The DIY Multideck

Introduction

The DIY multideck is a deck of 162 playing cards (3 standard decks) that allows you to play hundreds of existing games, not only classic card games but also modern games that use components like boards or coins. The DIY multideck is ideal for traveling and prototyping new games. The cards are waterproof and very resistant, ready to join you on your next trip!

This is how it works: when you play a game, you pick a subset of cards and focus on a specific corner. Sometimes, you may draw on the cards to play games that use words, icons, or boards. On the official website, you'll find instructions to play many games. Here are some example games for every game system supported:

• Basic deck: Schotten Totten, The Crew, Cockroach Poker, L.L.A.M.A., Claim...
• 3D deck: UNO, Spicy, Raj, TEN...
• Sequential deck: The Mind, 6 Nimmt!, No Thanks!...
• Pyramidal deck: Hanabi, Startups...
• Voting deck: Skulls and Roses, Secret Hitler, Avalon...
• Custom deck (by drawing): Love Letter, Hanamikoji, Virus!...

Feature summary

Card Anatomy

The normal cards have the following features:

1. Basic Suit
2. 3D Suit
3. Sequential Number
4. Pyramidal Rank
5. Coin Flip
6. Drawing Areas
7. Counter (on the back face)

The following diagram shows where each feature is located with a graphic explanation:

Besides the normal cards, there are 2 extra cards with different designs.

These are some example cards: one of each basic suit, the 2 extra cards, and 1 card back.

Basic Suit

In the top left and bottom right corners, there's a number overlapping an emoji (suit), it is the "Basic Suit".

It is the most used game system of the deck, and thus, the easiest to use. When mapping new games, always give priority to it.

It contains 8 suits () of 15 ranks (0...9 + XJQKA), named 15-ranked suits, and 4 suits () of 10 ranks (0...9), named 10-ranked suits. They can be combined into several distributions.

Suits

The suits can be classified into 2 categories by the number of ranks they contain. So there are the "15-ranked suits" (), and "10-ranked suits" ().

Emoji	Name	Color	Id	Ranks	Coin
	Fire	Red	0	0...9 + XJQKA	❌
	Water	Blue	1	0...9 + XJQKA	✅
	Stars	Yellow	2	0...9 + XJQKA	❌
	Clubs	Green	3	0...9 + XJQKA	✅
	Oranges	Orange	4	0...9 + XJQKA	❌
	Eggplants	Purple	5	0...9 + XJQKA	✅
	Clouds	White	6	0...9 + XJQKA	❌
	Spiders	Black	7	0...9 + XJQKA	✅
	Flowers	Pink	8	0...9	?
	Diamonds	Cyan	9	0...9	?
	Poops	Brown	10	0...9	?
	Moais	Gray	11	0...9	?

Each suit has a fixed coin flip value. For example, is always ❌.

Each suit has an assigned number from 0 to 11, called "Suit ID", it can be found on the black part of the Sequential Number.

Notice that the 15-ranked suits (), and 10-ranked suits () can be differentiated by the suit ID. The first 8 suits (IDs 0 to 7) are 15-ranked, and the remaining 4 suits (IDs 8 to 11) are 10-ranked.

Ranks

• 0...9: Numeric ranks (0123456789).
  • 0 can be used as a Joker or wildcards.
  • 0 can be used as 10 in some games.
  • 1 can be used as an Ace.
• XJQKA: Letter ranks.
  • They are: 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace.
  • Can be used as 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.

The other corners' numbers always end with this suit's number. Except when the rank is XJQKA, then the corners end with 01234 or 56789, respectively. For example, when the rank is A, the other corners end in 4 or 9.

When the rank is a letter (XJQKA), the 3D suit is either black () or rainbow ().

Distributions

12 suits of 10 ranks

One combination is 12 suits () of 10 ranks (0...9).

There will be some unused cards, that may be optionally used to add extra ranks to some suits. The remaining cards are: the 5 letter ranks (XJQKA) of the 15-ranked suits ().

To get it, pick all the cards, and remove the letter ranks (XJQKA).

Switch the suits for the ranks to have 10 suits (0...9) of 12 ranks (). Only use this if you need 9 or 10 suits of 11 or 12 ranks.

8 suits of 15 ranks

Another combination is 8 suits () of 15 ranks (0...9 + XJQKA).

There will be some unused cards, that may be optionally used to add extra suits. The remaining cards are: all the ranks (0...9) of the 10-ranked suits ().

To get it, pick all the cards, and remove the 10-ranked suits ().

Switch the suits for the ranks to have 15 suits (0...9 + XJQKA) of 8 ranks (). Only use this if you need 13 to 15 suits of 8 or fewer ranks.

