Coming up trumps with a bespoke deck of cards
MAGICIAN Preba Moodley has come across almost every type of playing card imaginable, but he now trumps them all with his thunee deck.
Durban-born Moodley — with the help of Dutch graphic designers David Verburg and Patrick Kos — has created a deck of cards designed purely with the Indian game of thunee in mind.
The concept of the thunee deck was launched last week on the internet website Kickstarter. The site acts as a funding platform for out-of-the-box projects around the globe.
So far, the trio’s invention has received 94 backers on the site. They have pledged à2 386 (about R44 582). The thunee deck project has 19 days left to reach its funding goal of à12 000.
Thunee, Tamil for water, is a game that originated in the 1870s. It was popular with Indian indentured labourers in Durban and Moodley said he wanted to pay homage to them through the design of the deck.
Because of the Indian origins of the game, the trio have replaced the face cards — the king, queen, jack and joker — with pictures of Indian royalty, guards and gurus.
“The design, colours and script have been painstakingly researched.
“The thunee deck embodies elements of the indentured labourer, of Tamil script and details that capture the essence and historical significance of the game,” said Moodley. The thunee deck is a full 52-card pack. Moodley said he realised while using cards to perform his magic tricks that there was no thunee deck.
“It occurred to me that despite the long history of the game, a bespoke thunee deck that embodies the history, heritage and cultural significance of the game has never been created.
“So I contacted the United States Playing Card Company and registered my intention to produce a thunee deck under the Bicycle brand.”
Now based in Dubai, Moodley met Verburg and Kos after one of his gigs and told them about his idea. Three months later, the thunee deck was born.
“I grew up playing thunee. Some of the best memories I have are of playing with my father at family gatherings and with my friends at school and university. It was a tradition to meet in the cafeteria after lectures to play thunee.
“With the world converging on mobile apps and electronic games, it is wonderful to be able to combine my love for card magic with design and produce a deck of cards that symbolises the heritage of thunee,” said Moodley.
To support the project or make your advance purchase, go to: kickstarter.com/projects/ 624744918/the-thunee-deck-bicycle-playingcards-deck