The Decktet is a deck of cards with suits, ranks, and named images. It is structurally unlike ordinary poker and tarot decks, meaning that you can do different things with it.
This page describes basic features of the deck and how you can get a copy. The menu bar on the left will take you to pages about some other uses for it.
Basic features
The Decktet is a deck of 36 cards. There are six different suits:
 moons |
 suns |
 waves |
 wood |
 wyrms |
 knots |
For each suit, there is an ace and a crown. Between them are other cards numbered 2 through 9. These each have two suits. For example, the Market is a rank 6 card with suits Wood and Knots. Suits are not repeated at a rank, so there are three cards of each numbered rank. For example, these are the 6s:
Cross-suited cards give the Decktet a different structure than ordinary poker or tarot cards. In a trick-taking game, for example, it is possible to trump and follow a non-trump lead with the same card. My current favourites Decktet games are Quincunx and Biscuit. Those were both invented by other people, and you are encouraged to try out your own.
There is also an optional 37th card: the Excuse. It has no suit and no rank. Unless otherwise mentioned, Decktet games are meant to be played without the Excuse. Simply leave it out, as you would the Joker from a standard poker deck.
Since the cards have names and pictures, they can be used for fortune telling. I have written a bit about the structure of the deck and how it might be interpreted.
The Decktet is presently available only as a digital document. You assemble it yourself.
- Download the basic version [PDF] containing bridge sized cards. It has colour suits and lineart illustrations, so as to minimize the drain on your printer ink.
- Download the deluxe version [PDF] containing poker sized cards and full colour illustrations.
- Advice on printing cards
The Decktet is © P.D. Magnus. Some rights reserved. The deck, illustrations, and supporting text are offered as open content under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be negotiated.