The most annoying part of any card game is obviously the shuffling (unless you’re good at it). It seems like a laborious activity that almost always causes one or two stray cards to fly out and fall on the floor… and even after shuffling your cards, someone is bound to tell you that you did a terrible job because they got a dealt a bad hand. I’ve ruined many a deck shuffling cards that eventually got bent out of shape, and I’ve always thought of what life would be like if I had a machine that shuffled my cards for me. Turns out, Pedro Lara went and built himself one instead of buying it online. The LEGO Ornate Card Shuffler is a pretty nifty-looking functional shuffler that uses a combination of gears to accurately shuffle a deck with surprising consistency.
Designer: Pedro Lara
Although Lara doesn’t specify how many bricks were used to build the card shuffler, it’s worth admiring how the overall contraption is both functional and classy. The word ornate isn’t thrown in for nothing – the ‘black box’ has a variety of golden trims that add an aesthetic touch to the contraption. Two chambers on the left and right hold both halves of the deck, and once the shuffler gets to work, the cards are shuffled into a central deck, which can be pulled out thanks to a removable drawer.
The card shuffler utilizes LEGO Technic gears that connect both left and right chambers. The uppermost cards are pulled using friction from rubber tires. For people familiar with card games, the machine uses a variation of what’s called the Riffle Shuffle, which alternates the cards from the left and right, breaking any patterns within the existing deck. While Lara’s original design works with a LEGO electric motor, it can also be operated manually with a lever. The gear mechanism provides significant leverage, making manual shuffling a fun and efficient option.
A close look at the gear system under the hood of the LEGO Ornate Shuffler
Pedro Lara’s self-made design or MOC (My Own Creation) can be found on the LEGO Ideas Forum, an online dashboard where LEGO enthusiasts upload their own zany designs and have the community vote for their favorite creations. With just under 2000 votes, Lara’s design seems to be picking up traction and has even received a Staff Pick recommendation from the LEGO team. You can cast your vote for the LEGO Ornate Card Shuffler on the LEGO Ideas forum, and if it reaches the coveted 10,000 vote mark, it might just turn into an available retail box set!
The removable drawer that collects the cards after they’re shuffled.
I may be entering this article with a slight bias, but I assure you it’s a healthy one. I rarely feature graphical designs on this platform, but these steampunk-styled playing cards are hard to ignore! Designed with immaculately beautiful visuals, the Art Of Steampunk (Vol 2) cards are a full deck of traditional playing cards with a non-traditional twist. Each card comes with a unique hand-drawn graphic printed on the front, and a spectacular steampunk gearbox on the back. With detailed vibrant prints, metallic accents, and high-quality papers, the cards are printed by the United States Playing Card Company and come with the highest of standards.
With the Art Of Steampunk playing cards, each individual card is an artpiece in its own right. Depending on which deck you choose (and there are multiple artwork decks to choose from), you get access to a unique catalog of 54 works of art spanning human characters dressed in steampunk garb as well as numbers styled in the iconic punk fashion. The different decks of cards showcase characters like magicians, warlocks, courtsmen, mercenaries, jokers, plague doctors, etc., with special number-specific decks too, if you just want something less ‘collectible-worthy’ and more traditional. Each deck of cards come with a special ‘K’ branded Kickstarter commemorative card, and a card with the signatures of the artists behind the visuals. The Tuck Case for the Art Of Steampunk cards is just as eye-catching as the cards within, with its own gearbox-inspired graphic.
The Art Of Steampunk Vol. 2 cards feature artworks that are entirely hand-drawn by a dedicated team of artists. The cards are printed on special sustainably sourced ‘forest-paper’ by the UPSCC with metallic inks, before being laminated and finished with an air-cushion finish for that perfect texture associated with high-quality poker cards. Go ahead and reserve your deck (before they’re all sold out) on the Kickstarter page below… it should serve you well, either as a spectacularly made art-collectible worth cherishing or as a deck of playing cards worthy of showing off to your friends when everyone can finally begin hosting poker nights again!
The limited edition unique custom-made album goes in A4 format with Steampunk hand-drawings of all the court cards, aces and 2 jokers.