10-Level Pyramidal Deck with the Same Ranks

You can also create a pyramidal deck of 10 levels, where each suit has the same rank. To do this, pick one 1, two 2's, three 3s... Up to ten 0's (0 would count as 10), regardless of the suit you choose.

12-Level Pyramidal Deck with Different Ranks

You can also create a pyramidal deck of 12 levels, where each suit has different ranks. To do this, for every suit, pick a different number of cards: 1, 2, 3, ..., 10, 11, 12. Make sure that the suits that are repeated 12 and 11 times are the 15-ranked suits (). Each level uses a different suit, and there's no rank indicating how many cards that level has.

An example game that uses it is Startups.

Layout

3D Suit

In the top-right or bottom-left corner, you can find a number overlapping a shape with two small numbers on the bottom sides; it is the "3D suit". It is called 3D because it is a multidimensional game system of 3 dimensions: shape, rank, and color.

It contains 10 ranks (0...9) × 3 shapes (🖤⚫️⬛️) × 5 colors (), plus 10 ranks (0...9) in a special shape and color (🌈). So it is a distribution of 10×3×5 + 10.

The small numbers on the bottom sides indicate the shape and color. This is useful for color-blind players and for quick comparison of suits. Each shape and circle has an associated number; these are the values:

• Left numbers (Shape): 1=🖤, 2=⚫️, 3=⬛️, 4=🌈.
• Right numbers (Color): 1=, 2=, 3=, 4=, 5=, 6=.

When the suit is black () or rainbow (), the rank of the Basic suit is a letter (XJQKA). Otherwise, when the suit is red, blue, green, or yellow (), the rank of the Basic suit is a number (0...9).

Distributions

5 Suits of 3 Times 10 Ranks

The most used distribution of the 3D suit is 5 suits () of 3 times 10 ranks (0...9). Plus an extra suit (🌈) of 1 time 10 ranks (0...9).

The shape (🖤⚫️⬛️) is not used in this distribution. When two suits have the same color, but different shape, they are considered equal. For example: and are the same because they are blue ().

A very well-known game that uses this distribution is UNO.

5 Suits of 30 Ranks

Same as 5 suits of 3 times 10 ranks, but use the left number (indicating the shape) minus 1 as the tens' digit. It has 5 suits () of 30 ranks (0...29).

For example: (, 3, 🖤) is the 3 of blue () because its left number is 1, we subtract 1, the result is 0, and using it as the tens' digit we get 03, that is the same as just 3.

A game that uses this distribution is What the Heck?.

3 Suits of 5 Times 10 Ranks

Another distribution of the 3D suit is 3 suits (🖤⚫️⬛️) of 5 times 10 ranks (0...9). Plus an extra suit (🌈) of 1 time 10 ranks (0...9).

The color () is not used in this distribution. When two suits have the same shape, but different color, they are considered equal. For example: and are the same because they are circles (⚫️).

3 Suits of 50 Ranks

Same as 3 suits of 5 times 10 ranks, but use the right number (indicating the color) minus 1 as the tens' digit. It has 3 suits (🖤⚫️⬛️) of 50 ranks (0...49).

For example: (, 3, 🖤) is the 13 of hearts 🖤 because its right number is 2, we subtract 1, the result is 1, and using it as the tens' digit we get 13.

Multi-dimensional System of 10 by 3 by 5

You can create a multi-dimensional game system with 3 dimensions:

• Dimension 1: 10 Ranks (0...9).
• Dimension 2: 3 Shapes (🖤⚫️⬛️)
• Dimension 3: 5 Colors ()

Besides that, there's an extra shape and color (🌈) that is not in the other shapes or colors, and it has the numbers 0 to 9.

Not many games use it.

Layout

Sequential number

On the top-right or bottom-left corner, you can find a number without a suit behind; it is the "Sequential number."

It contains numbers from 0 to 159.

Because each card has a different number, it is used to reference the cards.

The number has two colors:

• The black part indicates the suit id of the basic suit of the card. When the sequential number is greater than 120, it no longer indicates the suit id.
  • For example, the card 117 has the suit , and is the suit id 11 because the black part of the number is 11.
• The colored part matches the color of the basic suit of that card. It also matches the rank of the basic suit, and the 3D suit (except when the rank is a letter (XJQKA)).

Distributions

Numbers from 0 to 159

Just use the Sequential number as is.

It is used in games that need many unsuited ranks. Games that use it are The mind and No thanks!.

Numbers from 0 to 59, 2 times

You can also have 2 times numbers from 0 to 59, plus 1 time numbers from 60 to 99, by ignoring the hundreds digit. So, for example, 120 would become 20, and 20 would stay as 20.

