CARDS Design your own Playing Card Backs
Cards mini-series
Available
Service Description
Design your own backs of playing cards (and playing cards). The backs of playing cards can be as interesting as their fronts (which you can also trace). Playing card history is fascinating. We have looked at Mamluk cards - the link between Eastern and Western playing cards and Tarot, and we can also look at Chinese playing cards, Persian As-Nas and Indian Ganjifa (also mentioned in editions of the 1001 Nights). Generally they are rectangular and correspond to certain rules, but they can also be round (Ganjifa). How does this affect the design and play? Once we’ve designed them all you can print them out, cut them up and actually play with them. The original playing cards were of course all handmade and designed in a similar way to what we will do in class - water-based paint and ink on paper.