The Story
Once upon a time, in a Victorian era that never existed, the world was full of marvelous contraptions that were both functional and beautiful. Wondrous objects harnessed lightning, let individuals fly and travel through time, and protected their eyes in the most fashionable way. This is, in part, the vision of the Steampunk deck, a spinoff of science fiction.
The back design
Steampunk has a few interesting facts even for those aware of the culture, as well as giving newcomers a reasonable basis in the culture. The “steam” refers to steam power-as in fire-breathing machines of antique locomotion. The “punk” is an important reference to an outsider attitude. In The Art of Steampunk, VOL.2 you’ll discover the captivating and dynamic world of this emerging genre through the creative vision of today’s leading Steampunk artist.
A Look at Inspiring Steampunk Art
Iconic imagery and lots of metal detailing, luxury colors for 54 playing cards of steampunk art: they are mesmerizing, they are inspiring, and they could be a little dark sometimes. But no matter how violent or industrial you see these pieces to be, the ingenuity and creativity that lies behind them are just as inspiring as any other piece of art. With more than fifty two colorful playing cards, The Art of Steampunk, VOL.2 remains the unique deck on the subject of Steampunk.
A completely-custom & redesigned deck where all of the cards are unique!
– The Court Cards follow the characters in Steampunk outfit with heavy gun, bowler hat, goggle and military-inspired garments. – You see a huge contribution from the Victorian era: corsets, bustles, petticoats, and gowns – all with a modern twist to them.
– Accessories include parasols, timepieces, ray guns, and flying goggles.
– You also see a lot of post-apocalyptic elements like gas masks and ragged clothing.
– There is also military-inspired clothing, suits with waistcoats, top hats, and the like.
– The ACES are decorated in clockwork mechanism style with spiral springs and set of gears details.
– The JOKER card is a presentation of the distinctive “look” of a Plague Doctor.
Aristo Graphic Album Vol.2 Limited Edition. This unique custom-made album goes in A4 format with Steampunk hand-drawings of all the court cards, aces and 2 jokers.
– The PIPS combine elements of technofantasy imagery in mechanical steampunk style.
– In the VOL.2 the team decided to make classic Number Cards, with smooth and elegant design for those who use standard decks as a regular go-to, but still a pleasure to play and perform with.
Exquisite Custom Back Design: Inspired by old-world luxury, the line art pays homage to a vintage sophisticated aesthetic. The art in the backside is tastefully displayed with care to highlight the unique qualities that elicited the inclusion in the deck.
Deck Features
– Printed by The United States Playing Card Company.
– 100% completely custom designed cards, including art, pips, royalty, backs, everything.
– Packaged in a Custom Tuck Case.
– 56 cards including a full 52 card deck, plus 2 Jokers, the unique special “K” (Kickstarter) card & the card with Authors Signatures.
– Normal sized poker deck of playing cards.
– Air-Cushion Finish. Also known as Magic Finish.
– Traditional Cut.
– Everything is drawn by hand.
– The playing cards will have a metallic ink to make them shine more.
When we are traveling we don’t want to be carrying around excess baggage, so conserving space, no matter how small, is very important! This is precisely what makes Air Deck 2.0, the ultimate travel playing cards!
This deck of travel-optimized playing cards is the successor to the wildly successful Original Air Deck… and it brings with it some improvements! These changes center around the three new eye-catching designs, which consist of Classic, Warp Speed and Astronauts themed designs. Despite their compact dimensions, these cards are easy to work with; they each feature a slightly textured finish for better handling and a more enjoyable playing experience!
Like the original Air Deck they are waterproof, making them resistant to spills and allowing them to be washed… however, they have now been designed to be even more resistant to wear and tear… perfect!
And, as if you didn’t need any more reasons to invest in a deck, Mangrove trees will be planted to offset any CO2 emitted from the production and shipping of the cards!
In the process of creating the ultimate travel deck, they tried out over 50 different high-end plastic materials. The materials were taken through scratch, bending and handling tests to identify the best candidate. Finally, they ended up with a premium ‘casino quality’ PVC that has all the properties they want for their deck.
