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EndersGame Inner circle Reviewer EndersGame 2196 Posts |
NATIONAL PARK PLAYING CARDS
The story behind National Park Playing Cards is one worth sharing. This deck was actually designed by Micah Hoang, at the age of 15! Think about that for a moment. What were you doing at age 15? Playing hockey on the street perhaps? Riding your bike? Playing computer games? But how about designing a deck of custom cards that would go on to sell over 10,000 copies. That's what Micah Hoang did. And it all started in 2018 when he was just 15. Here's how Micah introduces himself over on his Etsy shop: Quote:
Hi! I'm Micah, graphic designer, nature lover, high schooler, and the founder of National Park Playing Cards. I created the deck as a passion project, which later transformed itself into a full-scale business after amassing over $6000 on Kickstarter Micah's Etsy page also goes on to describes the story of his National Park deck: Quote:
It all started in late 2018, when Micah, a 15 year old graphic designer from Los Gatos, California decided to design a deck of playing cards, each with a different US National Park. What started out as an idea became a reality through his Kickstarter page, where he almost tripled his initial funding goal of $2500. His father Lan Hoang managed the Kickstarter for him back in 2018. But even so, I'd say that's a pretty impressive result for a 15 year old! The fact that he's sold over 10,000 decks since then is quite remarkable. The deck I own has the date of 2022 on the tuck box, so it's obviously been reprinted at least once, to keep up with the demand. Here's how the ad copy explains the concept of the deck: Quote:
Whatever your card game of choice, let it become a way to take you on a spectacular cross-country road trip through 52 unique National Parks. Each card in this beautifully designed, casino-quality deck features a different National Park through illustrations that capture the beauty of each park with a modern look and feel. Designed in California. Now let's show how the deck looks, starting with the tuck box, and then moving on to the cards themselves: On his website, Micah tells the story about the creation of the deck in more detail, and also explains the significance of different aspects of the deck: Quote:
An Idea: Quote:
With all the design elements ready, including the foil tuckbox, card faces, and card backs, I put the project up on Kickstarter, where I almost tripled my funding goal of $2500. You can check it out here. The National Park decks were printed by WJPC, which is a Chinese playing card manufacturer that has also been used successfully by creators like Stockholm17 and Elephant Playing Cards, who have stated that they tend to be faster and cheaper, and more reliable than other alternatives. This particular deck uses WJPC's 310gsm German stock, which has the advantage of durability. I personally prefer using WJPC's 300gsm German stock, because it is softer and thinner than this. Because it handles so consistently and smoothly (e.g. faro shuffles and fans/spreads all work well), and is most similar to USPCC's crushed stock, it is my favourite of their stock options. But given that this is a souvenir style deck for the mass market, durability is important, and so 310gsm stock makes sense for a deck like this. Product pages: https://www.rei.com/product/217991/artic......ng-cards https://www.etsy.com/listing/791184502/n......ng-cards Social media: https://www.instagram.com/nationalparkplayingcards https://www.instagram.com/articavisuals NB: I have no affiliation with Micah or this product, but I just figured this was a pretty neat story worth sharing. It certainly helped increase my appreciation for this custom deck of playing cards, and what Micah has accomplished with it! |
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