"From a dark and twisted mind of a Serbian artist - a retro-horror themed playing card deck, printed by Bicycle and only available here!
Asylum is a fully customized Bicycle® Playing Card Deck - unlike any deck you've ever seen - and ONLY to be printed once. Designed by Serbian artist Milan C., and managed by entertainment industry veteran Ed Nash - this is a limited deck that you are going to want to own.
Indulge the comfort of straitjacket, cozily tucked in an embrace of extremely long sleeves! Enjoy the comforts of a padded room with this delightfully liberating deck, and treat yourself with the playing cards by which the Joker himself would be proud of."
I like everything except the backs. They look a little bland to me.
My Youtube! "Time never waits. It delivers all equally to the same end. You, who wish to safeguard the future, however limited it may be. Go forth without falter, with your heart as your guide.
I was thinking the same thing. I like the deck style (especially the spot cards), but I am not a fan of the back design.
Also the intro paragraph has every thing I hate about marketing...
Asylum is a fully customized Bicycle® Playing Card Deck - unlike any deck you've ever seen - and ONLY to be printed once. Designed by Serbian artist Milan C., and managed by entertainment industry veteran Ed Nash - this is a limited deck that you are going to want to own.
Greetings,
When I heard the name, I had high hopes for it. But I saw the back design and it totally killed it for me! The court cards do look epic! But the jokers and the back look really bad! And that sucks because I really wanted to like this deck! So, I don't see myself picking this one up!
:: V
Behind this mask, there is an idea, and ideas are bullet proof.
***GASP GASP***
love the idea!
Hate the text on the back.
Love the court cards!
Hate the Ace of Clubs.... due tot he cockroach!! eeewww
this deck could have been a tough call for me but I swear the text really killed it. Sorry but I'll pass on this one. If they come out with a v2 with no text I might consider getting one or 2.
I went for 2 decks ($25.50 incl. Shipping to Germany)
Have to agree with you on the text.
Maybe the artist will see the thread here (he is on the Aethercards forum) and
Will remove the words from the back design.
The Asylum deck has everything custom.Something we all scream for.
The theme might not appeal to everyone but in my eyes its a very interessting deck.
It's not too dark or too sinister (like the dead eyes deck...which i really like...aswell ..yeah throw rocks on me :-p )
Every number card of each suite is different , not just a copy paste job.
Now the aces are great designed.They really fit the theme.
Also the court cards fit like a glove into the thme.
TheJester/Joker in a straightjacket is okay ...the idea is perfect but the design could be better.
Just my honest opinion.
And please no X card....give us a doublefacer with a insane person in a straight jacket on one side,and on the other side just the straight jacket...like the prisoner is escaped out of it.....
Yeah I saw the post on Aethercards. I know a lot of people will have commented on it so I'm not going to add on to there for the time being.
Anyway.
The theme is something I really like. Its different and the court cards (like you said) fit nicely. The music they used in their KS trailer was awesome because the hair on the back of my neck was standing up and it gave me the creeps (which is a good thing).
its really just the text that throws the entire thing off for me. (a reason i did not get the ENIGMA deck).
I really like everything about the cards, EXCEPT the court. I know what they were trying to do, but I just don't find them grabbing me.. I mean I seriously love the Aces, the numbers, etc... Even the backs don't bother me that much.. but something about the court just seems off to me...
Rats!
Hi everyone...
I'm creator of Asylum deck. I really appreciate all your comments, suggestions, and quite constructive words of criticism.
It's pretty hard to satisfy everybody's taste and affinities, but this is just the overture in the story about Asylum, so follow the campaign on Kickstarter, there would be some additional offers which you may find interesting...
Cheers!
Just wanted to say that I love the Mucha influences and Art Nouveau in general.
Although the "Asylum" theme is a bit dark for me, I still pledged for a few decks.
