We’ve only had 5 entires so far which means:

• You’ve got a good chance of winning!
• We will only give one deck away

For every 10 unique entries we receive we will add another deck to the prize pool, up to a maximum of 5 decks. So get creative and get those entries in quickly. Full details here.

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They are designed by Eric Duan aka mloong and produced by Diavoli productions.

What’s to like?

They handle beautifully and the back design is very intricate and attractive. With the compass points it is inherently ‘1-way’ – which is potentially useful.

The jokers, too, are nicely designed, and sit well with the theme. If you look closely you will see one is holding a dagger and one a harp. There is also a double backed card supply which is a nice touch with many uses for magicians.

We mainly like the work on the Ace of Spades, but have a few issues with the blue ink – about which more below… We’re also unsure whether the spelling of ‘pirate’ on the Ace (it is spelled ‘Piraue’) is deliberate and has some meaning, or is an accident.

What’s not so good?

I suspect the colouring of the cards will be a Marmite thing. Some will love it and some will hate it. Various (arbitrary?) pips are coloured blue. Here’s what a hand of spades looks like:

Here are some on the hearts:

And different aspects of the court cards are coloured blue according to suit and value:

There appears to be no rhyme nor reason to this. So for example, only the Jack of Spades has blue hair – no other Jacks, no other spade court cards, in fact just no other cards. The Queen of Spades and Diamonds both have blue hairbands but not the Queen of Hearts or Clubs.

Perhaps a more inventive magician than me will come up for a routine which capitalises on these variations.

Or perhaps there is more to it than meets the eye – there is an extra card supplied which hints at a secret hidden in the cards.

All in all I think I was a little disappointed with the look of these.

The Black version has black faces with purple colouring which looks better from my point of view.

But I have seen other reviews taking the opposite view.

You will have to decide for yourself at the end of the day. They are a limited edition – only 2,500 printed – so will probably be collectible. The good news is we have a black and a white deck up for grabs in our summer competition and still plenty of time to enter.

Alternatively you can buy them from:

Cards4Magic for £9
Bicycle Playing Card Supplies for £8

The post Bicycle Pirate Deck – First Look appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

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.

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