Numbers from -59 to 100

Similarly, you can also have negative numbers if you treat numbers greater than 100 as negative (or positive), to make a distribution of -59...100 (or -100...59).

15 ordered suits of 10 ranks (or vice versa)

You can also make a distribution of 15 ordered suits of 10 ranks (or vice versa) by making the black part the suit, and the colored part the rank.

But it is quite unintuitive to use, so only use this combination if you need ordered suits, or 13 to 15 suits of 9...10 ranks; otherwise, it's better to use the "switched" basic suit.

Layout

Pyramidal Rank

Under the Sequential Number, there's a small number indicating the "Pyramidal rank."

• On the 8 15-ranked suits (), each suit has: five 1's, four 2's, three 3's, two 4's, and one 5.
• On the 4 10-ranked suits (), each suit has: four 1's, three 2's, two 3's, and one 4.

The Pyramidal Rank has the color of the Basic Suit in that card.

The Pyramidal Rank can be used as an alternative rank for games that require an uneven number of specific ranks, like Hanabi.

Distributions

8 times: five 1s, four 2s, three 3s, two 4s, one 5

Use the Pyramidal Rank of the 15-ranked suits.

There will be leftover cards that may be used if the game needs more suits. The unused cards are 4 times: four 1's, three 2's, two 3's, and one 4.

12 times: four 1s, three 2s, two 3s, one 4

Use the Pyramidal Rank of the 10-ranked suits and 15-ranked suits, but excluding the 5s.

Other Pyramidal Decks

You can also make pyramidal decks of 10-12 levels without using the Pyramidal Ranks. Learn how in the Basic Suit section.

Layout

Coin flip

Under the sequential number, there's an icon representing "yes" (✅), "no" (❌) or "unknown" (?).

There are 60 ✅, 60 ❌ and 40 ?.

• The 4 first even suits () have a ❌.
• The 4 first odd suits () have a ✅.
• The 4 10-ranked suits (), have a ?.

The coin flip icon has the color of the basic suit in that card.

It comes in handy when players need to emit a vote and reveal them all at the same time. This voting mechanism can be found in The Resistance: Avalon and Secret Hitler.

Another usage is when there are many copies of 2 to 3 kinds of cards. The game Skulls and Roses uses this feature where ❌ are skulls and ✅ are roses.

Drawing

The cards are designed to be drawn on with a pencil, and they have a grid marking out the "drawing areas".

Why drawing?

Even though it may seem that by drawing you'll destroy your cards, make them ugly, or waste them, the truth is the opposite: if you don't draw on them, you're wasting the cards, because they are meant for that. The DIY Multideck provides a solid base to play many games and, additionally, draw in the cards to support more games. Drawing on the cards also makes games easier to play because the drawings can resemble the original game card's.

Rather than filling the cards with predetermined games, I want to encourage you to personalize them by adding the games you enjoy playing. This is why it's called "The DIY Multideck".

Drawing tips

Anyways, although you can erase the drawings, I generally don't recommend doing it. If you keep the drawings, you won't have to spend time again to prepare that game. It is generally not annoying to play with drawings from other games.

When adding new drawings:

• Consider duplicating the drawing on the opposite side slots to make the card playable in any rotation.
• Place them strategically to leave the most usable spots for your favorite games.
• Try to come up with generic drawings that may be used in other games, so you save up space.

In some cases generic drawings can be counter-productive, so be mindful. For example, consider two unrelated games (A and B) using a similar drawing. On game A, there's a card with a drawing. That same card is also used in game B. But game B is not supposed to have a drawing on that card. So a player can mistakenly think that that card in game B is something special when it is not.

Drawing areas

Each card has 14 drawing slots, grouped in 5 drawing areas.

Drawing area A

2 rectangular slots on the top and bottom edges.

• The card needs to be held in hand and contain a big drawing or word.
• The card needs to be stacked on the table while keeping the top or bottom part visible.

Drawing area B

4 square slots just below every suit.

• The card needs to be held in hand.
• The drawing is related to the suit.

Drawing area C

6 square slots between the Drawing areas B, in groups of 3 columns.

• The card needs a hint, like punctuation.
• The card's hint doesn't need to be visible while holding it on hand; otherwise, use the area A.

Drawing area D

4 rectangular slots in the center, forming a 2x2 grid.

• The card needs to be placed on the table.
• The card can be held in hand, but it's the only one.
• The card needs to contain a big drawing or word.
• The card is not used actively during the gameplay, like hints or boards, and your notes cards are full.

