New Custom Tarot Deck Sales Tool

The Game Crafter

Many of you know me, but for those who don't my name is JT Smith, and I'm one of the owners of The Game Crafter. We've worked hard over the past few years to offer various sizes of decks, boxes, bags, booklets, and more to give you want you want. We also added a Tarot section to our online shop which has been very popular.

Today, I'm here to ask your opinion on something. We have launched a new crowd funding platform called "Crowd Sales" that helps designers sell more copies of their decks. You can read more about how it works here:

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/help/crowd-sales

In a nutshell though, how it works is that a product is put on sale for 1 week, and the more people that buy it in that week, the cheaper the product gets for everybody.

I think everybody likes a sale, so I won't ask that question. Rather, I have a harder question for you. When we do this with games, we require video demonstrations and external reviews of the game in order to qualify to run a crowd sale. I don't know if there are equivalents of such things in the Tarot community. So I'm here to ask, how do we vet tarot decks to know whether they are of high quality? Is it just about the quality of the artwork? Are there reviewers of Tarot decks that we could contact?

I'd appreciate any and all feedback you could give me on this topic.

JT


PS

We're running our first Tarot crowd sale in a week and a half for Badgers Forest Tarot: https://www.thegamecrafter.com/crowdsale/badgers-forest-tarot

If you like this idea, and want to see it continue, please sign up to be notified about the sale starting. And share it with your friends.
 

LupaGreenwolf

That's a cool idea! I'm curious to see how it works out over time.
 

HudsonGray

Usability depends on the visual cues and how well the reader clicks with the deck. Nothing that can be demonstrated like board games, unfortunately. Other than fanning the cards out so more of the artwork can be seen, I'm not sure which way you can go with it.
 

Zephyros

A Tarot deck can be reviewed, AT is full of reviews, and I've written one myself. Vetting them is difficult, but not impossible, as most decks have a recognizable structure that can be worked with, and the quality of the art itself can be assessed. Video demonstrations can be done, but they would entail mostly readings, and that varies from reader to reader. But the deck creator would have to send an advanced copy to a reviewer, which might incur financial hardship, especially for a deck that has not been published yet.

Still, there are plenty of reviewers out there, so there will be no lack.
 

reall

i'm currently finishing my deck design and considering where to print it?^^ ;)))
imo regarding cards/tarot my main concern is are cards *strong enough to shuffle and laminated/so that color stay on cards and not on my hands!^^ lolz
so in review I would like to hear about that!^^ :)))

btw I would also like if there would be an option of adding golden foil/holo design?^^;))
for shiny luxurious design!^^ ;)))
and *eco friendly option
i.e some discount if cards are bnw and there is no print on the back?^^ ;)))

all best!^^ and keep up with good work!^^ :)))
 

The Game Crafter

So it sounds like vetting is possible, but difficult and perhaps not worth the effort.
 

AJ

seems like Dan Peilteer (?) of Tarot Garden used to do something like this? Or maybe I'm off base...

Who would do the reading?
Many deck artists aren't readers actually

Congratulations on being on the leading edge of self publishing, and thank you for listening about card sizes and shipping options.
 

Elven

So it sounds like vetting is possible, but difficult and perhaps not worth the effort.


Why does the word vetting make me think 'neutering'? :bugeyed: :D

Back to the subject at hand :)

This may or may not be relevant - but possibly helpful in a wider context such as the Sanity tests, but...

I think the difficulty comes to see a solution as to how to vet them under a standard banner due to their classification as a Game. It is inclusive but restricts them as exclusive.

If, for the purpose of vetting, their categorization could be tailored to reflect their (Tarot/Oracle) present nature and purpose in the now, not only do I think it would create a better understanding of the vetting objective, and set appropriate friendly standards of review, but additionally enable and expand deck development, creative initiative, and production into the future. I think its worthiness lies in the realms of possibilities ahead and beyond.

Just some thoughts :)
 

Hexi

game crafter sales.

As someone who is presently uploading my third editions Pearls of Wisdom Tarot deck to Game Crafter I am excited to see this and would definitely participate. Once I receive my final proofs, which I just uploaded this weekend, then I will get in touch with you regarding how to add my deck to this program.

I have to say that I was very impressed with my first proofs, the colours are great, and the cards shuffle very well. I also really like the borderless cards and the lidded boxes. One other thing I like is that I am able to offer several different packages to suit my customer's budgets and desires.

If there is anything I need to do or promote please let me know. Cheers Roxi Sim aka Hexi