Chakravyuh: A Maze Playing Cards Deck by Orion Playing Cards

[PrincessTrouble]

[Harvonsgard]

Interesting concept for the number cards but still a no for me.

[kevork]

Need to see the actual look vs the renders that make it look like metal/foil. I like the aces and the courts with the gold background.

[GandalfPC]

Aces are super

[kasuma99]

i will be in and keep my EB pledge if he can upgrade it to foil back, i love the back designs as well as number cards and bleed border and think that it will make great fans, courts are hideous though, removed them and just do letters same as number cards are a better choice than standard courts for this deck, no one will use it for game play anyway.

[shermjack]

I think both the Bicycle Mazing Deck and Jackon's Labyrinth deck were done better...FWIW

[brownsl]

Just received a message that my reward has shipped; however, they mistakenly sent some gilded decks to backers that did not pledge for gilded decks. My reward was one of them. One of my gilded decks has been sent to the wrong backer. They have asked that person to send it to me. Let's see how successful that will be.

[GandalfPC]

Ooff

[Adamthinks]

Cards for the gilded deck are the same on the fronts, but the backs are foiled. These turned out pretty well. They handle well and the different mazes on every number card and Ace is pretty neat.

[hsbc]

Thanks for the pics

[kevork]

Nice to see how these turned out. A front/back foiled version would've been cool too.

[Adamthinks]

Nice to see how these turned out. A front/back foiled version would've been cool too.

I agree. The front on both decks are metallic ink, but it doesn't really look like it.

[Harvonsgard]

Metallic inks always stink in comparison to foil. Even Lotrék's Morésque wasn't that great (in regards to shine) despite using one of the most expesive silver metallic inks apperantly. I personally don't even consider metallic inks something special or something I would pay extra for (despite knowing they're more expensive obviously).

I greatly appreciate the pictures @Adamthinks. The standard courts still kill this deck for me.

[Adamthinks]

Metallic inks always stink in comparison to foil. Even Lotrék's Morésque wasn't that great (in regards to shine) despite using one of the most expesive silver metallic inks apperantly. I personally don't even consider metallic inks something special or something I would pay extra for (despite knowing they're more expensive obviously).

I greatly appreciate the pictures @Adamthinks. The standard courts still kill this deck for me.

You're very welcome. Yeah, metallic ink can be pretty hit or miss. Gio has made great use of it, and the inks he's used have been pretty shiny and premium looking. Most others haven't for whatever reason. The previous deck by this creator "Open Secrets" had metallic ink that was shinier ( though not a lot) than what ended up on this deck. I hoped it would at least show up like that one, but alas it did not. Still like the decks though, the fan designs look good, and the number cards are fun. Which, for me, offset the standard courts juuuuuust enough for me to back. Standard courts are often a deal breaker for me too.

[rousselle]

These came out quite nicely. I didn't back the campaign -- I'm running out of room (and budget) and am getting much more selective these days -- but if I had the room and the budget, I'd have definitely backed this. Glad to see how well it turned out in the end.

[brownsl]

I backed this campaign and received my pledge a while back missing a gilded deck. They contacted me ahead of time and told me this. Apparently, my gilded deck was sent to another backer by mistake. This happened to multiple backers. Their solution was to try and convince the backers that erroneously received a gilded deck to send it on to the correct backer. Don't need to be a rocket scientist to know that that was not going to be successful. So, of course, I never received it, and probably never will. The backer with my deck has not been cooperative and to be honest, I am not sure I blame them. They claim they do not have any more gilded decks to send out. I wonder, if this is true and if any gilded decks have shown up at resellers. Since this one backer has not cooperated they told me that they have reached out to another backer that erroneously received a gilded deck to have them send it to me. Wait? Shouldn't that backer already sent it on to the correct backer? What a cluster and I will not be backing anything of theirs in the future.

[Honeybee]

Metallic inks always stink in comparison to foil. Even Lotrék's Morésque wasn't that great (in regards to shine) despite using one of the most expesive silver metallic inks apperantly. I personally don't even consider metallic inks something special or something I would pay extra for (despite knowing they're more expensive obviously).

I greatly appreciate the pictures @Adamthinks. The standard courts still kill this deck for me.

You're very welcome. Yeah, metallic ink can be pretty hit or miss. Gio has made great use of it, and the inks he's used have been pretty shiny and premium looking. Most others haven't for whatever reason. The previous deck by this creator "Open Secrets" had metallic ink that was shinier ( though not a lot) than what ended up on this deck. I hoped it would at least show up like that one, but alas it did not. Still like the decks though, the fan designs look good, and the number cards are fun. Which, for me, offset the standard courts juuuuuust enough for me to back. Standard courts are often a deal breaker for me too.

What is the Open Secrets deck like Adam?
Are the pictures they showed on KS an accurate representation?
Are the metallic inks really that shiny?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/or ... cards-deck

They talk a lot about the tuck and foil, saying it is USPCC on KS
but Penguin say Legends PRC. Does it really glow in the dark or under UV?

https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S34106

Would you recommend them?
Has anyone else got Open Secrets ?
(I could not find a thread for them)

[Adamthinks]

I like them, but the KS campaign GREATLY exaggerates how shiny they are. It's barely noticeable. The back design makes for some nice fans and the tuck is nice. I knew they were UV reactive, but hadn't realized they also glow in the dark afterward until you mentioned it. Just tested it, and yeah they do, and it is very noticeable. That's pretty cool.