Drawing area E

1 circular slot in the center, overlapping the Drawing areas D.

• You want to represent a tile, chip, token, or similar.
• The card needs to be placed on the table.

Counters

The back side of the cards also has utility, they serve as counters.

Stacking method

Count from 0 to 30 with less than 10 cards.

Stack cards upright (worth 1) or upside-down (worth 5), the sum is the result.

The example is counting 13, 3 times 1 plus 2 times 5.

• Cards can be held in the hand.
• Convenient when coins are exchanged frequently by the players.
• Use when the counter needs to be "private" (only known by the own player).

Pointing method

Count from 0 to 10 with only 2 cards.

Put 2 cards on top of each other, and align the arrow from the card in front to point a number in the card on the back, the pointed number is the result.

The example is counting 1 because the arrow is pointing at 1.

• Watch out not to move the cards by mistake or you'll lose the count.
• You can rotate the front card, and count negative or positive points.

It works well as point tracking boards, like the one in the game Jekyll vs Hyde.

Chained pointing method

Count any amount with very few cards.

Create a pointing counter for every digit of the result number.

The example is counting 950; each of the counters is counting 9, 5, and 0, respectively. If you concatenate the digits, you get the number 950. To create it follow these steps:

1. Take 6 cards (2 for each digit).
2. Create 3 counters side by side (using the pointing method).
3. Move the first pointing card to 9, the second to 5, and the third to 0.
4. The first counter represents the hundreds, the second the tens, and the third the units.

You can also represent decimal numbers with this method, by defining a counter as the decimal point.

Extra cards

When printing cards on an A3-sized paper, there's room for 18 cards per page. This deck uses 160 cards, leaving 2 blank spaces. These 2 spaces are used in the form of "Extra Cards," which don't have any suit or rank.

You can use the extra cards in games that need a card with a different background and no information on the front (you can also flip a normal card, but it can be confusing). For example, in The Crew, the "reminder cards".

Cover card

Only 1 copy.

Contains:

• Name of the deck.
• Preview of all basic suits.
• QR code pointing to the website.

Notes cards

3 copies (in 2 cards).

Use them to keep any useful information.

Some use cases are:

• Player aid.
• Simplified game board.
• Game setup (what cards, how many per player...).
• Definition/Diagram of a specific rule or mechanic.
• List of games in the deck.

Travel kit

Recommended items for transporting the deck:

• The deck of cards itself.
• A storage bag. Ideally a DIN B7 plastic stationery zipper bag.
• A pen and eraser. Tip: sharpen both sides of the pencil.
• 50 tokens. Ideally 10 of each color ().

The following items may be handy sometimes, but they are not worth carrying all the time:

• A sharpener.
• Some folded sheets of paper.
• A set of DnD dice.

This is how the travel kit looks like when packed:

Other

Mapping new games

You may want to play a game that is not on the official supported games list, so here you have some tips about how to do it.

Step 1: Finding the game's components

The first thing you have to figure out is the components used on the game, how they are used, and which can be eliminated. To do so I recommend:

• Find the official rulebook, usually there's a section with the game's components.
  • To find it, google the game's name plus "rulebook" or "rules".
  • You can also go to the game's Board Game Geek entry Files section, usually you find the rules in a PDF.
  • If none of that works, try looking for the rulebook in other languages like German, Spanish, or French.
• Find unofficial rulebooks or other resources explaining the game, there are websites dedicated to this.
• Search for images of the game.
  • For example on Google Images, Board Game Geek, or eCommerces selling the game.
• Watch unboxings or how to play videos of the game.
• Try to find a print and play version of the game.
• Find a fanmade re-theme of the game.
  • Usually they are on the game's Board Game Geek entry Files section.

Step 2: Map the game

Next, you have to map every component of the game to a feature of The DIY Multideck.

You can also quickly spot the main game system (Basic, 3D, Sequential, Pyramidal, or Voting) by answering the following questions in order: (There are edge cases not covered)

