Star Trek Playing Cards

Another one of the gray areas of collecting, playing cards are made of cardboard, trading card shaped and many have nice images. Often the images on these cards aren’t seen elsewhere.

Avia

 Avia released a deck of STTMP playing cards in 1979. There are no Trek images on the faces of the cards.The box of cards originally came attached to a cardboard header card with a plastic shell that can be hung onto store hooks.

ST II:TWOK

Movie Players Inc. produced the ST II WOK Playing cards in 1982 It features full color photos from the movie on all the faces of the cards. Backs of cards show the movie title and logo. There was an error in the first print run of this set. The II logo is missing on both the box and the backs of the cards, The second print run remedied the error. There seems to be a pattern to the images selected. Jokers show ship images, Khan is on the ace cards, the King is Kirk, Spock is the Jack, the Queen is Saavik, The tens are Scotty, the nine, McCoy and Chekov is on the eight. The rest of the numbers are made up of various ’lesser’ characters.

Tricorder Records

Tricorder Records in Germany has produced two versions of STTNG playing cards. One is a boxed set of 2 55-card decks and the other is a single deck poker deck. Images show crew, ships and aliens and are different between the two sets. There is a somewhat inconsistent pattern to the cards. Aces are ships. Jacks are characters like Data and Hugh, Queens are women (except for one male Borg), Captain Picard and other Commanders are Kings and the Jokers are Q. The sets were released in 1996.

CIC TOS Artwork Set

CIC, a video company who makes and releases videos in the UK and other countries, added a set of playing cards to their Season One TOS episode tapes in 1996.A few cards came with each tape, one tape contained the box. The set includes 52 cards, 4 jokers and one checklist. The images are artwork and appear on the Jack through Ace and the jokers. Like several of the sets, there seems to be a trend to the images on the cards. In the case of the diamonds, Sarek is the King, Amanda the Queen and Spock (son) the Jack. Collectors could mail away for a round tin to hold the cards in. CIC re-released this set in Germany in 1998 as a sealed deck of cards. A sealed sample pack of 3 or 4 of the cards was also offered at a German convention. There is also no difference between this set and the sealed decks.

Bensen

Bensen packed a STTNG playing card deck in a show bag from an Australian “World’s Fair”. This playing card deck was made in 1996 and features the STTNG logo against a blue star field on the box and the backs of all cards. There are no Trek images on the faces of the cards.

Franklin Mint

 Franklin Mint Star Trek Playing Cards Franklin Mint’s Deck In 1998, Franklin Mint released a TNG Poker Set. The set comes with two decks of playing cards in a display case with silver and blue poker chips. The images include artwork of TNG crew and characters.

 

Hoyle Products

Hoyle Products released in 1998 the first in a series of playing cards. It comes in a box with TOS Trek images and scenes from the series on the front and an insignia symbol on the back of the cards. The box shows an image of the TOS crew. The second set was released in 2000 and Hoyle TOS and TNG Playing Cards features the TNG crew and insignia. Both sets include trivia questions.

TWA Cards

 Star Trek TWA Playing Cards In 1986, TWA offered flyers on their airlines a deck of cards as a promotional for ST IV on video. It’s sealed in a gold, white and black simple box. The card faces have no Trek images

Enesco

In 1992, Enesco released two tin sets of playing cards, one for TOS and one for TNG. The tin set came in a box with two sealed decks of cards. One deck features the crew on the back and one deck features the Enterprise of that series (all use the same image) The fronts are standard card images.

Matel Uno

 In 1999, Mattel released a Star Trek version of the Uno playing card game. The cards featured Trek images on the fronts and backs and four special cards. The cards came in a decorative tin.

Las Vegas Hilton

 Star Trek Hilton Playing Cards  At the opening of the Las Vegas Experience, in 1997, a ST playing card set was offered. Featuring the ST Experience logo and the words “Star Trek Experience Las Vegas Hilton” The set comes shrink-wrapped and in a clear plastic case. The set has a copyright date of 1996. Later runs of this set have a 1998 copyright date and a different, slightly larger, font.

Tele Band Cancion

  Brazil had a series of playing cards, Tele Band Cancion, from the late 1960’s. Two of the cards were Trek, the other cards portrayed other popular stars of the time.

25th Anniversary Playing Cards

  Released in 1991, this is a deck of playing cards with the official 25th Anniversary logo on the backs and a standard playing card face.

Star Tricks

As part of a magic trick 9 cards with TOS crew, Klingons and letters were produced. The cards have standard backs and come in an envelope with the instructions.

Top Trumps 2009

Set of 33 cards in a hard plastic container. Part of a game from the UK. Features cards for all Trek series.

Also, an earlier Trumps set featuring Robot and Cyborgs.

 

Waddington Playing Cards

Standard playing card deck from the UK, released in 2009.

Trivia Challenge Cards

 Star Trek Trifact Playing Cards Two Trivia Challenge cards, 1996 and 1979 that combine a trivia question and a playing card. Front and back of the 1966 and 1979 card.

Uno Collector’s Edition 2009

Released by Fundex in 2009, this set has 112 Trek style Uno cards in a collector’s tin.

Beam Me Up Cards

009 Beam Me Up gift set from Vandor LLC. Comes in a tin with two sets of cards, One deck has Spock on back, the other has Kirk. Standard playing cards.

ST Monopoly 2009

  In 2009, Monopoly released a ST version of the game. When you purchased TOS Season Two on DVD, you got 3 exclusive cards (one header card and two playing cards).

CBS TOS Playing Cards

As part of the run-up to the new Trek movie, CBS released a set of playing cards in a tin gift box.

Aquarius ST TOS Playing Cards

Released in 2014 by Aquarius. Came in a tin with tw decks or a single box.

Aquarius ST TNG Playing Cards

Released in 2015 by Aquarius.

Aquarius Ships of the Line Set

Released in 2015, this deck features Trek ships.