An unusual card question for the experts

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Captain Skyfish
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An unusual card question for the experts

Unread post by Captain Skyfish »

Hi all, I'm designing a puzzle for an escape room that requires a specific set of card characteristics. I was hoping you all could offer some suggestions on which deck I should buy.

The puzzle involves the players finding the cards and matching them to a pattern based on scent. So they would need the following characteristics:

1: The theme is Martian sci-fi horror. So they should have excellent art (doesn't necessarily have to be in space, but should be kind of scary). [MURRAY]

2: They need to be at least somewhat absorbent. I got these really great looking Day of The Dead ones by Gent, but the trouble is that they are 100% plastic and so every scent I apply to them just slides off. I've been experimenting with different scent carriers and it seems like essential oils are the least evaporative, but I still need a card set that is some kind of paper stock to soak it in. In other words, cards that are pretty much the opposite of what people might normally go for, for fear of spilling their drink on them.

3: It needs to be standard numbering. As in, 2-10, JKQA (so something like Tarot wouldn't work well).

Your suggestions and links to where I could buy them are appreciated.
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ecNate
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Re: An unusual card question for the experts

Unread post by ecNate »

Clearly this is the deck you want - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14 ... ying-cards

The company that made them, 4 Corner Fingerboards, no longer has them on their site though. You could try contacting them to see if they still have some around or if you need a bunch maybe they could do a special printing just for you at makeplayingcards.com. If you only need a few, keep watching ebay or they do have them on their amazon site https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RNP4LC8

For a kid friendly version the Marvin the Martian is a good choice. https://www.amazon.com/Looney-Tunes-Mar ... 00TSWJS40/

Spraying a scent on them with aerosol is one thing, but soaking them in a solution for anything more than a super quick dip is sure to eventually ruin the cards since the edges will absorb the liquid and quickly deteriorate.

Good luck.


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Justin O.
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Re: An unusual card question for the experts

Unread post by Justin O. »

Without knowing the style direction you are going I might offer the Grid series by 4PM designs, while not overtly horror, they definitely have a sci-fi style that could feel really thematic if you want something that fits the theme more than points a finger at it.

The Grid
Grid 2.0
Grid 3.0

Along the same vein would be Bicycle Red Core
And I also like the Bicycle Dark Templar. Which might be the closest of my picks to horror

What kind of feel are you going for?


Edit: I'mma keep droping any I find that might work
Dark Suits - Not alien, but creepy with a hint of sci-fi
Bicycle Lunar, Mars and Neptune - a little less alien/horror but maybe..?
Infinity - a good Giger-esque card back with standard faces
Deck One - Another abstractly dark deck, industrial, but depending on your theme, the menacing mechanical style could work. Also standard courts
Stardeck - Maybe too colorful for a horror theme, but aliens!
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Re: An unusual card question for the experts

Unread post by Azid »

Maybe you this could be also something for you, in addition to the decks that already named.

Bicycle Evolution:
A very futuristic deck, available in lots of magic shops. This was made with a blue and red back design but numbers and suits are not easy to identify.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/el ... cards-deck" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hellsgate:
A real scary deck, but not space themed. Could be harder to find, especially the limited version with black faces.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/si ... ying-cards" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: An unusual card question for the experts

Unread post by rousselle »

Okay, you have two distinct issues here. The first is solving a technical problem: finding a deck that can absorb the scents you wish to imbue them with while still remaining a usable, functional deck of playing cards. The second problem is finding a design that will work well with your theme.

Issue #1: I recommend you pick up a few cheap-but-representative decks from the major playing card manufacturers. Get a couple decks of Bicycles or Mavericks to represent the low-end of USPCC, and a couple decks of Bees to represent USPCC's higher end, "casino grade" playing cards. Hit up http://makeplayingcards.com (MPC) for a couple sample decks of their own (preferable without their foiled or embossed cards, since those are likely to add unnecessary cost to your project). Grab a couple of the least expensive decks of "Superior Brand" playing cards from http://shop.conjuringarts.org/store/pc/home.asp -- these will represent Expert Playing Card Company (EPCC) and Legends Playing Card Company (LPCC -- both have their decks produced at the same facility). You might also want to look around for the most inexpensive Noir Arts decks you can find, and WJP (I can't recall the full name of this manufacturer off the top of my head).

