Interference - Playing Cards by James Haney (KS)

[rousselle]

On Kickstarter now:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1312783053/interference-playing-card-deck



I didn't notice anywhere if he mentioned where the cards will be manufactured.

[Don Boyer]

My take:

His "interference" pattern is also known as a moire pattern (I'm too lazy to find the "e" with an accent on it, plus I don't know if it would be accent acute or accent grave).  Those are hard to stare at after a while.  The level of detail he's displaying is nice - but would it really print out that clearly?

The concept of court vaguely shaped like the suits they're in is interesting, but doesn't translate well - had I not seen it in his description, I would likely never have realized it.  It's like what they say about jokes: if you have to explain it, it wasn't that good in the first place.

He observed two of the design conventions that players look for in a deck - the "suicide King" and the "one-eyed Jacks."  But here's what he left out:

• King of Spades should have two eyes and face just right of center
• Queen of Spades (the "Bedpost Queen") carries a long scepter and a yellow flower, not a black one.
• Jack of Spades appears to be the only one that's close enough to pass!
• King of Hearts should have a second, empty hand stroking his robe's lapel.
• Queen of Hearts carries a yellow flower, not a censer.
• Jack of Hearts, in addition to having an axe, has a yellow feather in his other hand and faces left, not right.
• King of Clubs carries a censer in one hand, sword in the other - and doesn't carry a scepter.
• Queen of Clubs has a yellow flower, not a red one.
• Jack of Clubs also has a yellow feather in his crown.
• King of Diamonds should have a second hand, shown empty.
• Queen of Diamonds carries a yellow flower, not a red one.
• Jack of Diamonds carries a halberd, not the odd double-sided crescent-thingy he has here.

All of those conventions are carried over primarily for the benefit of card players.  But most card players will want a "poker set" - two identical decks with different back colors.  As no second deck is in the making from what's been posted, what's the point of trying to follow any of the court conventions from the International Standard in the first place?

Has ANYONE here heard of ""Soft Touch Magic Black" paper stock?  Because apparently it's what he's using on the tuck box.  I could just as easily say that the tuck box is "Amarillo Armadillo-Grade Air-Sensitive Antiviral Fat-Free Stock with No Sugar Added" - doesn't mean a blasted thing unless you can connect it with a printer - and even then there's no guarantee it'll make any sense!

This isn't an awful deck by any means - but it has room for improvement, in both design and presentation.  And for a single deck design from something other than a major name-brand printer, that goal is way too high, as are the per-deck prices.

[Fess]

Has ANYONE here heard of ""Soft Touch Magic Black" paper stock?

Soft touch is a grade of paper used by USPCC. Pretty good stuff.

[Will W.]

I really like the back design. It's stimulating to eyes, yes, but not so overly done that it's going to burn out your retinas.  The custom courts being melded into the pips gives them an almost semi-transformational feel.  Granted some need some major retooling  (mostly the spades) but some are done quite well.   The whole deck has a crisp and clean feel to it.  Probably because of the smaller sized courts and the amount of white space around them. But overall I think it all comes together very well. 

[PurpleIce]

Has ANYONE here heard of ""Soft Touch Magic Black" paper stock?

Soft touch is a grade of paper used by USPCC. Pretty good stuff.

That's something new i heard. How many different type and what's the difference?

[jhaneyzz]

To answer a couple of open questions presented here on my deck project.

The deck will be printed by the Unites States Playing Card Company.

"Soft Touch Magic Black" is indeed the brand name of one of the six paper stocks used by USPCC in the making of their tuck boxes.

I am still working on several of the court cards as well as the Jokers. So hopefully you all will be more and more pleased as I make further updates.

My goal wasn't to adhere completely to all of the court conventions, only to be compatible with the games I am familiar with. If I have left out compatibility with any well known games, let me know and I could make some changes to the courts.

Thanks for discussing my deck.

James

[Don Boyer]

To answer a couple of open questions presented here on my deck project.

The deck will be printed by the Unites States Playing Card Company.

"Soft Touch Magic Black" is indeed the brand name of one of the six paper stocks used by USPCC in the making of their tuck boxes.

I am still working on several of the court cards as well as the Jokers. So hopefully you all will be more and more pleased as I make further updates.

My goal wasn't to adhere completely to all of the court conventions, only to be compatible with the games I am familiar with. If I have left out compatibility with any well known games, let me know and I could make some changes to the courts.

Thanks for discussing my deck.

James

Thanks for stopping in, James.

