How to: Playing Cards

In the same way I recently demonstrated how to create a variety of dice to improve upon your existing prototypes and/or augment existing games with new mechanics, I'm about to show you a very clever trick-- something that you're just not going to find anywhere else. How do I know that? Because I discovered the trick myself, after scouring the internet, looking for ways to print up some good, quality playing cards for use in a game my wife and I recently designed. It's really quite amazing how many sites there are looking to screw people who just want to print up some playing cards. It should be a crime!

The first thing you need to do is quite obvious: you need to compose the graphics themselves. You're best off doing this using a digital paint program such as Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator-- but those are professional applications that'll cost you a lot of money. You can also download a public domain copy of GIMP. It has a lot of same features as Photoshop and will probably be just fine for most folks. The end result of your work would need to be in a digital format anyway, so why not leverage that mediums strength to begin with.

However, you'll want to keep in mind that you're designing to a specific constraint, the size of a typical playing card. It's silly not to use the traditional dimensions, since you'll reap all the benefits of all the card-related contraptions that've come before you: automatic card shufflers, dealers, and cases. That being said, the dimensions you're looking for are 2.5" across by 3.5" down.

And here's where my clever trick begins: when creating your digital canvas, set the size of the image not in pixel units, but in inches. Remember to crank up the resolution before you're done, as you'll want plenty of pixels per inch. Wait! Before you go setting the image size to 2.5" x 3.5", set it to 5" x 3.5". You're going to be drawing the front and back of the card, side by side, and then folding it on that edge when it has been printed.

Printing the card? There's the rub-- that's where everything can go to Hell in a hand-basket really fast. You need nice-looking, durable card stock as well as hardware that can print to this odd-sized, high-quality stock. That's where RitzPix comes in. They're a Godsend to game designers everywhere.

You see, RitzPix has these specials that happen every Tuesday and Wednesday. It's the only day they'll allow people to order 3.5"x5" prints! But it gets better: each print is only 6 cents and comes standard with a glossy finish! They probably don't realize that, in making this offer, they've become the absolute go-to place for printing custom playing cards. They even say "only glossy" like it's a bad thing!

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So, as you can see from the image above, I'm not kidding around. It really is that easy to get your cards printed up to look 100% professional. No more sloppy prototypes being shlepped to your publisher's meetings. No more half-assed custom "expansion" cards for your game of Dominion. Your work will be hard to tell from that of a professionals... unless you have zero art and design skills. In which case, snatch images right off of Bing Image Search, modify them if you feel up to it, and paste them into your canvas. It's not stealing unless you plan to sell the cards, though be sure to mention to your publishers which images are originals, public domain, or co-opted from others for demonstratory purposes only.

Now, you'll still have to fold the photos over and glue them down. Use a spray glue or some form of felixble rubber cement, nothing too wet as this would warp the cards. Also, use a firm object to really, really make that fold's crease as "edgey" as possible. You'll also want to round of the corners for a I-can't-believe-I-made-these-myself moment.

Finally, stack up your new cards and leave a heavy weight on them overnight. They may remain sticky for a few days, so go easy on them. That glossy finish can be stick for a few days beyond that as well. Play with them enough and they'll be working just dandy in no time. Still, be delicate when handling your babies-- use an automatic shuffler with them whenever possible. I have had very good luck with this particular shuffler.

Now you may throw roses at my feet and sing jaunty tunes about my cleverness. You're welcome!