Do all of them do what you need? Do none of them? Do some and not others? If it turns out that some work for your purposes and others do not, then we can use that as a starting point for honing in on your options. If they all work, then you have a wide open field.

Issue #1, Part 2: How many decks do you expect to go through over what period of time? Since you will be infusing these decks with scented oils, you will be decreasing their usable lifespan. How much gameplay do you expect the decks to experience? Will cards likely be singled out and destroyed as part of your puzzle? If you think a deck will last a month or longer, you can get away with grabbing a smaller quantity than if you think a deck might only last a few days or a week or two. Keep in mind that at a casino, a casino-grade (ie, high quality) deck of card-stock cards (as opposed to all plastic) won't last more than a day. But, if the decks are not particularly abused, and are only used to play a round of solitaire a few times per evening, well, each deck of yours could conceivably last for months at a time.

Having an idea of the kind of quantities you are likely to burn through would inform your decision on whether to pick up a few decks of an out-of-print design or sticking with something that is more easily available.

Issue #3: Then, there's what designs would work for you. Have you looked at the suggestions above yet? What are you thinking? Give us your feedback, and maybe we can offer up some more targeted ideas. :-)

Cheers!
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Captain Skyfish
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Re: An unusual card question for the experts

Unread post by Captain Skyfish »

Thank you all for your suggestions. I especially like the style of Dark Suits and Hellsgate. They are creepy and very individualized.

Rousselle, you have well identified my challenge. I'm looking for great art, in what effectively amounts to LOW QUALITY cards. To answer your questions, yes I do expect the cards to be damaged by this process. The escape room players will find a handful of cards scattered around the room, and will determine by scent the order they go in to solve a combination lock. So they don't need to remain playable.

In order to find a card type that absorbtive, what keywords should I really be looking for? I come across terms like paper-cotton, vinyl, plastic, pvc, air cushion, varnish, blue core, black core. What keywords would I want for "least water resistant."
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Re: An unusual card question for the experts

Unread post by Justin O. »

Captain Skyfish wrote:What keywords would I want for "least water resistant."
Vinyl, PVC and plastic cards will be the least water resistant, but you would be very hard pressed to find a plastic deck of cards that met your theme, I personally haven't seen a deck of plastic horror/alien/creepy/dark cards, usually they are just normal playing cards. You could always laminate them...?
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Re: An unusual card question for the experts

Unread post by rousselle »

Justin O. wrote:
Captain Skyfish wrote:What keywords would I want for "least water resistant."
Vinyl, PVC and plastic cards will be the least water resistant, but you would be very hard pressed to find a plastic deck of cards that met your theme, I personally haven't seen a deck of plastic horror/alien/creepy/dark cards, usually they are just normal playing cards. You could always laminate them...?
Hey, Justin, I think you're thinking the opposite of what he's looking for. He's looking for *least* water *resistant*. So, PVC, vinyl, and plastic would be *most* water *resistant*.

Captain, seriously: buy a deck of Bicycles (hell, you probably already own a deck) at any local drug store for a few bucks, and test it out. If that suits your needs, we can guide you down the path you're looking for. If not... then this idea just got a whole lot trickier. :-)

In the end, I suspect you will want something that's either in-print or something you can commission a design for and then get batches made on-the-cheap from MPC. But, let's start with bikes and see if they work for you. :-)
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Justin O.
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Re: An unusual card question for the experts

Unread post by Justin O. »

rousselle wrote:Hey, Justin, I think you're thinking the opposite of what he's looking for. He's looking for *least* water *resistant*. So, PVC, vinyl, and plastic would be *most* water *resistant*.
Yeah, haha, you're totally right, I completely got that backwards!!

I agree with Rousselle, might be worth it to have some cheap decks made the way you want through makeplayingcards.com, you could have only the cards you need specifically (if not a full deck) printed several times in one deck
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