I was unaware of the in-house names USPC is using for the tuck stocks these days.

As far as the courts, why limit yourself to the International Standard in the first place?  Your deck is not really aimed at poker players - it's aimed at collectors.  The only decks a poker player's going to spend more than four bucks on will be made of plastic, and they aren't going to play with a deck that doesn't come as part of a two-deck matching set with different-colored backs.

Look at theory11's deck, "The Sentinels."  It's sold out now (which surprised the heck out of me) but they went completely original with their courts and it looked fantastic, filled with assorted symbology and nothing at all like the International Standard.

The point is: either do it and go whole hog, or set it aside and make something original.  Believe it or not, some neighborhood poker players make some whacky choices for what they want in wild cards - it's why I mentioned all those features.  One-eyed Jacks and Suicide Kings aren't the only options.  Bedpost Queen, One-eyed Kings, Sword Bearers, Empty Hands - you name it, some goofball dreamed it up.  To accurately replicate that experience, you pretty much want to hit as many design features of the IS courts as you can - or, like I said, drop it completely and be original.

And if you're going to stick to pip-shaped people, find a better way to convey the concept.  Perhaps if the torso design contained the whole pip shape, but the inverted characters meet somewhere below the waist.  In essence, imagine you have a Two of Clubs with really large pips - you draw each pip into a torso, in the same orientation as that pip, then draft an entire body around it.  The two bodies join in the card's center at about waist or pelvis, and now you got a card that REALLY conveys the pip-shaped court concept without it having to be explained.  It's one of several possible ways to go.

Check with USPC to insure they can print the level of detail you're looking for in that card back.  It's not to my tastes, but there are some who may appreciate it.  Cardists who go for something a bit flashier might enjoy the design.

[Fess]

Two campaigns at the same time. That's a bit on the nutter butter side of things in my opinion. Have to call these and those a pass for me now. Seems a whole lot difficult to accomplish both at once regardless of the paper used.

I don't think I would have had any bother doing so when I first started backing projects on KS. Being a backer for going on three years and making friends, I know one campaign at a time is stressful and difficult enough. Two at once, I'm smelling disaster. Seen too many people implode.

[HudsonDesign]

Two campaigns at the same time. That's a bit on the nutter butter side of things in my opinion. Have to call these and those a pass for me now. Seems a whole lot difficult to accomplish both at once regardless of the paper used.

I don't think I would have had any bother doing so when I first started backing projects on KS. Being a backer for going on three years and making friends, I know one campaign at a time is stressful and difficult enough. Two at once, I'm smelling disaster. Seen too many people implode.

110%  Without a doubt.

Insane decision for sure.  There is enough competition between so many decks as it is without competing with yourself too should be mentioned.

But the work involved in running a project, and thats before even fulfilling it, is mental.  This was a crazy decision. Especially for the first time. 

Best of luck though, I'd be truly impressed if you pulled it off.

[Don Boyer]

I just spotted this.

Wow.  Seasoned pros tend to avoid running simultaneous projects like this.  James, you may be the nicest guy in the world, but with launching the second project you've set yourself up for major uphill climb.  Your pricing hasn't improved, and neither has the goal size.  There will be those who suspect one of two potential scenarios will occur.

1) They see that you're running two deck projects at once, realize how difficult a feat that is to pull off, and end up investing in neither deck.

2) They see that you're a completely new variable, no projects under your belt, and that you have high goals and prices for what's being offered.  Decks with bells and whistles command those prices - custom seals with serial numbers, foil-stamped and embossed tuck boxes, etc.  They might get the impression that you're a "take-the-money-and-run" type and stay away from both projects.  There's just enough people out there who've been burned by projects that fail to deliver and don't refund the investment that they see two simultaneous projects as a red flag indicating a potential rip-off.  "Why didn't he wait to launch the second project?," they'll ask.  "Is it because he's planning to take the funds and run and wants to get a big hit on more than one front?"

Both scenarios could be utterly, patently ridiculous.  And that doesn't matter in the slightest if that's what potential backers think may happen.  Write whatever glowing description of yourself you can devise, mention you're a member of your local Chamber of Commerce, say you're highly rated with the Better Business Bureau - they still don't know you from a hole in the wall and none of that will matter.

I'd advise you to cancel a project now, while it's still in the early stages, run the other one all the way to delivery, THEN tackle project number two.  You'll be a known quantity by then and people will be more inclined to trust you, particularly if your first project went off without a hitch.

[Don Boyer]

The conversation on the new deck, Chevron, should continue in that deck's new topic.