Announcing Four Realms Playing Cards

Making designs with meaning

We are excited to announce the launch of two decks of playing cards. These decks are a celebration of four historical ruling dynasties that left an indelible mark on South Asia.

Our ambition was to create playing cards that are distinctively Indian in appearance and aesthetic. The kings, queens, jacks and jokers are all inspired by rulers—native and foreign—who have flown their flags and waged their battles in these lands. As a starting point, we examined an array of miniature paintings and grand panoramas in search of an artistic approach that would marry the flat, highly stylized look of conventional face cards with the drama and elegance of Indian courtly portraiture.

The back designs on these cards also received a great deal of attention. In searching for universal symbols of Indian-ness, we struck upon two of its most iconic denizens, the tiger and elephant. But rather than showing the tiger at its fiercest, or the elephant at its most powerful, we present them in a seated position, unbothered and at rest. After all, one plays at their best when they keep their cool, no? We wanted the artwork to reflect that idea.

And spare a thought for the wildcards of the deck. Two soldiers, one British and the other Portuguese, stand smartly, ready to take decisive action. And yet, they are turned away from the viewer, their eyes looking back at what they will soon leave behind. Foreign nations played their parts—and took their toll—on India, but only for a time. Eventually the sun would set on their dominion.

Playing a sustainable hand

Perhaps more important than the story we wished to tell with these cards is the way in which they were made. We pushed ourselves to make the most sustainably produced deck of plastic playing cards possible.

How can plastic playing cards be made sustainably? Our first step was to source recycled plastic that is purpose-made for this application. The plastic stock we used has a micro-texture finish unique to playing card surfaces. This minute texturing allows the cards to slide smoothly with very little friction. It is important that playing cards float against one another without sticking or rubbing against one another. Otherwise, they will be hard to shuffle and deal, and over time the wear and tear of use will cause the printed ink to rub off.

When planning this product we also considered using paper card stock. The very finest paper playing cards are made of wood stock, which is renewable, and the card material itself is created by sandwiching three layers together a bit like how plywood is made. Two outer layers of paper are fused together with an inner layer of opaque glue that prevents light from passing through the card. This ensures that a person playing in a brightly lit space does not accidentally reveal the cards in their hand.

But we rejected the paper option because today in India there is simply no paper manufacturer which produces triple-layer paper playing card stock. As far as we could determine, this kind of paper stock is only made in Europe and the US. It should also be pointed out that all paper playing cards made in India today are single-ply, which means that light passes through them readily. A crafty opponent may very well be able to see through the cards in your hand under the right conditions.

The recycled plastic material we used in our cards is PVC, the same type of plastic—and with the same handling characteristics—as that used in playing cards made of virgin (that is, completely new) plastic. Additionally, our cards can be recycled. Someday, a long time from now, they can be transformed into something useful all over again.

We also carefully examined how to make a sustainable box, and the final result is fully recyclable. Instead of laminating them in a thin plastic film, which is how conventional playing card boxes are made, we treated the printed surface with an aqueous coating that protects the ink. Plastic lamination of paper packaging is very common in India for all sorts of goods, but this completely rules out the possibility of said packaging being recycled. Once the plastic film is fused to the paper surface, the two cannot readily be separated again.

And finally, we sourced a bioplastic shrink-wrap film that is used to protect each box on its journey to you. This additional small reduction in the use of petroleum products is one more step we are taking to create products that standards in how games and puzzles can be made.

We are proud of these playing cards and the story they tell, both through the artwork they boast and the materials they contain.