Thanks on the welcoming words, Sharpie. We are unconditionally happy about our first week on Kickstarter! Thanks for supporting the project, we really appreciate it, so as your comments and wise words of criticism. As a gesture of my gratitude, I prepared special gift for the loyal backers!
I have to tell you that I agree about the back text thing. it would be much nicer without it but, otherwise, it is one of the coolest designs I have seen, not only for the full customization of the cards, but for the design theme. Am a fan of the Art Nouveau movement and also of the horror films so I cannot be more happy about this deck.
Furthermore, I have had the chance to talk to the artist, Milan, and also to the manager of the project, Ed, and both are really kind. i have enjoyed a lot the interview and the thoughts about playing cards design we have had the chance to talk about. You can see the interview here:
I wish to thank you all for pointing me down to those back designs, and "letters issue". We have received many suggestions concerning the design of the back, and have decided to make one subtle change on it, by removing "Asylum logo". It is our hope and intent that this improvement will raise quality and value of the deck...
Hello,
This is just great! Our prayers have been heard.
I'm with Max on the fact, that the deck will get more funds now.i will raise my pledge for sure!
All the best!
Well here's an interesting twist to what happened to this project
A Long Overdue Update & Explanation
Dear Backers of the Asylum Kickstarter project,
I understand that there is much frustration with this project and a lot of uncertainty. I understand and take full responsibility for horrible communication - and often non-communication. For the reasons I will explain in this update, I had hoped to avoid having to go into the full details with everyone publicly, but it is clearly necessary at this point.
One of my former associates has put me in a situation in which a large part of the funds that were specifically earmarked for the Kickstarter Asylum project were diverted to another project without my knowledge, and I have been involved in mediation over the past two months in order to get these funds replaced. In the meantime I have been slowly putting my funds into getting all of the elements of the project created. I expect to be able to begin shipping SOME of the reward elements this coming week, and I am hoping to have all of the Asylum Bicycle decks in and ready to go out by the end of this month. They have been printed - along with a couple hundred decks as overruns - and I am coordinating the full payment and shipping. Like I said, I expect to have possession of all the decks by the end of the month.
THIS ENTIRE PROJECT WILL BE FULFILLED. I take full responsibility for this - and it has been an incredibly difficult situation for me that I never expected to find myself in. It wasn't just this project that has been affected ---- I have been seriously impacted in other ways as well. As for the lack of communication - I have been working hard to remedy the situation and I was cautioned by my legal counsel to refrain from public posts or details surrounding this.
As backers, I hold you in the highest regard, and hope there will be some redemption in the delivery of the final products, as late as they will be. I ask for your continued grace and patience - most of which has worn thin I know. That is the honest straightforward truth.
I know that one of the reasons Kickstarter encourages detailed updates is not only to keep everyone in the loop on the status, delays, challenges, etc... but also to help others in their future projects. One of the big lessons I have learned is to have a totally separate account for the proceeds to go into - separate Amazon payments, and separate bank account --- would have avoided the situation and also been useful for keeping a very clear accounting for payments, expenses, etc. Though I will likely not be diving into another Kickstarter project for quite a while after this one, I would definitely do that part differently next time.
On my desk in front of me I have many of the reward materials, and everything is looking great... I am excited for you to have all of this after the long, painful wait. Milan does amazing work, and I am sorry that I have disappointed you and him with the delay on this project. Please also see the attached photo of one of the uncut sheet proofs.
Finally, I read where a couple people were claiming that I was logging in everyday -- I have not been logging into Kickstarter much at all - but it is likely that Milan is logging in as we share this credential for the project. Regardless, I have not been updating as I should - and again I apologize and truly hope you will accept that I am working hard to get this fulfilled and feel horrible about the delay.
There are too many excuses for botched Kickstarter projects. Some of the most eloquent apologies I have ever heard are generated from Kickstarter gone bad. I'm tired of them...
I concur... all these botched campaigns hurt the overall community. The more and more of them there are, the less and less folks will trust anything with cards on KickStarter.