[Honeybee]

Mine arrived the other day and I have to say the tuck is outstanding! In natural light (turn it this way and that to notice various qualities) and then again under UV, it is magical

The backs are nice enough and the representation of the pips on the number cards using the negative space is interesting (and contains a 'find' puzzle on each card for puzzlers). The Courts are their weakest aspect and some foiling could have made them so much better.

I cannot believe I am saying this as I am not a tuckist but if you have a UV torch and can pick them up cheap, I would buy these for the tuck alone! (The tuck is still brilliant in natural light but you are only getting half of what it can offer)

[EndersGame]

Adam's photos do a fantastic job of showing how the Chakravyuh decks turned out.

The tuck box of the Original Edition deck already looks stunning, courtesy of the extensive foil and design.





The tuck box of the Tamra Edition (shown below on the right, with the Original Edition on the left) has a similar exquisite design, but adds copper foil for a slightly different feel.



But for me, along with the tuck boxes it is the foil backs of the Tamra Edition that are a real highlight. The foil looks truly stunning, and the extensive copper foil complements the tuck box beautifully.





In fact, it's so beautiful, that in contrast the metallic inks on the faces of the cards almost looks dull. But I do like the concept of use mazes throughout the deck, especially how this is done on the face of the number cards.

I can see that not everyone would be a fan of having somewhat standard courts. But overall there are some really nice things going on here, and Bivas (part of the "Old Gravity" team) has done an excellent job in producing something that is very eye-catching, and visually very different from most decks out there.

[EndersGame]

Metallic inks always stink in comparison to foil. Even Lotrék's Morésque wasn't that great (in regards to shine) despite using one of the most expesive silver metallic inks apperantly. I personally don't even consider metallic inks something special or something I would pay extra for (despite knowing they're more expensive obviously).

This is a good point. It's one problem with renders - they can make metallic ink seem better than it actually is.

As far as the tuck boxes go, the renders are pretty accurate, both for the Original Edition and the more limited Tamra Edition, and the physical product turned out fairly close to the renders shown below.

Tamra Edition

The tuck box of the Tamra Edition looks fairly similar to what you see in these renders, except for the fact that it has copper foil as well as gold foil. That contrast doesn't really come out in the images below, unfortunately, and in reality it looks even more impressive than what you see here! Because half of the foil on the tuck box is gold and the other half is copper, you get the impact of two different coloured foils together, and that doesn't really come out in these renders unfortunately. So in fact what you get is better than what is shown here.



The foil on the card backs also looks far more impressive in person than what is shown in the render above. It's a copper foil that is exquisite, and it really complements the tuck box well. The option for copper gilding on the sides also enhances the overall copper look.



The back of the tuck box - shown in the above render - looks especially luxurious. It has an elegant design, which is strengthened by the use of gold foil and copper foil with a black background. As mentioned already, there are both gold and copper foils used for this, which the renders here don't do justice to. If you think that what you see here looks good, just wait till you see the actual produced deck - it looks even better!



Original Edition

The tuck box of the Original Edition has the same design as the Tamra Edition, but uses gold and silver foil instead of gold and copper foil. It turned out pretty much exactly like you see in the render below.



The seal ofters a touch of invitation, while combining this with an element of mystery, at the same time offering elegance.



The card backs of both editions have a similar design, the key difference being that the Tamra Edition has lavish copper foil, while the Original Edition has metallic gold ink. In reality these metallic gold ink looks like a gold/brown. In the case of the Original Edition this look fits well with the card faces, however. What you see in the render below is very much how the card backs of the Original Edition turned out, with a very neat and clean look.



The Cards

The card faces are identical in both editions. Unfortunately it's rare that metallic gold inks turn out as beautifully as they appear in renders, and that was the case with this deck as well. The metallic gold turned out to look more like a gold/brown colour, as shown above in Adam's photos. These card faces pale somewhat in comparison to the copper foil backs of the Tamra Edition, but they actually work quite well with the more ordinary metallic ink on the backs of the Original Edition, because there is a greater level of internal consistency.



While the metallic gold inks on the card faces isn't terribly shiny, but the real point of attraction here is the creative design, which makes good use of mazes. The Aces shown above are a real highlight. All the number cards incorporate a unique maze into the design as well, as do the Jokers.





The court cards on the other hand have a more standard look, although the Spades and Clubs employ black pips on gold, while the Hearts and Diamonds employ gold pips on black.





Recommendation

Both of these decks offer something slightly different. I think that collectors will especially be drawn to the lavish look of the tuck boxes. If that's what you find appealing about the Chakravyuh decks, then the Original Edition will be perfect. The cards inside have unique designs, and especially the maze concept gives an added point of interest. I also find that there is good internal consistency in the overall look of the cards from the Original Edition, between the faces and backs.



But if it's more bling that you're after, then the copper foil backs of the Tamra Edition are hard to beat, even though they do make the card faces of that edition seem somewhat "ordinary". Either way, I'm pleased to have both decks, and they're especially wonderful decks to have on display together, given how nicely the exquisite tuck boxes pair together, one with gold and silver foil, the other with gold and bronze foil.