Federal 52

Federal 52 was the first Kings Wild playing card release, but not Jackson Robinson’s first Kickstarter. In early 2013 he ran small Kings Wild branded campaigns alongside his deck plans, including Kings Wild T Shirt (137 backers pledged $4,344) and Roots (77 backers pledged $2,179). He later explained that he wanted to be “ready and used to the Kickstarter system,” and to build a small backer base to “prime the pump” for what he already felt “had the potential to be a big project.” It marks a move away from the traditional, restrictive problem of paying for printing first and hoping to sell enough copies, towards using Kickstarter to assemble the backer base before committing to a full print run (see Production Methods for Small Scale Editions of Playing Cards for the older, more restrictive routes).

Above: Ace of Spades (Federal Eagle), Queen of Diamonds (Lady Liberty), and Jack of Clubs (Ulysses S. Grant).

Notable Early Kickstarter Campaigns

Project	Comment	Amount
Brimstone	First to $30k	$30,983
A Deck of Cards	First to $100k	$146,596
Roots	Early experiment	$2,179
Kings Wild T-Shirts	Early experiment	$4,344
Federal 52	First KWP project	$149,156

Above: Comparative funding for early high-profile deck projects (2011–2013) that influenced the Federal 52 launch.

Federal 52 launched on 14 March 2013 and raised $149,156 from 2,798 backers. In the closing hours Robinson urged supporters to overtake the then record holder, Pedale Design’s USPCC printed A Deck of Playing Cards ($146,596), and he openly stated that he wanted Federal 52 to become “the highest grossing deck project to date.”

Robinson’s approach was reference-led and labour-intensive. He described beginning by gathering “tons of reference images and engraving designs from bank notes” before he would “start sketching.” He referred to this as his “plan of attack”: collect the source material, study how engraved ornament is built, and then rebuild that within the format of a standard deck. The artwork developed from hand drawn linework and was later finished on the computer for print, with the project ultimately issued in both Bicycle-branded and unbranded editions—a choice that required licensing and approval beyond simply printing at USPCC.

Above: Robinson at work on the Federal 52 artwork, showing the intricate engraved style. See also the short film The Dream Wifin’ A Dream – The Federal 52 Project.

The pack translates the engraved aesthetics of United States banknotes, certificates and official documents directly into the language of a conventional playing deck (see the tuck box ). Robinson retained standard indices and suit symbols. The courts are redesigned, but not abstracted beyond recognition, so the deck remains playable and legible; particularly in the Kickstarter context, where a project must communicate its value quickly.

Federal 52 is notable for Robinson’s attention to production. He later advised creators to “learn everything you can about the deck production process,” noting that many horror stories came from designers who did not understand printer templates and file preparation. He also acknowledged that prior experience mattered, explaining that he had “almost 12 years of printing experience … so I had a leg up on the printing process.”

Robinson did not treat the deck as a side project, describing “the sheer amount of work that had to be done,” alongside a full time job and family life, and putting in “4–6 hours every night” while keeping up with comments and updates during the campaign.

Seen in retrospect, Federal 52 demonstrated that a designer could mobilise a community around production details, monetising not only a finished pack but the act of making it. The campaign’s reward structure, incremental stretch goals and emphasis on participation signalled an emerging model in which the independent deck was financed, shaped and validated in public. In that sense, Federal 52 stands less as an isolated success than as an early inflection point in the economics of modern playing card publishing.