Journey back with me, friends, to this Reddit post from two years ago, announcing Bard’s Arcana, a Kickstarter project to produce a Shakespeare Tarot Card deck. I commented at the time, noting my continuing quest to add a Shakespeare Tarot to my collection. Though a few have been printed over the years, they almost always fall out of print and become incredibly difficult to find. I was in. Despite my trepidation at the proposed launch date – December 2024!
Now jump to my post, from December 2024, asking where the heck the guy had gone. It was a long and bumpy road, to be sure. Definitely one of the worst Kickstarters I’ve ever backed. Turns out the guy was busy working on a regular retail version that will be available on Amazon. Because, you know, screw the people that backed you early on, right?
Anyway, here we are in October 25 and it finally came out. Shall we review? Here’s the box:
And here are some cards:
I mean, it exists, I guess? And that’s something. But I think the gold lettering was a mistake. If you actually plan to use these are something other than decoration, you’re supposed to be able to actually read them. On many of the cards, the gold lettering quote is on a dark background making it impossible to read unless you hold the card and tilt it to hit the light just right. Ironically, I think the creator said that the Amazon version doesn’t get the gold, like it was somehow an upgrade for us Kickstarter folks. I think the plain version will probably end up being the better one.
The illustrations aren’t anything to write home about either. These are far from the kind of thing you’d frame and hang on the wall.
Shakespeare Tarot
It’s nice that a Shakespeare deck exists. I’ve always wanted a deck where every card was a character. And I love cards where it clearly says what character and play we’re referencing, and the quotes are nice. There’s something to be said for that. I could totally use this by keeping it at my desk and just randomly cutting into the deck to see what character I get.
That just makes it barely worth the wait, though. I see no reason why the creator couldn’t have produced a better product, sooner.
There are affiliate links in this post to the pre-order on Amazon. I don’t exactly like the idea of rewarding the creators for such a poor Kickstarter, but my primary mission has always been spreading Shakespeare, and I know how much I’ve wanted a Shakespeare tarot. So I figure if you want one, at least now you have the opportunity to get one.