zlexander wrote: ↑Tue Jan 20, 2026 7:41 am
And he is reopening Patreon , I dont like it ,should have completed all pending rewards first imo
This is just pure speculation, but I wonder if the future of his Patreon will give his patrons access to test runs, along with an opportunity to provide input as to what looks best? It would make sense with the name “experiment 26” and the insistence that he will no longer sell any test runs/scrapped decks. Given the name, maybe these tests will consist of sample packets of 26 cards? That could conceivably be the following 26 cards: all courts, all aces, number cards 2-10 of various suits, and a joker. This would provide him with a platform to play with thematic design concepts and/or any new printing techniques for each new deck. The results of these tests would become the patron rewards, along with the opportunity to provide feedback.
If this is indeed is the model he intends to take, I like it. It rings true to the concept of what Patreon is supposed to be about, and it would allow his patrons to support new developments in a way that takes all the time related pressure off of him. Plus, after drooling over the Rubaiyat test print, I know the rewards that could result from a system like this will be quite worthwhile. Since the tests would be full of variation, and would not be full decks, the collectibility and specialness of every final deck would be fully maintained. The problem of having too many (potentially inferior) variations of one deck would be solved, and hopefully any printing kinks would be worked out through the testing process.
If this isn’t the case and he opens the Patreon back up before finishing the backlog, I would have to agree with you that this would be a big no-no. I’m fairly confident my speculation is correct, though. If it is not, I hope he reads this and considers it.