1. Does it use coins, chips, tokens, progress boards, or similar things? → Counter.
2. Does it just use 3 or fewer types of cards repeated many times? → Coin flip.
3. Does it need 1 or 2 cards with a different back face? → Extra cards
4. Does it need icons, words, or extra info on the card (a.k.a. drawings)? → Drawing.
5. Does it have 8 or fewer suits of 15 or fewer ranks? → Basic.
6. Does it have 12 or fewer suits of 10 or fewer ranks? → Basic.
7. Does it just have numbers, and are they larger than 30?
   1. Are there numbers larger than 160? → Not compatible.
   2. Are there numbers repeated 2 or more times that are larger than 59? → Not compatible.
   3. Else → Sequential number.
8. Does each rank get repeated?
   1. Is it repeated 4 or more times? → Not compatible.
   2. Does it have 7 or more suits? → Not compatible.
   3. Else → 3D suit.
9. Does it have 16 or more different ranks?.
   1. With 6 or more suits? → Not compatible.
   2. Else → 3D suit.
10. Does it use a 3D deck of 5x3x10 or less? → 3D suit.
11. Does each suit have an uneven distribution where there's just numbers from 1 to 5? → Pyramidal rank.
12. Does it have more than 8 suits of more than 10 ranks each?
    1. Does it have more than 16 suits of more than 11 ranks (or vice versa)? → Not compatible
    2. Else → Sequential number.
13. Else → Probably "Not compatible" or "Low usability". Read the deck's manual deeper to find the right game system if it exists.

Now you just select the cards the game will need; it will probably be a subset of the game system chosen.

If the game has multiple components, you'll have to put more effort into trying to find a combination of cards that meets all the requirements. To do so, I recommend you pick the main game system used and use the respective layout (Basic, 3D, Sequential) as a visual aid to decide what cards to use for each component.

If the game needs drawings, read the Drawing section.

Consider adding meaning to the emojis () or colors (🌈) if possible, to help players remember which card is which.

• For example: In Mafia de Cuba, the represents the diamonds "because stars and diamonds shine". This reason is totaly random, but it actually helps to remember the cards. Notice that using would be ideal for the game, but 15 ranks are needed, and is a 10-ranked suit... So is the next best option emoji-wise.
• Another example: In Claim, the suits' colors try to match the ones from the original game.

Step 3: Submit the mapping

Finally, send the mapping to diymultideck@mauri.app so I can add it to the website and make it easily accessible to you and other people.

Printing

The cards are designed to be printed at home or a basic copy shop.

The material used is polyester 300 grams, almost all copy shops have it (at least in Spain), and it offers great resistance and is waterproof. The only downsides are that it is not environmentally friendly and that it is not fully opaque.

When printing, it is very important to align well the paper in the printer. So both sides of the cards are aligned.

To cut the cards, go to a copy shop that has an industrial cutter, so all cards end up the same exact size. Remind them that this is very important, or then shuffling the cards will be harder.

When cutting the cards, always do it looking at the back side of the card. This is to ensure all the backs look the same (to avoid cheating), and have the defects only on the front side.

Rounding the corners of the cards can be done in the copy shop, but it's usually pretty expensive. My recommendation is to use a round corner punch at home.

For now, the PDF document to print the cards is not public, but if I see a lot of interest, I may reconsider it and license them with a Creative Commons license.

Legal note

Is all of this legal? Yes, it is. Selling/buying or printing the DIY Multideck is legal, even if the purpose is to play other games. Also, this website, with explanations of how to play other games, and all its contents, is legal.

Board games are generally not protected intellectual property. What is usually protected with copyright are the assets they use, like cards, tokens, boards, or rulebooks. Some game mechanics may be patented, but it's very rare.

Explaining how to play a board game is legal, as long as you don't use copyrighted material without permission to do so.

Regardless of all that, the original games will always be better than any adaptation done with the DIY Multideck, simply because the original games are made to play a single game. But meanwhile you don't own the game, you can at least play an inferior version of it.

Design choices

The ranks are inside the suits to save up space. The downside is that it requires players to spread more the cards in hand to see the rank, but it's not uncomfortable.

All suits are emojis, so you can easily write cheat sheets on your phone and send them to the other players.

The colors of the suits can be grouped by similar hue in pairs but also trios. As a consequence, the Basic suit and 3D suit corners have similar colors. For example, the suit , which is orange (), has red () 3D suits.

The slogan "Draw your cards" is there to encourage people to draw and lose the fear of drawing in cards. It's fine! If you run out of space, you'll have amortized the cards very well, don't worry. See the Drawing section for more information.

The first 10 numbers of the Sequential number corner start with 0 to maintain the visual pattern of color in the number (left side black, right side colored).

In the Coin Flip, the ✅ is filled and the ❌ is hollow to increase the contrast between the two icons. And the ? is also different by removing the enclosing circle.

The Coin Flip icon and Pyramidal rank are in the Sequential number's corner to concentrate all the printed parts in the corners, so the rest of the space is perfectly symmetrical, and drawings can be drawn twice, upright and upside-down, to make cards work both orientations.

Small digits in the 3D deck corner start at 1 instead of 0 for a more natural use of the cards. However, this means you can't simply concatenate the digits to create numbers from 00 to 29, and you are required to perform subtraction.

