The Game Crafter, thoughts?

For general questions and comments regarding the production and distribution of Indy decks.
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Charlie Brown
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The Game Crafter, thoughts?

Post by Charlie Brown »

What are people's opinions on the quality of Game Crafter decks? Love 'em? Hate 'em? Meh? I'm curious.
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Seldes Katne
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Re: The Game Crafter, thoughts?

Post by Seldes Katne »

I purchased a couple of decks from Game Crafter, and I have no complaints. The cardstock seems to be standard weight, the decks both came in boxes, the artwork was clear and the print job was just fine.

The Tod's Creatures Tarot (which I couldn't find when I searched the site, but which then popped up on a Google search) is a smaller sized deck -- a pocket size, I suppose. I'm not complaining about that, as I sometimes have a hard time shuffling standard sized cards. It's easy to transport, and I've used it several times. The art might be a bit too "cute" for some folks, but I work with kids and teens, and I prefer art that's not scary when I do.

I also have the Christmas Tarot, which has art based on vintage Christmas cards. It's a regular sized deck, and the symbolism is different from the RWS standard decks. I own it more because it's a novelty deck thank because I intend to read with it. It's currently a "private" deck and unavailable for sale; I'm not sure if it's out of print, or only available seasonally, or what the explanation is.

The prices on both decks were in line with tarot decks published by Llewellyn and Lo Scarabeo. Neither deck came with an LWB or other documentation, although I see some tarot items on the Game Crafter site that do. I like the looks of The Fox Tarot (full sized deck comes with a book, the Mini deck does not), so I will likely buy from this site again.

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Charlie Brown
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Re: The Game Crafter, thoughts?

Post by Charlie Brown »

Thanks. I've actually seen that Christmas tarot. I was so excited at first glance and then was pretty disappointed. You're very kind, I think, to say the symbolism is different. My sense was that the author just didn't spend any time even thinking about what image might match up to what card.
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gurupcc
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Re: The Game Crafter, thoughts?

Post by gurupcc »

GameCrafter and similar print on demand printers are a big no in playing card collectors world, at least. Card & print quality is meh...and I don't want to comment on finish as it is quite bad. My 2 cents.

PS: Above comments may seem biased to some and so, please feel free to validate the above with anyone who understand card stock specs & printer qualities.
Bharata Tarot Major Arcana - now available @ www.guruplayingcards.com

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Belinda2
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Re: The Game Crafter, thoughts?

Post by Belinda2 »

Charlie Brown wrote: 06 Mar 2018, 02:22 Thanks. I've actually seen that Christmas tarot. I was so excited at first glance and then was pretty disappointed. You're very kind, I think, to say the symbolism is different. My sense was that the author just didn't spend any time even thinking about what image might match up to what card.
I have it and many of the images are unclear copied from vintage images, And not too well.

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Belinda2
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Re: The Game Crafter, thoughts?

Post by Belinda2 »

Off topic Corrine Kenner's The Christmas Tarot would be a better choice but it was never published .

If you like Lenormand on game crafter
There is the YuletideLenormand.
But the one I really like is Christmas oracle Lenormand from Germany .
https://www.etsy.com/listing/261190464/ ... -lenormand

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Charlie Brown
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Re: The Game Crafter, thoughts?

Post by Charlie Brown »

Oooh... that does look nice. I have this Christmas Oracle and think that it's pretty good. The card definitions are well thought out. I did a series of daily draw postings with it as an advent calendar. It should be easy to find if you're interested.
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Nemia
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Re: The Game Crafter, thoughts?

Post by Nemia »

If you're a card stock connaisseur, you'll be disappointed. The Dungeon Solitaire is an intriguing little deck but it feels as though it's printed on a Cornflakes box. A pity.

The Type Tarot is a clever idea but the choice of words is arbitrary. I feel they fed a text about the card to a computer program that spits out a picture where very helpful words like "and" and "you" hide the really relevant keywords. It looks beautiful though. Could easily have been so much better. Card stock meh.

The Hermetic Kabbalah Tarot is a very clever and helpful study deck. Card stock a bit on the flimsy side but otherwise okay.

I confess that I never really "notice" card stock except when asked about it. I forgive a lot when the concept, images, composition, borders and coherence of the whole deck are right. And they don't get used heavily like my patience cards.

IMO Game Crafter is a good place to find interesting and a bit weird decks. If their shipping rates were more affordable, I'd probably have ordered more decks in the past.

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Belinda2
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Re: The Game Crafter, thoughts?

Post by Belinda2 »

Charlie Brown wrote: 06 Mar 2018, 12:28 Oooh... that does look nice. I have this Christmas Oracle and think that it's pretty good. The card definitions are well thought out. I did a series of daily draw postings with it as an advent calendar. It should be easy to find if you're interested.
Thank you that's a new one on me, I love oracles and Christmas so it might be a match.

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Charlie Brown
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Re: The Game Crafter, thoughts?

Post by Charlie Brown »

Belinda2 wrote: 06 Mar 2018, 13:28 Thank you that's a new one on me, I love oracles and Christmas so it might be a match.
I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Charlie Brown
—“I’ve developed a new philosophy. I only dread one day at a time.”

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