Game night gets a contemporary art upgrade. This standard deck of 52 playing cards (plus two jokers) features bold, original illustrations by Tara Booth, Liana Jegers, Angela Kirkwood, and Lauren Martin, and is manufactured in the USA by Bicycle Playing Cards.
Fun & Freaky Card Lore:
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Playing cards date back to 9th-century China, made possible by the invention of woodblock printing.
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While the Western world favors French-suited decks (Diamonds, Hearts, Clubs, and Spades), historical variations include bells, acorns, leaves, cups, coins, and swords.
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A standard deck mirrors the rhythm of a year—red and black represent day and night, the 4 suits match the seasons, the 12 court cards echo the 12 months, the 13 cards per suit reflect the lunar cycles, and the 52 cards align with the weeks of the year.
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Add up the numerical values of every card (Ace = 1 through King = 13) and you get 364. Add one joker for 365 days, and the second joker for 366—a full leap year.