Astérix

How strange to find a quintessentially British brand name – Waddingtons – on a pack for the French market featuring Astérix the Gaul! René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo’s much-loved and ever-popular creation appears alongside other familiar but unnamed characters, although Astérix and Obélix have been relegated to two of the Jacks, with Idéfix as one of the Jokers. A paint effect has been employed to add background colour to the Aces, resulting in an absence of colour for the suit-signs on these cards. The indices are small and in French, with frames surrounding those on the numeral cards. Sadly, as so often with packs from this publisher, a see-through board has been used, no doubt reducing the cost of production. • See the box

Above: Astérix playing cards published by Winning Moves UK Ltd, London, UK, 2022. 52 cards + 2 Jokers in tuck box. Size: 58 x 88 mm. © 2022 Winning Moves UK Limited. Printer unknown.

Judging by the label on my second-hand pack, this pack was originally purchased in an E. Leclerc supermarket.