Gingerbread Playing Cards from Penguin Magic [Nov. 19]

[hsbc]

[Reylek]

These will actually be released on Nov 19, this Friday for Penguin's early Black Friday event.

This will be the first 'big' release with our new UltraLux Finish. The first release was Oaknut last month, but that was a set limited to just 250 units so not a lot of folks will get to handle the new stock from that one. Very excited to get these into peoples' hands!

I just got off a live chat with Tyler & Steve on Deckin' Around, which I'm sure will be available on YouTube for replay before long, and you can see the design, hear about the feel & handling, etc.

Thanks!

[hsbc]

https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/16639

[BaconWise]

Great theme and artwork. These will pair nicely with my Deck the Halls & Nutcracker. I think our games of Nertz this holiday season will be off the hook with all these fun decks.

The ONLY Christmas wish I would have for this deck would be something other than a flat tuck box but it's something I can live without.

[Harvonsgard]

Whimsical. Very well done.

[EndersGame]

The really interesting thing we should be noticing about these Gingerbread decks is the new UltraLux stock that they use. Penguin plans to use them for their custom decks going forward.

They first debuted it with the limited edition Oaknut deck, and with the Gingerbread deck it now is hitting the larger market for the first time. I'm very curious - and I'm sure they are too - to hear what people will have to say about it.

I've had the chance to test-drive this new UltraLux stock for a couple of weeks now, and here are my thoughts and impressions:

Looks:

• The stock is whiter/brighter than a typical USPCC deck

• The stock has a slightly shinier and more reflective look than USPCC stock. I've seen that with a lot of other printers as well, e.g. MPC.

• The embossing pattern isn't identical to a typical air cushion finish, and has more of a cross-hatch look.

• The embossing pattern reminds me somewhat of the Elite Finish from LPCC. It's not as radically different as the B9 True Linen finish from Cartamundi, but It doesn't look quite as nice as USPCC's embossing either. Although perhaps that's just the extra shininess, which I suspect might also come from a different coating.

Feel:

• The deck feels pleasantly thin in the hand. It feels noticeably thinner than your standard Bicycle deck, and has a similar thickness to crushed stock.

• The softness is perfect.

• The cards don't seem to hold their shape quite as well as USPCC rushed stock, and seem more prone to remaining slightly bent (e.g. after springs).

• The sides of the cards feel smooth, much like the "diamond cut" of LPCC/EPCC decks, so they don't have the "rough" feel of a typical USPCC deck. It is not a laser cut like MPC uses (otherwise they wouldn't faro), but it is a nice clean feel.

Handling:

• The cards spring beautifully, and are super pleasant to spring over...and over... and over. Looks and feels great! The handling in that respect is similar to USPCC's crushed stock.

• Fanning is perfect straight out of the box. Really nice.

• The cards still fan/spread quite evenly after a couple of weeks of significant use. So not the kind of clumping that you usually see with Taiwan produced decks.

• Faro shuffles seem a bit tricky initially - although to be fair that could just be me. Once the weaving starts, it goes smoothly, one card at a time. But getting a faro going from a freshly opened deck doesn't seem to go smoothly. After some usage, it seems to go easier, so maybe it's just a matter of altering the faro technique slightly for these decks, or that it gets easier as they wear in.

More comparisons:

• The embossing pattern and soft feel remind me a lot of the experience I've had with LPCC's new crushed Classic stock from their new China facility. But the LPCC Crushed Classic stock is firmer, not quite as white in colour, and also not quite as thin as the Gingerbread deck.

• I also compared it to one of LPCC's Viper Finish decks. That's even more similar - also a very white stock, and similar softness. The Viper Finish is similar thickness, but perhaps slightly firmer.

• The `luxury stock' used in Taiwan produced decks is also quite similar. That's got a less reflective embossing, and has more of the consistent look of USPCC embossing, but is even softer than the UltraLux stock, and in my view is actually too soft to be practical for card magic (e.g. sleights like the Erdnase change). The UltraLux avoids that extreme end of softness and is more practical.

• So in terms of softness from most soft to least soft, I'd rank them like this: Luxury stock (Taiwan decks), UltraLux stock, Viper Finish stock (LPCC), Pre-crushed Classic stock (LPCC), Phantom Finish (DMC Elites). As mentioned already, the UltraLux quite comparable to USPCC's crushed stock.

So those are my impressions: overall, a positive recommendation so far. I look forward to seeing feedback in due time from others who have used the new UltraLux stock, to hear what people have to say about it.