Mahabharata Playing Cards and Ancient Pasha Board Game by Omega Playing Cards

[KGthePrince]

[[url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/om ... board-game[/url]]

[kevork]

Curious to see what Bivas is doing with this one.

[wonderfulfacts]

Same.
Will be interesting to see how the decks and game will connect

[EndersGame]

Here's a write-up I did about this project, along with some images.

Kickstarter: Mahabharata Playing Cards and Ancient Pasha Board Game

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/om ... board-game

Luxury custom playing cards and an ancient board game that are a tribute to a literary epic

Cost: US$18 Standard deck, US$28 Gilded deck, US$95 Collector's Box with Board Game
Funding level: 85% funded
Project ends: Monday, 21 July 2025



I've enjoyed both of the projects produced so far by Omega Playing Cards: The Zero Deck, and the 52 Lies set. Omega Playing cards is a team that consists of Subhabrata, an engineer and avid card collector, and playing card designer Bivas from Old Gravity. Bivas has produced several decks under his own label, and I really like his artistic style and his commitment to high quality.

Their latest project is entitled Mahabharata Playing Cards, and is named after one of ancient India's great Sanskrit epics. This famous story describes the conflict between two royal families, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, which culminates in an epic battle. The deck depicts key figures from this battle.

The project consists of two main decks (each available in either a standard version or a gilded version):
● Dharmic Edition: revolves around the pious Pandavas and the power-seeking Kauravas
● Moksha Edition: revolves around the story's philosophy that there is no good and evil, only souls entrapped in different states of consciousness

Each tuck box consists of an outer sleeve that is die-cut and has foil and embossing, and houses an inner sleeve.



There's also a special reward: the Ancient Pasha Board Game Collector's Box, which encloses a board game and a gilded version of each deck.

All the images and artwork on the tuck boxes and playing cards incorporate a great deal of symbolism drawn from the philosophy and content of the epic. The court cards depict the Pandavas on the Hearts and Diamonds, and the Kauravas on the Spades and Clubs.





The cards feature reds, blacks, silver and browns, and are foiled before printing for a luxurious look.



The number cards are laid in the pattern of the Pasha board.



Dharmic Edition deck

In the Mahabharata epic, dharma represents a concept that embodies justice, morality, virtue, and cosmic order, and guides individuals in their actions based on their roles in society. This is why the conflict between the two families touches on philosophical principles, with the Pandavas embodying that which is righteous (dharmic), and the Kauravas embodying that which is unrighteous (adharmic).





The gilded edition of this deck is numbered and the cards are finished with dark antique gold side gilding.





Moksha Edition deck

In the Mahabharata epic, moksha represents the ultimate goal of life, where the soul is liberated from the cycle of birth and rebirth, attains spiritual enlightenment, and merges with the divine. For this reason the artwork and colours of this deck have softer sepia tones, to emphasize purity and harmony.





This is complemented with platinum side-gilding for the gilded edition of this deck.





Ancient Pasha Board Game Collector's Box

This is a special feature of the project and is limited to just 500. It's a board game based on the ancient game Pasha, and is hidden inside a special case. A traditional dice game that is similar to Pachisi, Pasha was played by the Pandavas and Kauravas. In the story, one character used loaded dice to ensure the Pandavas' defeat, which intensified the hostility between the two families, and set the stage for the war that followed.



When you lift the lid of the special box, you unveil the Pasha board folded inside, and also reveals the two numbered gilded editions of the deck inside, along with the painted wooden game pieces and dice.

As the four sides unfold, you reach the centre of the Pasha Collector Box, which houses the two Numbered Gilded Editions of the Mahabharata Playing Cards, along with the game pieces arranged on its four sides, and the two special dice at the centre.



Kickstarter link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/om ... board-game

[zlexander]

Will be interesting to see how the decks and game will connect

As far as I know the game and decks dont connect other than the game being the part of the story . Shakuni used a dice made from the bones of his deceased father so he had a control over their outcomes which he uses to win a series of gambling matches leading to a big event in the story

[zlexander]

Im not sure how I feel about this . Ive seen Tomasetti’s take on Mahabharat and his paintings are mesmerising (if anyone wants to check : https://tomassettiart.it/indo-vedic-production/ )

The concept of Pasha is great but the art especially with the name on back , I am not sure if I should pledge or not . I got Forbidden Forest and from the beginning I loved the artwork , this one Im not sure . What are you guys getting (if any) ?

