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This is now live over at Penguin Magic here:

https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/16302

Or considering that they are rockets, maybe it's better to say that they have now launched.











Here's some of the ad copy - head over to Penguin Magic to see full details:

Buckle up for a blast from the past with Bicycle Retro Rocket Playing Cards!

These cards celebrate a time when space travel was the stuff of dreams - zipping off to worlds unknown to create vast floating cities in the skies. Designed by Douglas Fuchs, the Retro Rockets are covered in fully custom artwork. The backs have rockets blasting off from a Martian metropolis, and rockets are featured on the Jokers as well. The court cards are all astronauts, while the number cards feature custom suit pips.

Printed on our signature Elite Thin-Crushed stock with an Air-Cushion "Magic" finish, these traditionally-cut cards are a dream to handle whether you're playing on Earth or in outer space!

Another great sub-$10 Penguin deck with free shipping! I wonder when I'll stop buying their monthly new releases...

Hopefully never!!

I've posted an overview of the deck at the link below, which also includes a fun little piece of USPCC/Bicycle trivia:

https://youtu.be/9BrVRXBMBzQ

over all pretty neat deck. the middle design on the card back definitely resembles something you would ''launch a rocket'' into hehe

I love how Penguin is going against the trend of $15 decks filled with shiny, blinged out tucks and decks with foil edge printing but with designs that don't quite fit the price range. Fun, clean designs which don't have too much happening. All for just $9!

Also like the trend of custom half brick boxes. You get the nice box but at 1/2 the price and space! Keep it up and here's hoping more designers start noticing what Penguin is doing.

Eric Lee wrote: ↑Wed Sep 08, 2021 5:37 am I love how Penguin is going against the trend of $15 decks filled with shiny, blinged out tucks and decks with foil edge printing but with designs that don't quite fit the price range. Fun, clean designs which don't have too much happening. All for just $9!

This is a really good comment. It's one of the things that has made Theory11 so successful as well. Many of their decks are priced at $10-12, and you get tuck box bling that you won't get from any other creator at that price point.

Penguin doesn't have blinged tuck boxes like Theory11, but their decks are even cheaper still. Plus they appeal more to the collector's market courtesy of greater customization on the cards themselves. Penguin's $9 launch price for a quality and fully custom deck can't be beat.

Another good thing for them is that this can attract a lot of collectors towards using Penguin as a retailer, so it also increases their customer base. Smart move all round.

Hey Kev! Love the deck! Any plans for a blue version? The blue back looks awesome

Thanks Sherman! No firm plans for a full blue deck yet - just the red/blue double backer for now. But never say never!

Gilded version coming on November 16

Looks like a new tuck box too.

I was kinda hoping they'd do this deck with blue backs, like the double backer that came with the original deck.

EndersGame wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 3:48 am I was kinda hoping they'd do this deck with blue backs, like the double backer that came with the original deck.

Totally Agree! I love the blue backs and think that they fit the theme so much better than the red as it actually looks like outer space

love that tuck for the gilded version. a few years ago i was a gilding fan but not so much after i got a few gilded decks.

Gilded rockets have landed! Enjoy!

https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/16611

shermjack wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 8:13 pm

EndersGame wrote: ↑Sun Nov 14, 2021 3:48 am I was kinda hoping they'd do this deck with blue backs, like the double backer that came with the original deck.

Totally Agree! I love the blue backs and think that they fit the theme so much better than the red as it actually looks like outer space

A blue space-themed deck, you say?

Well, it won't be Retro Rockets, but stay tuned for something coming later this month...

Just please please PLEASE fix your web site. It's impossible to navigate. Yes I can place an order for just one or two decks but that's such a waste and not even economical for you. Love your decks but your site is at least 20 years old for e-commerce.

Site revamp is definitely underway. It takes a lot of work & planning to shift over a site that's been around as long as Penguin and making it as smooth and glitch-free as possible for all users.

In the meantime, if there are specific issues you have with the site that you'd like addressed, or any features on your wishlist that you'd like to see implemented, please let me know and I can pass it on to the powers-that-be. Feel free to PM me if you like.

