By Allan Ritchie
YouTube provided by Ciro Marchetti
When you hear that Ciro Marchetti is creating a new deck it is something to get excited about, even if at first you have never heard about the deck he is doing. That was my first reaction to the news that he was creating a Kipper deck.
I have spent some time with the Kipper system last month in preparation for my article on the Kipper cards and when my Fin De Siecle deck came this week I was excited to get a look at it for myself.
There are expectations with a Ciro Marchetti deck. You expect that his masterful eye, beautiful use of the medium and exacting detail are going to create a beautiful deck. The Fin De Seicle deck is everything you would expect. I would never claim to be an art critic but I know that I could look at his images for hours. Colorful and clear the images draw you in and you know that was his intention in the first place.
Next you can expect Ciro to take the next step. Taking the image in the next level is the auras or animation that are provided when you use your smart device and the card images. With each card there is a short animation and music that sets the card in motion then followed with a short explanation of the card meaning.
The physical feel of the deck is also a real plus as the card are firm but able to be shuffled. They are a bit larger than a normal Kipper deck but the size is very manageable. The deck fit easily in to the hand and still with extra card are under forty cards total. The cards do have a black border and have a grey and black nonreversible back that shows a jesters mask. As an added bonus for those of us who like to keep our decks in bags this one comes in a graphic drawstring silk bag.
Included
with the deck is that pdf document that is sent by e-mail that serves
as the companion document. I enjoyed most the history of the project
and the choices that were made to create the deck. There are also
card descriptions and meanings for the cards. Ciro has called on two
established Kipper card readers to provide the meanings for each of
the cards. I like this as it gives a bit more perspective on the
meaning and helps to create my own vocabulary for the cards.
In creating this deck there have been some changes and additions to the standard thirty-six card deck. I like the changes immensely as I feel that they are an updating of the system. Without going into great detail there has been a trimming to the number of people cards, simplification of some titles and the three additional cards flow from the theme of the deck as great additions.
I am thankul for the work that Ciro has done with this deck. It is an update which will introduce the system to the English speaking audience. I am learning to love the Kipper system. With the rich, thoughtful images the Fin De Siegle deck will certainly be one of my reading decks. I expect many will embrace it as they look to learn and use thhe Kipper.