I'm in for 6 decks on this botched campaign, 3 on Army Men, and 6 total on Postumo (over a month late - but finally shipping), and Creature Cards (due in March but no updates yet)...
This lack of communication is getting old really friggin quick
And even more the Fool am I
I so far have seen nothing from
Ultraviolet
Medusa
Vanda
Postumo
Army Men
Creature cards
Quick Silver
And These
There may even be another that has said they were shipping and I haven't got or just hasn't bothered updating . But I can hardly keep track any more.
One more of these And I will be out for good
And even more the Fool am I
I so far have seen nothing from
Ultraviolet
Medusa
Vanda
Postumo
Army Men
Creature cards
Quick Silver
And These
There may even be another that has said they were shipping and I haven't got or just hasn't bothered updating . But I can hardly keep track any more.
One more of these And I will be out for good
And I though I was the last one ever receiving his packages!
Anyway, excepting Ultraviolet and Medusa, I haven't received any of your list, including the Asylum, of course...
And even more the Fool am I
I so far have seen nothing from
Ultraviolet
Medusa
Vanda
Postumo
Army Men
Creature cards
Quick Silver
And These
There may even be another that has said they were shipping and I haven't got or just hasn't bothered updating . But I can hardly keep track any more.
One more of these And I will be out for good
Have Medusa but also missing
Core
Allure
I have stopped backing on KS (with the exception of Lucent) due to the riding costs and lack of on-time delivery.
here is my current list and due dates
KickStarter Decks Promise Date
Asylum Dec 2012
Army Men Feb 2013
Apocalyptica Feb 2013
Urban Punk Mar 2013
LumberJack Mar 2013
Allure Apr 2013
Amazing Adventures Apr 2013
Ruse Apr 2013
Hedge Apr 2013
Divine May 2013
White Rabbit Jun 2013
Founders Jul 2013
A Long Overdue Update & Explanation
Update #19 - For backers only · Mar 8, 2013 · 33 comments Dear Backers of the Asylum Kickstarter project,
I understand that there is much frustration with this project and a lot of uncertainty. I understand and take full responsibility for horrible communication - and often non-communication. For the reasons I will explain in this update, I had hoped to avoid having to go into the full details with everyone publicly, but it is clearly necessary at this point.
One of my former associates has put me in a situation in which a large part of the funds that were specifically earmarked for the Kickstarter Asylum project were diverted to another project without my knowledge, and I have been involved in mediation over the past two months in order to get these funds replaced. In the meantime I have been slowly putting my funds into getting all of the elements of the project created. I expect to be able to begin shipping SOME of the reward elements this coming week, and I am hoping to have all of the Asylum Bicycle decks in and ready to go out by the end of this month. They have been printed - along with a couple hundred decks as overruns - and I am coordinating the full payment and shipping. Like I said, I expect to have possession of all the decks by the end of the month.
THIS ENTIRE PROJECT WILL BE FULFILLED. I take full responsibility for this - and it has been an incredibly difficult situation for me that I never expected to find myself in. It wasn't just this project that has been affected ---- I have been seriously impacted in other ways as well. As for the lack of communication - I have been working hard to remedy the situation and I was cautioned by my legal counsel to refrain from public posts or details surrounding this.
As backers, I hold you in the highest regard, and hope there will be some redemption in the delivery of the final products, as late as they will be. I ask for your continued grace and patience - most of which has worn thin I know. That is the honest straightforward truth.
I know that one of the reasons Kickstarter encourages detailed updates is not only to keep everyone in the loop on the status, delays, challenges, etc... but also to help others in their future projects. One of the big lessons I have learned is to have a totally separate account for the proceeds to go into - separate Amazon payments, and separate bank account --- would have avoided the situation and also been useful for keeping a very clear accounting for payments, expenses, etc. Though I will likely not be diving into another Kickstarter project for quite a while after this one, I would definitely do that part differently next time.
