Opinions on Non-Standard Card Sizes?

jalaire

How does everyone feel about larger than standard (2.75 x 4.75 in) tarot cards? I know that shuffling can become an issue if you get too large. At what point are the cards too large in your opinion, and would non-standard card size keep you from purchasing a deck?

Thanks!
 

Lareia

A deck has to be stunning for me to buy it with oversized cards. My hands are so small that shuffling even normally sized decks is awkward sometimes...
 

AJ

the differences are part of the pleasure in having multiple decks for me.
I think the Inner Child had the biggest cards I've had, although gone now, but not because of the card size. I find it as easy to shuffle sideways as end to end.

edited to add after looking at the title again, I don't believe there are any 'standard' sizes, Lo Scarabeo might come the closest simply by their sheer volume of publishing.
 

MaryQC

Any bigger than about standard is a problem for me. I have relatively large hands, and I still own decks that I find difficult to shuffle. A lot of tarot readers are women, who tend to have smaller hands, and larger decks can be a problem for a large proportion of readers.

That said, there are less usual methods of shuffling, like the overhand method, that work even with big decks, and some decks have such lovely art that it would be a shame to reduce the size. The Japaridze tarot, for instance, really needs to be as big as it is, even though it's a nightmare to shuffle. And I think most people know of decks hurt by how small they are--the 1001 Nights is a good example.

So I guess it's not a disaster if a deck is big, provided the artwork is complicated enough to justify it, but in general smaller decks are better.
 

jalaire

thank you for the feedback! I definitely don't want anyone having issues working with my deck so I'll stick to a more standard size.