Original and Unusual Card Decks

Playing cards are almost as old as time itself. Ok, they're not quite as old as that, but they have been around for over 1,100 years, changing considerably over that time. Thought to have originated in China before migrating to Persia and into Europe, the faces of the cards have remained very similar for most of their existence. What we still consider today to be a regular deck of cards uses the same four suits (Hearts, Spades, Clubs, Diamonds) and two colours (usually red and black) to define each card, of which there are 52 to a deck.

Today, these cards could be used for any number of card games, such as Blackjack (which is a traditional thinking man's pursuit, dating back centuries) or Pontoon. While the cards' faces look largely unchanged, the themes on which they are based have become a very mixed bunch indeed. There are literally hundreds of amazing design concepts for new cards on the market, and we have selected a few of our favourites.

Cinematic Cards

Our first set is a Hollywood-inspired deck. Based on the 1980's Spielberg classic, The Goonies, this set was released by some inspired genius who utilised the mighty powers of Kickstarter to create the ideal deck for fans who love a slice of iconic Hollywood movie history in card form.

An equally iconic (if not even more so) movie from the 1980's is Ghostbusters. Officially licenced by Albino Dragon (who also produced The Goonies), each individual card in this deck features a different illustration and character from the classic comedy. For the one percent who don’t know, these characters include Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore and, of course, Slimer. Sticking with spooky decks of cards, another wonderful set available for purchase is the Tim Burton-themed deck. However, these are not based on his movies, but rather his book - The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories - and the cards each come with illustrations of the characters featured within.

Retuning to film, how about a pack of cards featuring the greatest martial arts superstar of them all, Bruce Lee? These cards come in the same colours as Lee's legendary, iconic yellow jumpsuit, which, in all honesty, can be a little confusing when used for gaming. That said, such is the brilliance of the product that you will soon move past this and enjoy your game of choice. These cards also contain quotes on their backside, written across a Kung Fu-style black belt for the perfect tribute to the man himself.

The short-lived TV show Firefly, which drew a cult following in its short, little lifespan, provides the theme for our next set. The show was brought to audiences under the creative inspirations of Joss Whedon, and many of its army of fans are still sulking about the forced ending of their favourite TV sci-fi show. These cards, then, might allow them to draw a little comfort. Elsewhere, we have a set from movie director J.J. Abrams entitled "Mystery Box". These, as you may have guessed, are based on his Mystery Box Ted Talk. His film company, Bad Robot, has applied the "mystery" theme to this unique deck by wrapping each one individually in pressed paper with the Mystery Box Question Mark emblem emblazoned on top (and they look pretty cool, too).

A Design for Life

Moving away from popular culture, there is a modern art-style set brought to you from the designer Joe Doucet. His "Minimalist" collection aims to make his cards as simple as possible. They come in black or white, but instead of the usual illustrations, each card comes with a tiny number and small icon on the front, while the card backs feature a single, well-styled slash.

If, for some reason, all of this rummaging around the world of playing cards has made you hungry, then the next selection won't help at all. It is, however, a great idea for a deck of cards. Surely, bacon-themed cards are the absolute perfect thing for the hungry card players in your life, right? The face cards feature royal porkers, while the numbers are all written in strips of bacon. You didn't think these cards were actually made from bacon, did you? Now, that truly would be something!