Thanks!

Reylek wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:02 pm Site revamp is definitely underway. It takes a lot of work & planning to shift over a site that's been around as long as Penguin and making it as smooth and glitch-free as possible for all users.

In the meantime, if there are specific issues you have with the site that you'd like addressed, or any features on your wishlist that you'd like to see implemented, please let me know and I can pass it on to the powers-that-be. Feel free to PM me if you like.

Thanks!

Please, somehow, just make it easy to search, view & sort all in-stock playing cards

Reylek wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:02 pm Site revamp is definitely underway. It takes a lot of work & planning to shift over a site that's been around as long as Penguin and making it as smooth and glitch-free as possible for all users.

In the meantime, if there are specific issues you have with the site that you'd like addressed, or any features on your wishlist that you'd like to see implemented, please let me know and I can pass it on to the powers-that-be. Feel free to PM me if you like.

Thanks!

Putting them here so others can comment as well. If you want me to elaborate more, don't hesitate to reach out.

What makes a good web site:
• Good UI
• Good Performance
Penguin seems to have nailed the performance bit but perhaps at the expense of the UI. For one example of what I consider a good playing card site UI is https://jpgamesltd.co.uk/

They sell multiple categories of items, all of which are readily apparent at the top of the page. When I click into “playing cards” I see a very clean user interface which lets me filter by a few options (brand, size, stock status) and also allows me to sort by a few categories (latest, high rating or low rating). The sort could actually be better and from my experience the way I would like to sort is by price, both low to high and high to low.

The rest of the UI consists of a large and clear photo of the tuck along with a description of the deck and the price. If I click into the deck I can see further options (eg if there are multiple colours or gilded versions), allows me to select quantity (useful as I usually order 2 and having to do this in the cart is kind of annoying) as well as several pictures of card fronts and backs. It’s incredibly important to have both, especially for collectors as I want to know if a deck is fully custom or not. This information impacts my willingness to purchase a deck I might not otherwise have heard of.

The site performs well for the most part and my shopping experiences there are always easy and fulfilling, I never feel frustrated.

Biggest asks for Penguin:
PLEASE let me remove out of stock from results, has zero use to me in making a purchase as the decks I want are unlikely to come back into stock being that they are usually limited production runs
PLEASE let me sort by price
PLEASE let me sort by newest to oldest

You do this and I promise you will get a LOT more business from me.

They have a new blue version.

I wonder what happened with the site revamp.

Three years ago me and present day me wonders that as well

To be honest it doesn't matter anymore. Now that they've raised their shipping prices there's no reason to trawl through the horrendous search UI to find decks, much better value to use Vanishing or JPG for stuff. Shame really. If they had bothered to fix their site before the price hike I might still consider them a worthwhile place to shop.

shunterino wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:39 am To be honest it doesn't matter anymore. Now that they've raised their shipping prices there's no reason to trawl through the horrendous search UI to find decks, much better value to use Vanishing or JPG for stuff. Shame really. If they had bothered to fix their site before the price hike I might still consider them a worthwhile place to shop.

So it's not worth buy stuff from there? Like say... room 237?

Depends. If you already own a deck and live in the UK then no, it isn't.

shunterino wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2024 11:39 am To be honest it doesn't matter anymore. Now that they've raised their shipping prices there's no reason to trawl through the horrendous search UI to find decks, much better value to use Vanishing or JPG for stuff. Shame really. If they had bothered to fix their site before the price hike I might still consider them a worthwhile place to shop.

You still get free shipping if you wait until you have $100 in your cart

Honeybee wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2024 3:36 pm You still get free shipping if you wait until you have $100 in your cart

Yes but I only buy a deck at a time and months apart so for me personally it isn't a valid option. I do appreciate they are trying to offer the best prices they can but the only temptation will be if they produce a really stellar in-house deck and then I'll probably stump up the shipping fee. Mind you it's been a while since they made a deck I really couldn't say no to.