The card backs use a lot of ink to increase the opacity of the card, especially on the corners, that's why the arrows are black.

Not all suits have the same amount of ranks. I decided to cut on some cards and make an overall uneven distribution because it's rare to find games that use high ranks (+10) and many suits (+8) at the same time. There are very few of those games because the amount of cards would grow to more than 150 and it feels too many cards to handle for the player. Moreover, games with many cards usually have several kinds of cards with low ranks, so you need more suits without mattering much the amount of ranks.

All the numbers on the card corners match (on the units), if the rank is not a letter (XJQKA).

Credits

The DIY multideck has been created in 2024 by Maurici Abad, a software engineer and backpacker from Spain. It also incorporates ideas and feedback from the community discussed on this BGG thread.

The deck was heavily inspired by The Everdeck. Read more on the inspiration section.

Inspiration

I got inspired by The Everdeck and Rainbow deck mainly. But I found interesting ideas on other multidecks.

Other multidecks

Interesting articles or threads

• The Ultimate Deck of Cards. The Everdeck creator explaining the state of the art for multidecks when he created it.
• Existing Alternate Card Game Systems. Part 2 of "The Ultimate Deck of Cards".
• A History of the Many Attempts to Design the Ultimate Deck of Playing Cards (Original post on reddit). The Singularity deck creator explaining the state of the art for multidecks when he created it.
• General form for defining a deck of cards. BGG thread talking about deck notation.
• Minimal Travel Table Top Game Collection 3: Project 108. Article about joining multiple games in one single deck.
• Minimal Travel Table Top Game Collection. When Project 108 was in early development.
• Ranks and Suits - The Anatomy of Decks of Cards. BBG geeklist of games and their card distribution, with interesting comments.
• Rainbow Deck - a cardgame system. BGG thread where the Rainbow deck was created.
• I Created My Own Minimalist Deck of 54 Playing Cards for All My Favorite Games (Coup, Love Letter, Schotten Totten, Ultimate Werewolf, 2p Arboretum, etc). Banjo Deck creation article.
• UPDATE: I Created My Own Minimalistic Deck and Now It’s Available to Print or Buy. Banjo Deck release article.
• The Micaya Deck, my own set of (extended) playing cards.
• Playing Card Game Systems. Geeklist by the Singularity deck creator, listing interesting card game systems.
• ZSA Cards: Behind The Scenes. Creative process of the ZSA Cards.
• I made a custom deck of 108 cards to play tons of different games!. Interesting comments.
• minimal:deck another card game system

Lists of possible compatible games

Others

Some months after the DIY Multideck was released, accompanied by this website, the Everdeck library was created. It lists games compatible with The Everdeck in a similar fashion as this website does. If you find this website useful, you'll probably also like the Everdeck library. It is a great resource, check it out!

Versions

During development the releases are discussed on this BGG thread.

Version 2 (latest)

Released in October 2024.

This is the latest version of the DIY Multideck. Manual coming soon.

This release focused on simplifying the cards and refining the visual design.

The main change is the addition of 🔲 (black square or white circle) to allow a 6x2x10 distribution that unlocks many games like Stitch 'em.

Another big change is the new card back design, which is simpler to use and aesthetically better.

Another relevant change is the removal of the "Pyramidal Rank", "Coin Flip" and "3D suit small numbers" because they were rarely used and caused clutter.

Changes from previous version

• Replaced ⬛️ with 🔲 (black square ⬛️ or white circle ⚪️) and also replaced 🌈 with 🤍.
  • Chose ⬛️ or ⚪️ to make a distribution of 5x3x10 + 1x1x10 or 4x3x10 + 2x2x10 (intersection is 6x2x10) respectively.
  • Now the game Stitch 'em is supported, and use it as an example for this feature (6x2x10 distribution).
• Changed suits: 🍀 → ☘️ and 🗿 → 🌈 (gray → rainbow).
• Adjusted suits colors, most notable are green and yellow.
• Added textures to 3D suit, for colorblind players.
• Changed font to "Manrope".
• Update the card back's design.
  • Card back is now orientated vertically
  • Removed the 10 in the card back.
  • Removed "Stacking method" counter
  • Optimized "Chained pointing method" counter, by removing the corner arrows and adding just one at the top center.
• Removed deck's version from the cards.
• Removed "Coin flip" because there are other alternatives and card will look cleaner without it.
• Removed "Pyramidal Rank" because it was rarely used and caused clutter.
• Removed 3D suit small numbers.
• Cover card face is now on the back face, so it gets better aligned when cut.
• The extra cards are at the end.
• Minor fix in cover, U was not bold.
• Swap 3D suit with Number position (same as change the front orientation).