On my desk in front of me I have many of the reward materials, and everything is looking great... I am excited for you to have all of this after the long, painful wait. Milan does amazing work, and I am sorry that I have disappointed you and him with the delay on this project. Please also see the attached photo of one of the uncut sheet proofs.
Finally, I read where a couple people were claiming that I was logging in everyday -- I have not been logging into Kickstarter much at all - but it is likely that Milan is logging in as we share this credential for the project. Regardless, I have not been updating as I should - and again I apologize and truly hope you will accept that I am working hard to get this fulfilled and feel horrible about the delay.
Sincerely,
Ed
Backer Update 4/4/13
Update #20 - For backers only · Apr 4, 2013 · 9 comments Hello Backers --
Another tardy update from me -- again, I apologize for the delay. We are still working diligently on getting the funds together and getting everything in place to be sent out. Most of the materials are here - still getting together the final payment to the printers for all of the decks to be shipped here. They have been printed and are ready to ship out to us... I hesitate to give a time frame on this, because I know that my last estimate is going to take a bit longer---and I don't want to disappoint the expectations on timing. What I can do is post another update on Monday, even if we are in the same position.... I always want to be giving you updates that have new information, but we've been in a bit of a holding pattern for a while now, I know... But I will update you guys at whatever interval you deem best.
As I said in the last update, this project WILL be fulfilled -- if anyone wants to discuss one -on-one, shoot me a message privately... In the meantime, I'll keep working on this, and will update again on Monday.
Sincerely,
Ed
Monday Update
Update #21 - For backers only · Apr 8, 2013 · 2 comments Hello again backers!
I promised an update on Monday, and this is that update! Not a lot to report since the last update---just that this is a priority and I continue to work on pulling the funds together. I've had a few backers emailing asking about the sale of additional decks---as we have extras being printed. Once I announce the planned ship dates, that would be a good time to email and request additional decks. If we have a surplus after the project has been fulfilled, we will also make those available then as well - and will likely do the transactions through PayPal -- but I am open to suggestions if there are better options, or any backers have experience with the best way to handle additional orders for overruns.
As far as the progress of fulfillment, I will continue to work on this, and will plan another update for next Monday, a week from now.
Thanks again for all of the understanding and patience.
Update #22 - For backers only · Apr 23, 2013 · 5 comments Dear Valued Supporters,
Many of you have rightfully expressed concern over not receiving your product yet. Altius Management understands your frustration, not only with regards to the unfinished project, but also with the lack of communication to you, our supporters. The project has endured countless hiccups that continue to plague our company as we try to fulfill these orders. Rest assured, Altius adamantly believes in this project and is working tirelessly to see it through to fruition. The timeline has been unacceptable to you, and to us. You put your faith in us, and we let you down. Our hope is that you can at least understand that these things happen, and it’s truly not a reflection of how we do business, or the high standard of service and ethics we subscribe to at this firm. Altius Management has successfully completed dozens of projects, and we have a roster of satisfied clients and supporters. This project is not at all typical of our firm.
The fact is we simply cannot complete the project at this time, or any time in the near future. Our firm has recently made some internal changes to better serve you, and we have designated this as our top priority. But, it will take some time to fix. It is not realistic to expect that this project will be completed and shipped before the end of 2013. Because of the social aspect of Kickstarter, we understand it’s easy to feel taken advantage of and to feel left in the dark when there is little communication. We understand your frustration, but ask you to remain calm and let us do the job you have entrusted us with. Hopefully this statement will put to rest some of your concerns.
In the meantime, please continue to be patient with us. If updates occur, we will broadcast them to you immediately. If there is a perceived lack of communication it is because there are no real updates, and we are concentrating our efforts on the project. We WILL see this project through to the end, and hope we can earn your trust back in the process. Please continue to support great artists and projects and know that your investment in that will have many returns.
Sorry but I'll pass on this one. If they come out with a v2 with no text I might consider getting one or 2. 
