A plastic deck of cards? A PLASTIC deck of cards? Just put your preconceptions on one side and read on…
The latest in the Karnival range of cards from BBM is the Karnival Death Heads (Armour Edition). In a radical change from form, they are printed by Fournier on plastic playing card stock – as used on the World Poker Tour.
And first impressions are good. Once you’ve taken off the outer cellophane, and the inner cellophane (this double layer of cellophane will come as a shock to anyone more familiar with Bicycle Cards!), you will find a surprisingly versatile deck.
The Fournier syle large-pip index is bold and very clear – you will read these from a mile off!
The Jokers? Skulls, blood, the usual sort of Karnival style. And do I detect some extra hair in the ‘scroll’ pattern – a subtle tribute to their hairy artist?! There’s a bar code reveal on the case, and an extra advertising card is also included.
So they’re made of plastic – that means they are very hard to tear or crease by accident. They wipe clean etc. etc. But do they handle like ‘normal’ cards?
Well I couldn’t do a perfect FARO with them… but then I couldn’t do that beforehand 🙂 But they do fan and handle extremely well. A quick run through some of the standard sleights didn’t expose any obvious problems – they just feel a bit funny! But you would get used to that. And they really ought to last a long time – no need to replace them as often as normal Bicycle Cards.
You’re paying a bit more for the privilege of plastic – £11.99 for a pack. But if they last 3 times as long then you’re quids in!
Available exclusively from BBM – get them while they have them…
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