Version 1

Released in January 2024.

This manual is about this version of the deck.

First release of the deck!

This release focused on improving the playability of the cards. The main change is that there are 40 new playable cards, so the total count is now 160 cards (+2 extra to fill the paper), and the suits re-design to emojis. I removed features what weren't used by games or were difficult to use, and made more playable the main ones used.

Changes from previous version

• Removed paths
• Removed dice rolls
• Removed letters
• Removed card backs upside down
• Removed guide cards because there were not many extra cards left.
• Added 40 playable cards:
  • All cards can be rotated, and the main suit doesn't change.
  • Removed black border on some suits.
  • 3D suit has one more color, and one more shape for the rainbow color.
• Re-styled coin flip, now it's larger
• Added 3rd coin flip value (?) in 25% of the cards.
• Re-styled suits and colors to avoid confusions. Removed poker suits.
• Added suits now have an emoji representation, to create mapping lists on the phone.
• Re-styled pyramidal deck points
• Removed pyramidal deck diamonds, now they are all the same.
• Removed "counting holes" in pyramidal deck.
• Removed counter up to 17 in the card back, now from 0 to 10.
• Re-styled card back
• Re-styled notes extra card, now it's almost blank.
• Added 3D deck, bottom-left corner. Now it has 3 numbers displaying the possible values for each dimension (shape, rank and color; respectively)
• Improvements on the card generation process:
  • Added cut hints in the printable pdf
  • Arrange cards in different orders and export previews
  • Easily switch between A3 or A4 paper.
  • Fix loading spreadsheet and better error management
  • Interleave front and backs
  • Filter out cards

Version 0

Created in May 2023, not released, but used for playtesting.

This are images of even older versions of the design that were discarded.

Appendix

All cards preview

This is how all the actual cards look like.

Cards spreadsheet

This are the values of each feature on all cards.

