Chi Pix Card Deck

I'm making a deck of playing cards! Each card features a piece of Chicago pixel art.

Once I've got all the designs finalized, I plan on running a crowdfunding campaign to get them professionally produced, shipped, and sold in stores here in the city.


Art & Design

What: 54 unique card designs, making a complete 4-color Bridge-size playing card deck, perfect for most standard-deck card games like Blackjack and Texas Hold'em. The deck is Chicago-specific, with municipal flag-inspired colors and art featuring local icons and architecture.

How: Pixel art hand-drawn in Aesprite, using a Wacom pen tablet and occasional photo reference.

The illustrations depict things I've seen here in Chicago, like parks, architecture, famous icons, and little weird visually-interesting things I see on a daily basis. This city is a flowing river of constant aesthetic inspiration.

I'm adding a subtle "rotation indicator" to each card that shows which direction it's facing, which should allow for some interesting game design possibilities that typical decks don't have. The indicators aren't quite finished, so they aren't shown on the mockups on this page.

The Card Game

What: A 1- or 2-player card game specifically designed for my deck.

How: A digital game manual, featuring animated motion graphics to demonstrate how to play. Below is a short, rough excerpt of the video, which is still in development (and uses outdated art and colors).

The game (which is still unnamed) involves lining up "combos" of cards with similarities (number or suit) to inflict damage to an enemy card. It's a fun challenge, with some fun layers of strategy and luck.

Each suit has a special effect, which activates when players end a combo with a specific suit. This gives the player some strategic styles to choose from— some offense-heavy, some defensive, and some that rely on luck.

The game takes advantage of the deck's custom nature, with each card having a rotational indicator, HP markings, and a distint color for each suit. It's playable with other decks, but it's a much rougher experience.

Production & Manufacturing

The decks are being produced by a major playing card manufacturer in Hong Kong, with thick, casino-quality texture-coated cardstock. Below is the exact texture of the final product, based on a demo they sent me.

The decks will ship in a tin case, which will have custom labels. Below is a prototype tin, which I've kicked around for a few months to test its durability.

The number of decks I get manufactured depends on a crowdfunding campaign I plan to kick off in the next few months! Each backer will recieve the finished deck, on waxy textured cardstock, in a beautiful old-school tin case, shipped directly to them.

If you're interested in buying a deck, don't hesitate to reach out— I'll notify you when they're ready to order! In the meantime, stay tuned :)