5th Kingdom playing cards

The 5th Kingdom is a passion project started in 2015 by Maria Fedoseeva and was funded via Kickstarter, printed by USPCC and produced & distributed by PlayingCardDecks.com in 2020. Fedoseeva studied graphic design at the Moscow State University of Printing Arts and is now an illustrator based in Berlin, Germany.

It is a semi-transformation deck (i.e. the pips are cleverly integrated into the artwork on the cards) with creative and beautiful original art designs on every card. The illustrations express four unique worlds through colour and rhythm: spades depict ancient African culture; clubs embody a medieval culture of Europe; diamonds represent a fairy-tale Japan; and Hearts colourful India. There are two jokers, and two extra cards which provide fuller lyrical descriptions of each suit.

Two different versions of this deck were produced - a black "Artist" edition and a blue "Players" edition. The card backs of the black Artist edition have a one-way design while the card backs of the Players edition (shown here) have a double-ended design that makes it more suitable for actual use. In all other respects both packs are identical. See the box►

Above: 5th Kingdom playing cards designed by Maria Fedoseeva and published by PlayingCardDecks.com in Henderson, Nevada, USA, 2020.