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WILD WEST Playing Cards - Deadwood & The Black Hills

Created by Randy Butterfield (Midnight Cards)

Fully-Custom Playing Cards that feature historical legends of Wild West’s Deadwood and The Black Hills regions.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Wild West 32-Page Book PHOTOS
over 5 years ago – Tue, Jul 09, 2019 at 01:11:32 AM

Hey Everyone,

I wanted to give a quick update to show off some Book photos.

The 32-Page Book is finished!! Even though we didn't hit the Book upgrade Stretch Goal, I went ahead and Unlocked it anyway. I'm glad I did.

The FELT WEAVE paper stock is super cool!! Below are photos I took of the finished 32-Page WILD WEST Book.

Also a quick reminder. I'll be closing down the BackerKits in 12 days, on July 20th. That's also when Cards will be charged for any new Add-On purchases post Kickstarter funding. 

If you need to make any adjustments to Add-On items or Shipping Address,

our BackerKit link is https://wildwestdeadwood.backerkit.com/

There’s still a little over 40 Backers who have yet to complete their BackerKit. If you haven’t filled yours out yet, please follow the link above (or send me a Shipping Address via Kickstarter PM).

thanks, Randy

Wild West BackerKits arriving today!
over 5 years ago – Sat, Jun 22, 2019 at 08:14:56 PM

Hey Everyone,

I wanted to send a quick heads-up, before sending out the BackerKit surveys. The Wild West BackerKit is all setup and ready to go! Each of you should soon receive an e-mail asking you to complete your survey - for supplying a shipping address for your item(s) and to specify or add any Add-On items.

There are a couple of extra Decks that will be available as Add-Ons in the Wild West BackerKit setup (at some great prices for Wild West Backers!). I like to print a self-funded Deck or two, whenever I do a print run with Legends. And this project is no different.

Printing along with the 2 Wild West Decks are a reprint of my favorite of my completed Draconian series - the Draconian Wildfire Deck (my first reprint!). And also included is a new EUCHRE V2 Deck. Euchre is a great 4 Player game (2 teams of 2) that’s popular in the Midwest (especially in Indiana and Michigan). The 2 through 8 Cards are not used in Euchre, so each EUCHRE V2 Deck includes 2 sets of Euchre Cards (Rules and custom Score Cards also included). Some of you may recognize the look of the EUCHRE V2 design. It’s a variation of my ORNATE design, but with semi-custom Courts for quick readability during gameplay.

All 4 Decks are set to be finished around July 10th, and then should arrive at Gambler’s Warehouse around August 10th - 17th. I’ll be locking down the BackerKits on July 20th. This will give me plenty of time to prep the Excel fulfillment files for Gambler’s. Below are some images of the Draconian Wildfire and EUCHRE V2 Decks.

The BackerKit process is quick and easy, but If you have any questions, please send me a Kickstarter PM or e-mail me at [email protected]

Thanks, Randy

Wild West Physical Proofs APPROVED!!
over 5 years ago – Tue, Jun 11, 2019 at 08:12:41 PM

Hey Everyone,

So, the Wild West project has been waiting on the Physical Proofs from Legends, for a while now. I’m happy to announce that they arrived, and that I APPROVED them to go to Print!! Both Decks will be printed, in Tawain, in 4 weeks (around July 10th). After that, they’ll take the month long slow boat ride to the U.S. (usually takes 4-5 weeks to get from Taiwan to the fulfillment center in Dallas, Texas). So we’re looking at fulfilling a couple months early, sometime in August!!

There is some news to go over in detail though. Part of the reason the Physical Proofs took a long time was because Legends was having a difficult time with the new Foam Ink. In the end, it would only work on a shiny / coated paper stock (the Foam Ink wouldn’t stick to the matte finish paper). Since we agreed that a shiny finish probably wouldn’t vibe well with a Wild West Design, Legends went ahead and created Physical Proofs for two other options. White copy on images with rich CMYK color builds can be a tricky situation with offset printing. So the three options for Physical Proofs were*:

A - White Foam Ink on shiny / coated paper stock

B - White Pantone (to punch up the white paper, and account for any color bleed) + Clear UV Spot Ink on matte paper stock

C - White Foil on matte paper stock

*Each of these options also included Embossing, Gold Foil, 4-Color Process exterior printing and 4-Color Process interior printing.

Pricing was not a factor, as versions A, B and C were nearly identical in pricing structure. I went with the head-and-shoulders best looking combination - Option B with White Pantone + Clear UV Spot Ink on matte paper. The final result is gorgeous!!

Below are rough iPad photos of the Physical Proofs. I also included a shot of the Foam Ink option in a side-by-side look of the Tuck Options A and B (the White Foil option C wasn’t worth shooting a photo of. It was lacking in detail and was flaking off in areas). The Foam Ink was ok in some areas of the larger type, but inconsistent in other areas of the larger type, and very poor quality in the smaller type on the Top Panels. And the shiny / coated paper needed for the Foam Ink just wasn’t right for this look.

Anyways, enough about the behind-the scenes issues. The Decks will be printed in a month!! 

I’ll be finishing setting up the Wild West BackerKit setup this week, and sending them out sometime next week. BackerKit is where each of you will be able to easily specify your shipping address and select the Add-Ons you’re interested in receiving.

I’ll send another Update right before the BackerKits are on the way to each of you.

Thanks, Randy

We did it!!
over 5 years ago – Wed, May 15, 2019 at 02:25:05 AM

Hey Everyone,

Thanks to your incredible support, we’ve successfully reached our funding! Thank you all!!! I’ll be posting regular updates to keep you up-to-date on every step of the production process, and let you know when the BackerKits will be going out (for shipping addresses and Add-Ons selections).

Below are some closeups of the Cards for one of my favorites of the Decks - Potato Creek Johnny. Before my family’s trip to the Black Hills, I knew little about Potato Creek Johnny, and didn’t have him listed in my Courts Outline for the Decks. That changed pretty quickly when we arrived in Deadwood! It was obvious right away how important Potato Creek Johnny is to Deadwood and the Black Hills. His image and story is found throughout the town, and they even buried him next to Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. And he has such an awesome look!

Johnny’s 2-Page Spread for the Companion Book tells more about his interesting story.

Thanks, Randy

George Custer and Fillide
over 5 years ago – Tue, May 07, 2019 at 11:43:59 PM

Hey Everyone,

Production has already started on the WILD WEST: Deadwood & The Black Hills Decks! I’ve already received, and Approved, the Digital Proofs for both Decks. So with any luck, we’ll be a month or two earlier than the October Delivery ETA!

Here’s a closer look at the Jack of Diamonds Cards (Deadwood on left, The Black Hills on right) - the notorious Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer! Custer led his men to their death in one of the most controversial battles in U.S. history - the Battle of the Little Bighorn. 

 Thanks, Randy


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Designed in Italy by Sicilian artist Alessandra Gagliano, Fillide playing cards draw inspiration from nature, magic and the rich folklore of Sicily, where both ancient Greek temples and Roman theatres still stand almost side by side.

Pledge HERE!