Diavoli Productions have kindly made available some of their classy limited edition decks for us to give away – but you’re going to have to be a bit creative if you want to win one!

We will be giving away several decks this summer – the number we give away will depend on the quality and quantity of your entries. The possible prizes include:

The Gargoyle Deck – a wonderful gothic design – see our full review here.

The Pirate Deck – with a nautical/navigational design – only 2,500 produced – we will be reviewing these any day now… reviewed here.

The Phoenix Deck – a classy gold design featuring this mythical bird – reviewed amongst several other decks here.

So what do you have to do to be in with a chance of winning?

1. Visit and ‘like’ our facebook page.
2. Upload a picture which you have taken which includes a Bicycle playing card(s). This could be of you doing a flourish, or a deck in an unusual location, etc. etc. Extra credit may be given for pictures which tie in with the theme of any of the giveaway decks (Gargoyle, Pirate, Phoenix).
3. Comment on the photo to say which type of deck you would prefer to win.
4. That’s it!

The competition will end at midnight (GMT) on 16th September and the winner(s) will be announced on Bicycle-Cards.co.uk before 30th September. Pictures will be judged on the quality of the image, creativity, use of Bicycle Cards and judge’s opinion. A maximum of two photos can be submitted by any one individual. The judge’s opinion will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. The winning photo(s) will be posted on Bicycle-Cards.co.uk There are no alternative prizes. We reserve the right to remove any inappropriate pictures or pictures which we believe breach copyright from the Bicycle-Cards.co.uk facebook page.

Please note – we are a UK site and this is a UK ONLY competition. We cannot post cards outside of the UK.

The post Summer Competition Time – Free Limited Edition Bicycle Cards up for grabs! appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

As with all of the Diavoli designs (see our review of 3 earlier decks here) they are visually impressive. Here’s a look at the box:

As you can see, the design is inspired by Gothic style architecture and, in particular, Gargoyles. I found fascinating an extra card which is included by Lance T. Miller, the designer, explaining the rationale behind his design. You don’t need to have read this to enjoy the design (and I won’t spoil it here) but it frames the whole thing in the context of the struggle betwen good and evil – drawing on the Gargoyle’s historic role of warding off evil.

The card backs are printed in black and silver/gray ink. The overall effect is pleasing and looks nice in a spread – the Gargoyles themselves aren’t too prominent in that kind of layout:

The card faces are printed in silver rather than black ink, with the red indices only (not the actual pips in the middle of the cards) printed in red. It is a dramatic look, though to my eyes it makes the rest of the face on red cards look a little washed out.

Have a look at some court cards and see what you think (my photo may not help here)…

There is an extra prediction card included – a ‘slashed’ 3 of Spades – here it is, plus a look at the Jokers and another shot of the box.

The USPCC are advertising a new finish on these cards ‘magic finish’. I have to say that my first impressions of the handling were very favourable. In particular, a few of the decks I have recently tried from BBM have felt slightly on the thin side – these felt like a return to classic USPCC form, and were extremely smooth.

All in all a stylish pack, and like all the Diavoli decks, a limited edition. Available for £7.49 at MagicNevin immediately.

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