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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