Despite seeing years of play, the deck (seven of clubs not withstanding) has held up remarkably well. The cards are crisp, snappy, and despite some face wear perfectly serviceable (seven of clubs not withstanding). The cards really are the kind of made for life component we all love in our games.
Varnish Crackling
My new deck of red arrows is a different story. After only two plays we cracked open the deck and found substantial crackling on the face of cards.
To understand what is going on with this, we first need to talk a little about how playing cards are made. First a long roll of card or plastic stock (in this case PVC or a similar plastic) is taken. It’s rolled through a printer, and then is finished with either a varnish or a laminate.