Basic		3D				Sequential
Suit	Rank	Suit	Rank C	Rank L	Rank R	Number	Pyramidal	Coin flip
	0		0	1	1	0 0	1	❌
	1		1	1	1	0 1	1	❌
	2		2	1	1	0 2	2	❌
	3		3	1	1	0 3	3	❌
	4		4	1	1	0 4	2	❌
	5		5	1	1	0 5	1	❌
	6		6	1	1	0 6	1	❌
	7		7	1	1	0 7	2	❌
	8		8	1	1	0 8	3	❌
	9		9	1	1	0 9	4	❌
	0		0	1	2	1 0	1	✅
	1		1	1	2	1 1	1	✅
	2		2	1	2	1 2	2	✅
	3		3	1	2	1 3	3	✅
	4		4	1	2	1 4	2	✅
	5		5	1	2	1 5	1	✅
	6		6	1	2	1 6	1	✅
	7		7	1	2	1 7	2	✅
	8		8	1	2	1 8	3	✅
	9		9	1	2	1 9	4	✅
	0		0	1	3	2 0	1	❌
	1		1	1	3	2 1	1	❌
	2		2	1	3	2 2	2	❌
	3		3	1	3	2 3	3	❌
	4		4	1	3	2 4	2	❌
	5		5	1	3	2 5	1	❌
	6		6	1	3	2 6	1	❌
	7		7	1	3	2 7	2	❌
	8		8	1	3	2 8	3	❌
	9		9	1	3	2 9	4	❌
	0		0	1	4	3 0	1	✅
	1		1	1	4	3 1	1	✅
	2		2	1	4	3 2	2	✅
	3		3	1	4	3 3	3	✅
	4		4	1	4	3 4	2	✅
	5		5	1	4	3 5	1	✅
	6		6	1	4	3 6	1	✅
	7		7	1	4	3 7	2	✅
	8		8	1	4	3 8	3	✅
	9		9	1	4	3 9	4	✅
	0		0	2	1	4 0	1	❌
	1		1	2	1	4 1	1	❌
	2		2	2	1	4 2	2	❌
	3		3	2	1	4 3	3	❌
	4		4	2	1	4 4	2	❌
	5		5	2	1	4 5	1	❌
	6		6	2	1	4 6	1	❌
	7		7	2	1	4 7	2	❌
	8		8	2	1	4 8	3	❌
	9		9	2	1	4 9	4	❌
	0		0	2	2	5 0	1	✅
	1		1	2	2	5 1	1	✅
	2		2	2	2	5 2	2	✅
	3		3	2	2	5 3	3	✅
	4		4	2	2	5 4	2	✅
	5		5	2	2	5 5	1	✅
	6		6	2	2	5 6	1	✅
	7		7	2	2	5 7	2	✅
	8		8	2	2	5 8	3	✅
	9		9	2	2	5 9	4	✅
	0		0	2	3	6 0	1	❌
	1		1	2	3	6 1	1	❌
	2		2	2	3	6 2	2	❌
	3		3	2	3	6 3	3	❌
	4		4	2	3	6 4	2	❌
	5		5	2	3	6 5	1	❌
	6		6	2	3	6 6	1	❌
	7		7	2	3	6 7	2	❌
	8		8	2	3	6 8	3	❌
	9		9	2	3	6 9	4	❌
	0		0	2	4	7 0	1	✅
	1		1	2	4	7 1	1	✅
	2		2	2	4	7 2	2	✅
	3		3	2	4	7 3	3	✅
	4		4	2	4	7 4	2	✅
	5		5	2	4	7 5	1	✅
	6		6	2	4	7 6	1	✅
	7		7	2	4	7 7	2	✅
	8		8	2	4	7 8	3	✅
	9		9	2	4	7 9	4	✅
	0		0	3	1	8 0	1	?
	1		1	3	1	8 1	1	?
	2		2	3	1	8 2	2	?
	3		3	3	1	8 3	3	?
	4		4	3	1	8 4	2	?
	5		5	3	1	8 5	1	?
	6		6	3	1	8 6	1	?
	7		7	3	1	8 7	2	?
	8		8	3	1	8 8	3	?
	9		9	3	1	8 9	4	?
	0		0	3	2	9 0	1	?
	1		1	3	2	9 1	1	?
	2		2	3	2	9 2	2	?
	3		3	3	2	9 3	3	?
	4		4	3	2	9 4	2	?
	5		5	3	2	9 5	1	?
	6		6	3	2	9 6	1	?
	7		7	3	2	9 7	2	?
	8		8	3	2	9 8	3	?
	9		9	3	2	9 9	4	?
	0		0	3	3	10 0	1	?
	1		1	3	3	10 1	1	?
	2		2	3	3	10 2	2	?
	3		3	3	3	10 3	3	?
	4		4	3	3	10 4	2	?
	5		5	3	3	10 5	1	?
	6		6	3	3	10 6	1	?
	7		7	3	3	10 7	2	?
	8		8	3	3	10 8	3	?
	9		9	3	3	10 9	4	?
	0		0	3	4	11 0	1	?
	1		1	3	4	11 1	1	?
	2		2	3	4	11 2	2	?
	3		3	3	4	11 3	3	?
	4		4	3	4	11 4	2	?
	5		5	3	4	11 5	1	?
	6		6	3	4	11 6	1	?
	7		7	3	4	11 7	2	?
	8		8	3	4	11 8	3	?
	9		9	3	4	11 9	4	?
	X		0	1	5	12 0	5	❌
	J		1	1	5	12 1	1	❌
	Q		2	1	5	12 2	2	❌
	K		3	1	5	12 3	3	❌
	A		4	1	5	12 4	4	❌
	X		5	1	5	12 5	5	❌
	J		6	1	5	12 6	1	❌
	Q		7	1	5	12 7	2	❌
	K		8	1	5	12 8	3	❌
	A		9	1	5	12 9	4	❌
	X		0	2	5	13 0	5	✅
	J		1	2	5	13 1	1	✅
	Q		2	2	5	13 2	2	✅
	K		3	2	5	13 3	3	✅
	A		4	2	5	13 4	4	✅
	X		5	2	5	13 5	5	✅
	J		6	2	5	13 6	1	✅
	Q		7	2	5	13 7	2	✅
	K		8	2	5	13 8	3	✅
	A		9	2	5	13 9	4	✅
	X		0	3	5	14 0	5	❌
	J		1	3	5	14 1	1	❌
	Q		2	3	5	14 2	2	❌
	K		3	3	5	14 3	3	❌
	A		4	3	5	14 4	4	❌
	X		5	3	5	14 5	5	❌
	J		6	3	5	14 6	1	❌
	Q		7	3	5	14 7	2	❌
	K		8	3	5	14 8	3	❌
	A		9	3	5	14 9	4	❌
	X		0	4	6	15 0	5	✅
	J		1	4	6	15 1	1	✅
	Q		2	4	6	15 2	2	✅
	K		3	4	6	15 3	3	✅
	A		4	4	6	15 4	4	✅
	X		5	4	6	15 5	5	✅
	J		6	4	6	15 6	1	✅
	Q		7	4	6	15 7	2	✅
	K		8	4	6	15 8	3	✅
	A		9	4	6	15 9	4	✅
-	-	-	-	-	-	notes	-	-
-	-	-	-	-	-	cover	-	-