THE BEST Cards

Coolest Thing introduces us to Bryan Berg, a professional card stacker who holds several Guinness World Records for his gigantic and complex houses of cards. Now, Berg attempts to build one of his paper skyscrapers with a twist – assembling it outdoors. Along the way, he explains a bit of his architectural technique.

Think you know all the good swear words? This deck of cards features 100 words to help you keep up with the locals around the globe. Each card includes the English pronunciation of a nasty word or phrase, its translation, and a rating indicating just how rude it is if you say it.

P.J. McQuade’s selection of V-Day cards continues to grow, with greetings from Jareth the Goblin King, Darth Vader, Ian Malcolm, Snape, Quint, The Hound, Yoda, Lando, True Romance, Khan, The Lord of Darkness, Gollum, Hodor, Brick Tamland, and George McFly.

We love the primitive pixel art on these playing cards, created in homage to 1980s video game systems and computers. The face cards are particularly awesome, but this is a case where even the numbered cards keep with the theme. Available in blue or red packs.

Illustrator Jacob Elijah of Puppy Grenade decided that typical holiday cards were just too boring, so he created his own line of dark and twisted cards that are sure to get attention when you mail them out to this Christmas. Also, you don’t talk about Reindeer Fight Club.

Pop Chart Lab came up with a more efficient alternative to the Every Occasion Card. Its Charted Greetings and Salutations has preambles on its y-axis and holidays and events on its x-axis, for a total of 276 possible greeting permutations.

A card game where you think of futuristic inventions. The cards contain contexts that narrow down the scope of your invention. It’s like coming up with a crowdfunding scam, except without the part where you steal people’s money.

A slick Irishman amuses pub patrons by performing his version of the sleight of hand trick that involves matching a funny story with the sequence of playing cards he pulls from a shuffled and cut deck.

Willie Nelson tells his sister and bandmate Bobbie a story about a poor but slick porter using a classic card trick. The Three of Spades was like, if you’ve got the money honey, I’ve got the time.

(NSFW: Language, SPOILERS) The Inn at the Crossroads made this free expansion for Cards Against Humanity. It’s filled with references to Game of Thrones, from Podrick’s unique skills to the origin of Littlefinger’s name.

A card-based party game that puts different twists on the name game. Each card has a noun along with its definition. Players take turns guessing each other’s card, but the rules for giving clues change each round.

Entertainer and professional cardist Javier Jarquin shows off his card throwing skills. Watch him pull off trick shots, insert a subway ticket from long-range and more. You can see more of his tricks on his YouTube channel.

A card game for movie buffs. Players take turns connecting cards by associating actors, directors, genres and other movie terms with each other. In other words, the Kevin Bacon card is king. Skip to 1:50 in the video for a demo.

Conceptualized by then 16-year-old Harry Lee back in 2009, Sneaky Cards is a free casual card game that encourages players to interact with strangers in kind and positive ways. You can contribute ideas for cards on Reddit.

Quite possibly the world’s third most random game (next to Calvinball and Xíng háishì bùxíng of course). Asmadi Games’ We Didn’t Playtest This At All is a card game where the cards enforce absurd win conditions.

Cardist Eliot Slevin smoothly transitions from one card flourish to another, picking up the pace as he goes. The song is Chasing Greatness by Cas One. Don’t bother emulating Eliot; YouTuber tartman24 already did it for you.

Superfight! is a hero-making card game in the vein of Cards Against Humanity. Players form unique superheroes from a random pool of characters and traits. The latter may be kick-ass powers or pathetic weaknesses.

Who says Cribbage is meant for little old ladies sipping from tea cups on lace doilies? This update to the 17th Century game brings out the undead in place of the standard cribbage pins, and the face cards want to eat your brains.

Enough foofy party invitations with frilly script. These custom printed invitations from Jack Spade and Paperless Post are for guys who just want to get the point across. Our faves: The M90 camo invite and the plastic bag thank you card.

(NSFW: Language) Are you no longer disgusted by your Cards Against Humanity deck? Check out Crabs Adjust Humidity, an unofficial expansion of the world’s most offensive party game. It’s the Mega Bloks of card games.

The mythical Chinese and Hindu origin of the war between the Gods and the Asuras is beautifully portrayed in this 2500-deck limited edition design of Bicycle playing cards from Card Experiment. Uncut sheets here.

Handmade greeting cards inspired by the travel pictures taken by the founder of Red Camper’s grandparents. Each card has an image of basement wood paneling and a short message inside. Blank cards also available.

Awkward Moment is a fun twist on Apples to Apples. Each round, players use Reaction cards to respond to a randomly drawn cringe-inducing situation. A judge chooses the winner based on a randomly chosen criterion.

Want to make it rain a little harder at your Friday night poker games? Check out Jackson Robinson’s Federal 52, a good looking deck of cards inspired by the engravings on US bank notes and currency. (Thanks Greg!)