One of my children is an ardent admirer of penguins, so I couldn't resist picking up this Emperor
deck, which has been produced by Penguin Magic. The tuck box immediately puts the spotlight on our
solo performer penguin, in keeping with the company slogan "Born to Perform".
The two-way
backs see the return of our penguin friend from the tuck box, as part of a classically styled
symmetrical design. A bold and familiar shape is the hallmark of a good design, which is evident
with the figure eight pattern and hour-glass look. Yet the close observer is rewarded with many
more details, not the least of which is ornate scrollwork, snowflakes, and even a line of tiny
emperor penguins about to launch themselves down the ice into the water in their signature and
spectacular sliding style.
While the majority of the deck features standard playing cards,
there's always room for customization on a few selected cards. My favourite is easily the Ace of
Spades, where a giant spade pip cleverly en-captures two emperor penguins lovingly meeting their
beaks in a touching act of affection. The Jokers see a small departure from the Emperor penguin
theme, with the mischievous Rockhopper Penguin making a cameo appearance.
Besides the
standard version of this deck, there's also a Marked Emperor deck that is available separately, and
which I also recommend.
Both decks have been printed in Taiwan by Expert Playing Card
Company in their popular Classic finish. These have a slightly different feel than a typical USPCC
deck, but EPCC is an industry leader renowned for printing high quality playing cards with precise
registration and extremely durable card-stock.
Unmarked
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