[GandalfPC]

Game and deck both not quite my groove at this point, earlier on I think I would have been in though - perhaps if the cards and game worked together it would have been more intriguing

[Honeybee]

The courts look like pics I could find on Clip Art

[laitostarr777]

Im not sure how I feel about this . Ive seen Tomasetti’s take on Mahabharat and his paintings are mesmerising (if anyone wants to check : https://tomassettiart.it/indo-vedic-production/ )

The concept of Pasha is great but the art especially with the name on back , I am not sure if I should pledge or not . I got Forbidden Forest and from the beginning I loved the artwork , this one Im not sure . What are you guys getting (if any) ?

Well, currently pledging for the gilded pair. The boardgame is interesting though: although… one thing I thought is, who I gotta play with - cuz these days, digital games are more favorable than board games

The board game kinda looked like Ludo. Correct if I am wrong: I am sure this Pasha’s gameplay is similar to Ludo?

[EndersGame]

The board game kinda looked like Ludo. Correct if I am wrong: I am sure this Pasha’s gameplay is similar to Ludo?

That's my understanding too. The project page says the gameplay is similar to Pachisi, and Ludo is simply a modern name for the same game.

There's some helpful info over on the Wikipedia article about Pachisi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachisi) which specifically mentions Pasha as the origin of this game and its connection with the Mahabharata.

"Pachisi is a cross and circle board game that originated in Ancient India. It is described in the ancient text Mahabharata under the name of "Pasha". It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross. A player's pieces move around the board based upon a throw of six or seven cowrie shells as lots, with the number of shells resting with the aperture upward indicating the number of spaces to move."

[zlexander]

Im not sure how I feel about this . Ive seen Tomasetti’s take on Mahabharat and his paintings are mesmerising (if anyone wants to check : https://tomassettiart.it/indo-vedic-production/ )

The concept of Pasha is great but the art especially with the name on back , I am not sure if I should pledge or not . I got Forbidden Forest and from the beginning I loved the artwork , this one Im not sure . What are you guys getting (if any) ?

Well, currently pledging for the gilded pair. The boardgame is interesting though: although… one thing I thought is, who I gotta play with - cuz these days, digital games are more favorable than board games

The board game kinda looked like Ludo. Correct if I am wrong: I am sure this Pasha’s gameplay is similar to Ludo?

I heard its similar to Ludo , Ive never played it .I like Ludo though. I was initially pledging for the board game but after thinking over I dont really like the art so I have dropped my pledge

[rousselle]

I'm somehow on these folks mailing list, and I don't see another thread mentioning these. They look decent enough, although the number cards are enough to prevent me from adding these to my collection.

That said: they are having their cards manufactured by "KSPCC."

I thought King Star was done...?

[kevork]

viewtopic.php?t=24444

[laitostarr777]

I thought King Star was done...?

They are still printing, no?
TWI had been producing decks by KSPCC = Obsession, Celestial Amor Dei, Archons (both White and Black)
then Hidden Light with their Chess deck

That's not "they're done" to me

[Adamthinks]

I thought King Star was done...?

They are still printing, no?
TWI had been producing decks by KSPCC = Obsession, Celestial Amor Dei, Archons (both White and Black)
then Hidden Light with their Chess deck

That's not "they're done" to me

There was drama with them shutting down and then opening a new factory. I can't remember the full details, but the company was near shutting down itself, and the new facility and version of the company is a bit of a shoot off from the original. As such, there's been speculation as to the quality of cards that would be coming out of the new factory. Im not sure if anyone has fully roduced a deck yet with the new facility. I know Gio has mentioned that he was testing them with one of his recent decks. I recall him saying he was satisfied with the results but I can't remember which deck it was.

[Evilgamer]

Im pretty sure I have decks done by new kingstar they are fine. (The nezha deck mentioned below)

Certainly not a great situation, and I had the same reaction I did to cartamundi moving factories (that I wanted to see how well the new facility was doing and had concerns it would take a little while to dial in). But this time it seemed to have already happened and was fully in production when we heard about it.

[kevork]

King Star sent me an incorrect deck for the Unity project. As a replacement, they then sent me the same incorrect deck again. When this was brought to their attention, I was asked to provide photo proof and they claimed to have shipped a second replacement afterwards. I never received it. I know it's a personal issue, but I'm not a fan of King Star at the moment.

[laitostarr777]

… I know Gio has mentioned that he was testing them with one of his recent decks. I recall him saying he was satisfied with the results but I can't remember which deck it was.

It’s the Obsession Playing Cards which Gio tested the new Kingstar. The Limited Edition of the series which is ONLY hot foiling on the cards.