22 AM »

Looks almost like it's drawn for kids by kids! (That's not a knock - I perform at a hospital and don't usually deal with children younger than 4 or 5 because they tend to want to eat the cards...

Perhaps you should suggest he make an all-plastic version! Something too thick to bite through!

Truth be told, sometimes when I do get younger kids, they don't immediately recognize the finer points of a card's suit or what the court cards are. I usually have to have the parent clued in to help. A deck like the ABC123 deck would be good for kids that young. Once they're a bit older and have learned to play with cards, then I can use a standard deck and they at least have some idea about what the cards are.

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #2 on:** August 03, 2014, 01:29:33 PM »

Thanks for the post. I will post more pictures in the next few days. Kickstarter will go live around August 15th

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #3 on:** August 03, 2014, 10:57:35 PM »

I have a few favorites from the spades and the 7 is one of the them

Rose · « **Reply #4 on:** August 03, 2014, 11:12:19 PM »

The pictures are really adorable, I only just realised they had numbers and pips on them, I illustrated a children's alphabet book and it did occur to me a few times that there were 56 pages and a deck has 56 cards, but then I thought children don't play cards too much but your project that focuses on education is great, it's good you have experience with being a teacher, you probably know exactly what they need, I would like to see more colour and easier to read cards, but what do I know, good luck with your project!

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #5 on:** August 04, 2014, 03:04:04 PM »

Queen of Hearts

Rob Wright · « **Reply #6 on:** August 05, 2014, 12:04:17 AM »

Justin, welcome to the forum.
I really like these. I think it will really hit home with the younger kids, and magicians that perform for kids-like Don. Looks to be a real fun deck. At the right price point, it will make nice gifts as well. What was your inspiration for the whole project?

Having 3 versions means a 7500 print run. That will have to be a pretty big KS campaign. Are you going to start out with all 3, or add them in as stretch goals?
Either way good luck.

When you get a chance, stop by the Introduce Yourself thread. Tell us a little about yourself, and how you got into playing cards.

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #7 on:** August 05, 2014, 12:47:12 AM »

Quote from: Rob Wright on August 05, 2014, 12:04:17 AM

Justin, welcome to the forum.
I really like these. I think it will really hit home with the younger kids, and magicians that perform for kids-like Don. Looks to be a real fun deck. At the right price point, it will make nice gifts as well. What was your inspiration for the whole project?

Having 3 versions means a 7500 print run. That will have to be a pretty big KS campaign. Are you going to start out with all 3, or add them in as stretch goals?
Either way good luck.

When you get a chance, stop by the Introduce Yourself thread. Tell us a little about yourself, and how you got into playing cards.

Hi Rob, and thanks for welcoming me. You guys are swell...did that sound like Pleasantville? Anyway I did go ahead and introduce myself which will probably answer many of your questions of why I started this deck. Besides being a magician I have over 100 magic students and I really wanted a deck that was designed for kids. I am all about artsy decks but kids don't care about that kind of stuff. They want things that are fun and thats what I wanted to bring to the table.

To answer your other question, yes all 3 decks will be part of the campaign. It will be a big undertaking but I have done quite a few projects and to be truthful, my books were a lot more work. So far, dealing with USPCC and my design team has been awesome. And I have a good following that has been very supportive.

Hope you all enjoy and thanks for chatting with me!

Nurul · « **Reply #8 on:** August 05, 2014, 06:37:51 AM »

I've showed some of these pictures to my niece and she absolutely loves them.

Is it the same cards in the blue & red deck?
Do you have any cards to show from the ABC123 deck?

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #9 on:** August 05, 2014, 08:41:48 AM »

Quote from: Nurul on August 05, 2014, 06:37:51 AM

I've showed some of these pictures to my niece and she absolutely loves them.

Is it the same cards in the blue & red deck?
Do you have any cards to show from the ABC123 deck?

Awesome, glad she likes them! The Red & Blue deck have the same fronts but different backs...obviously being red and blue but also a different design.

Here are some of the ABC cards...super bright to catch the attention for magic as well for kids learning.

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #10 on:** August 05, 2014, 11:57:21 AM »

2 of Clubs...also one of my favorites for how bright and the different shades of green.

Rose · « **Reply #11 on:** August 05, 2014, 02:40:36 PM »

The queen of hearts is awesome, did you draw these with your left hand? Or right? I have to agree with Rob that doing all 3 decks is a big project to reach. Good Luck, let us know if you need anything!

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #12 on:** August 05, 2014, 04:10:47 PM »

Quote from: Rose on August 05, 2014, 02:40:36 PM

The queen of hearts is awesome, did you draw these with your left hand? Or right? I have to agree with Rob that doing all 3 decks is a big project to reach. Good Luck, let us know if you need anything!

No, I have a wonderful artist and design team. With kid cards I know it seems like you can draw anything but everything has to be done a certain way

We are very excited about the decks and have some great stretch goals for you.

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #13 on:** August 06, 2014, 09:48:01 AM »

Jack of Spades.

Don Boyer · « **Reply #14 on:** August 06, 2014, 09:56:36 AM »

Quote from: Justin Meitz on August 06, 2014, 09:48:01 AM

Jack of Spades.

