What’s on offer?  We have SIX decks of cards to give away and we’re going to bundle them into TWO prizes, each one containing one deck of Death Heads Carnage Edition, one deck of Karnival Infernos and one deck of Karnival Dead Eyes.  That’s a lot of Karnival goodness!

What do I have to do?

1. Like our Facebook page
2. Like BBM’s Facebook page
3. Share our competition post on your wall.

If you do that, you will be entered into a random draw to win one of the sets of decks.

Can I get another entry?
Yes!  We want to separate the men from the boys with this one.  So if you want another chance then:

4. Share a photo on our Facebook page which features a deck of Bicycle Cards (preferably Karnival Cards!) and has a Halloween theme.

That will get you a second entry into the random prize draw.  And if there’s a photo we really like they will win the second bundle of cards.  Otherwise we will select another random winner from the list.

The competition will end at midnight GMT on October 31st – spooky eh?!  We are a UK site so will only accept entries from UK residents.  Winners will be announced in early November.  Editor’s decision is final.  Etc. etc.  Good luck!

The post Karnival Cards Competition – bag yourself a Halloween Treat appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

We’ll start with the box. I have a lovely broody photo of this, but until I can sort out some technical problems, we’re going to have to do with a stock shot – sorry… Update! Here’s my broody photo!

It screams out ‘this is something unusual’. Or possibly ‘macabre’ if you’re that way inclined. And at the same time it whispers (via a barcode) ‘Jack of Clubs’…

When I opened the box the first thing I saw was the joker – which is the best Karnival joker I’ve seen yet. As long as you like skulls. And you do, right? One of the jokers has an Ace of Hearts reveal on it – tastefully sticking out of a crack in the skull.

Extra cards include a slightly eery prediction card and a double-backer. Have you spotted the ‘subtle’ one way feature on the back design?

Every single card has been individually designed. There are skeletons and skulls and writing, and it has all been weathered or aged. Shades of Da Vinci but somehow less wholesome.

The Aces and the court cards are particularly cool…

What about the handling?

Like the Dead Eyes I find that the cards feel just a little bit thinner than standard Bikes. I don’t know if this is a deliberate a USPCC thing (economy measure?) and weather newer Bikes will go the same way. But they still fan and handle well. There’s still a reasonable ‘flex’ so I am struggling to think of a sleight where this will be a problem.

The bottom line is, this will be a great one for the collectors, would look good in all sorts of slightly ‘darker’ presentations, or could be mixed in with other Bicycle Cards to add extra impact.

Available to pre-order now, and you’ll receive them before my birthday

Visit BBM’s Karnival Dose page for ordering info, or try your local dealer.

The post Karnival Dose – our first look! appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

I love the fact that each face has been individually drawn – with unique blood splotches. Everything looks dirty and old (or ‘aged’ and ‘distressed’ in marketing speak!). I particularly like the big bold aces – again splattered with blood.

The court cards have their eyes blacked out – very cool. And again everything is aged and blood splattered.

Each card also has its value printed on the edge of the card so it is visible in a ribbon spread. I had mixed views on this. The font style used here seems a bit out of keeping with the ‘age’ of the rest of the design. But its quirky – and certainly novel.

Extras include a blank-faced card (the blood’s real subtle here!) and an ‘advertising card’ which includes a 5D reveal in words and pictures on a modified version of the back design. There’s a two of spades barcode reveal on the tuck box and a discrete 10S reveal in the middle of the ‘brain’ on one of the Jokers.

And there are no nasty sticky seals on the packs – and since I’ve never found a neat way of opening sealed packs without a knife that makes me happy!

But for me there are two things which hold me back. The back designs (and probably the jokers) are just a little too gory for my taste. Stylised skeletons are one thing – but this is a bit too close to the bone (pun not really intended) for me. That’s a very personal thing – so may not hold you back – but I tell it how I see it on this site.

Also, although the cards handle well, they feel slightly thinner than normal Bicycle stock for me. I still can’t decide if this is psychological or really is the case – on one card you’d barely notice it, but I did some comparisons with a normal rider back deck, and they did feel to be ever so slightly thinner. What impact this would have over longer use I don’t know, but for me they just felt a bit too thin.

There’s definitely a market for these. It’s a shame they officially hit the UK on Nov 15th because it means the Halloween opportunity has been missed. But these are certainly a work of art, probably collectable, and in the right sort of routine or setting they’ll be killers!

Availability
Direct from BBM – £4.99/deck + £1 p&p – reducing for larger orders.

The post Bicycle Karnival Dead Eye – First Impressions appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

UPDATE – release date 15th November…

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