Features:
– 52 Playing Cards + 2 Jokers – Waterproof and washable – Compact travel-friendly size – Lightweight – Durable heavy-duty ‘casino quality’ 0.31mm PVC – Premium printing – Slightly textured on both sides for better handling – Sturdy 0.4mm waterproof synthetic paper tuck box – Playing card size : 3.43 x 1.26 inches (87 x 32mm)
While regular paper playing cards tear, stain, bend and break easily, Air Deck 2.0 is extremely durable.
The cards grip nicely and have a premium feel.
The Air Deck 2.0 takes up very little space and easily fits into your pocket.
The cards are 100% waterproof, so you can even use them in the pool or the bathtub.
Despite their smaller width, the cards are as easy to read as a standard sized decks. The full-sized length ensures that it also handles much like a full size deck, and the narrower width makes the deck fit nicely in the palm of your hands.
You could play Texas Hold’em on the internet via a website or an app, but there’s a different joy in being able to hold actual cards in your hand, in that fan orientation. There’s a different appeal to it because it’s MUCH more sensorial. You can see the cards, but you can also touch the cards, listen to the paper as the cards shuffle, probably smell them too. The fact that all your senses get engaged at the same time makes this vastly more appealing than just looking at a bunch of pixels on a screen.
The premise behind The Apothecary was to champion print, using techniques that engage your senses, to create a pack of cards that are just beyond beautiful. With incredible hand-made illustrations, remarkable print quality, metal foiling, and even gilding the entire pack (the shimmering metallic colors on the edges of the cards), The Apothecary feels precious, and instantly becomes a keepsake or a memento, rather than any ordinary pack of cards. Even the outer packaging is a thing of true wonder as it uses thermochromic paint to change color when your finger touches it.
The card-deck is designed to evoke a sense of mystery and fantasy, with its Ye Olde styling. Each card has hand-drawn illustrations that are then replicated in print, resulting in something that has a handcrafted appeal, but with finesse. The cards come in two styles (Sentiments and Virtues) and you can choose between the signature Black label and the color-changing White label. If you’re overly passionate about cardplaying, the cards even come in a hand-crafted ebony or red-oak cabinet case, adding another layer of mystique to remarkably pretty, multi-sensorial card-set that is The Apothecary.
From the award-winning card design company of the world’s first color changing cards, SEASONS returns with more interactive curiosities from the other side.
Below: Seronda Sentiments
Elegant silver foil highlights the deck.
Premium sculpted emboss tuck cases printed on exquisite linen-textured stock.
Mysterious “Ingredient Logs” and “Directions of Use” wrap each pack.
Below: Verna Virtues
Gorgeous gold hot foil stamp highlights the deck.
Upgraded sculpted embossed tuck cases printed on exquisite linen-textured stock.
Cards printed with our winning combo of linen (Aristocrat) stock and coated with premium magic finish for professional grade handling.
Mysterious “Ingredient Logs” and “Directions of Use” on each pack.
Below: Signature Black Label Virtues & Sentiments Upgrade
Hand engraved in gold and silver metallic ink.
Each sheet is hand run on press into premium black stock.
Hand signed, numbered, dated, and hand wrapped by the artist making each piece truly unique to your collection.
Below: White Label Color Changing Deck
Each deck is artfully GILDED BY HAND displaying true craftsmanship.
Introducing the world’s first color-changing tuck box using patent pending heat-sensitive technology that responds to your touch. Seronda box colors turn from Anthracite to Blush to the touch.
Virtue boxes transform from Apricot Orange to Yellow when handled.
Applied on premium linen stock.
Cards printed with linen (Aristocrat) stock and coated with magic finish.
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Whether you are cosplaying or really trying to live your life like the Ragin’ Cajun, you need one thing first. Cool playing cards that you can throw. Well, now you can learn how to make some. They even glow warmly like your love for Rogue.
To make one, you will need materials like: card stock, a pencil and sketch pens, plexiglass, a red LED, a 3V lithium battery and a few other things. When you are done, you will have an awesome playing card. All you will need after that is to work on your Cajun accent.
You can find the instructions over at Instructables. Impress your Cherie!