I would seriously advise against calling your pirate Jack Sparrow. The character of Jack Sparrow from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies is a Disney property - and they tend to defend their IP rather vigorously! We're talking about the company that successfully lobbied Congress to extend copyrights by a ridiculous number of years in order to keep Mickey Mouse out of the public domain!

Just call him Jack - plain ol' Jack, or Jack O'Spades!

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #15 on:** August 06, 2014, 10:25:01 AM »

Quote from: Don Boyer on August 06, 2014, 09:56:36 AM

Quote from: Justin Meitz on August 06, 2014, 09:48:01 AM
Jack of Spades.

I would seriously advise against calling your pirate Jack Sparrow. The character of Jack Sparrow from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies is a Disney property - and they tend to defend their IP rather vigorously! We're talking about the company that successfully lobbied Congress to extend copyrights by a ridiculous number of years in order to keep Mickey Mouse out of the public domain!

Just call him Jack - plain ol' Jack, or Jack O'Spades!

Thanks for the suggestion Don. I actually reached out to a magician friend, Jack Spareribs, who performs full time as a Jack Sparrow look alike. We talked about this and will probably indeed tweak this card slightly. They own Jack Sparrow, but Captain Jack is pretty common. Also liked your suggestions. Thanks for taking the time to give your opinion

Don Boyer · « **Reply #16 on:** August 06, 2014, 07:00:37 PM »

Quote from: Justin Meitz on August 06, 2014, 10:25:01 AM

Thanks for the suggestion Don. I actually reached out to a magician friend, Jack Spareribs, who performs full time as a Jack Sparrow look alike. We talked about this and will probably indeed tweak this card slightly. They own Jack Sparrow, but Captain Jack is pretty common. Also liked your suggestions. Thanks for taking the time to give your opinion

"Captain Jack" will work for the kids, sort of - you have to bear in mind that it's a popular nickname for Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey...

Billy Joel used it in the lyrics of one of his earlier songs. "Captain Jack will get you high tonight..."

Rob Wright · « **Reply #17 on:** August 06, 2014, 10:06:26 PM »

Quote from: Don Boyer on August 06, 2014, 07:00:37 PM

Billy Joel used it in the lyrics of one of his earlier songs. "Captain Jack will get you high tonight..."

When is the last time anybody listened to Billy Joel?

..............back to the cards

How about Black Jack?

PurpleIce · « **Reply #18 on:** August 07, 2014, 02:54:01 AM »

I see that some cards (4oC & 5oH) are quite literal, as in it really shows the number of pips, compared to the others that looks more like a "transformation" deck. Will that be the direction that its heading? Or will there be changes and the 4 of Clubs will be something else again? (like the 2oC)

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #19 on:** August 07, 2014, 12:33:32 PM »

Quote from: PurpleIce on August 07, 2014, 02:54:01 AM

I see that some cards (4oC & 5oH) are quite literal, as in it really shows the number of pips, compared to the others that looks more like a "transformation" deck. Will that be the direction that its heading? Or will there be changes and the 4 of Clubs will be something else again? (like the 2oC)

That is a great question. That picture was an early design and after looking at all the cards, we realized some had what suits they were written and others had an actual number written. We wanted kids to be able to easily identify what suit and number they had in their hand. For example, if playing the game speed, we didn't want someone to sit there and count 8 little clubs. So every card now has a number and what suit it is written somewhere on the card. You will see this more clearly on the full card sheet on the kickstarter page. Hope that answered your question.

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #20 on:** August 07, 2014, 01:13:30 PM »

PurpleIce, here is a good example of that with the 10 of clubs.

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #21 on:** August 07, 2014, 06:54:09 PM »

Having fun today! Couple quick updates on the backs. The red deck as you see in the picture below will indeed be red. The blue back is actually changing to a different color and the blue back we will unveil next Friday. I hope you are as excited as I am. We showed this deck to kids today and they could not stop going through the pack looking at all the cards. Chat later friends!

Nurul · « **Reply #22 on:** August 08, 2014, 07:31:53 AM »

What do you mean change to a different colour? As in a different shade of blue? Is that the final design for the blue back? Because that looks good

Justin Meitz · « **Reply #23 on:** August 08, 2014, 12:00:50 PM »

Quote from: Nurul on August 08, 2014, 07:31:53 AM

What do you mean change to a different colour? As in a different shade of blue? Is that the final design for the blue back? Because that looks good

There are 3 decks, 3 different colors

The rest I am keeping you in suspense till next Friday!

sprouts1115 · « **Reply #24 on:** August 08, 2014, 08:20:21 PM »

@Justin - Your deck could be better. YOu have an art deck. So we should expect "1-way" courts and pip cards, but you still need to have indices. It make sense to have the courts spelled out "King", "Queen", "Jack" I get your theme but you need the suit indicator under the rank. Like in your queen just put a suit under the "Q" and your good. If you flip it and put it on the other side your golden. It's still a "1-way" front but the deck is functional.

I see the back of your card has the suits in it. It's been done many, many times. It makes your back "1-way" If you really want to use the suits that's fine, but make the the back somehow "2-way"