Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing Cards

I was really excited about this deck. The card backing design is superb, the pips are unique and really well executed. The court cards are AWESOME. The glyph and counting system that is used to denote the card number or court card instead of the traditional number/letter is also really cool. Here's the problem: spades, hearts, and clubs are all denoted in their traditional dark or red colors. Diamonds, being represented by corn, are yellow. This, in and of itself is not an issue. What quickly became a deal breaker for me is that every number/glyph on a diamond card is black. The glyph stamps and counting system for hearts are red, and EVERY other card is black. Maybe that doesn't matter to you, but it started to drive me nuts. I appreciate the added challenge of interpreting a number/glyph system rather than having a straightforward letter/number to decode each card, but adding the filter of trying to remember that "diamonds are black now" seems like a design flaw. Maybe if the markings were black on the hearts as well it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but it feels like spades/clubs and hearts/diamonds should either be two different colors, all the same color, or all different colors. This "one of these things is not like the other" business doesn't jive with my design sensibilities. Again, maybe it won't bug you, but looking back through the photos, it wasn't super obvious until I had the deck in my hands. Other than that, it's gorgeous. Hope this helps someone!

Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing cards are not my cup of tea. I did not quite enjoy the color and design as much as I thought I would. Though they were not for me, others may really enjoy.

The Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing Cards have a very luxurious design both on the cards and the tuck box.

I was really excited about this deck. The card backing design is superb, the pips are unique and really well executed. The court cards are AWESOME. The glyph and counting system that is used to denote the card number or court card instead of the traditional number/letter is also really cool. Here's the problem: spades, hearts, and clubs are all denoted in their traditional dark or red colors. Diamonds, being represented by corn, are yellow. This, in and of itself is not an issue. What quickly became a deal breaker for me is that every number/glyph on a diamond card is black. The glyph stamps and counting system for hearts are red, and EVERY other card is black. Maybe that doesn't matter to you, but it started to drive me nuts. I appreciate the added challenge of interpreting a number/glyph system rather than having a straightforward letter/number to decode each card, but adding the filter of trying to remember that "diamonds are black now" seems like a design flaw. Maybe if the markings were black on the hearts as well it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but it feels like spades/clubs and hearts/diamonds should either be two different colors, all the same color, or all different colors. This "one of these things is not like the other" business doesn't jive with my design sensibilities. Again, maybe it won't bug you, but looking back through the photos, it wasn't super obvious until I had the deck in my hands. Other than that, it's gorgeous. Hope this helps someone!

Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing cards are not my cup of tea. I did not quite enjoy the color and design as much as I thought I would. Though they were not for me, others may really enjoy.

The Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing Cards have a very luxurious design both on the cards and the tuck box.

I was really excited about this deck. The card backing design is superb, the pips are unique and really well executed. The court cards are AWESOME. The glyph and counting system that is used to denote the card number or court card instead of the traditional number/letter is also really cool. Here's the problem: spades, hearts, and clubs are all denoted in their traditional dark or red colors. Diamonds, being represented by corn, are yellow. This, in and of itself is not an issue. What quickly became a deal breaker for me is that every number/glyph on a diamond card is black. The glyph stamps and counting system for hearts are red, and EVERY other card is black. Maybe that doesn't matter to you, but it started to drive me nuts. I appreciate the added challenge of interpreting a number/glyph system rather than having a straightforward letter/number to decode each card, but adding the filter of trying to remember that "diamonds are black now" seems like a design flaw. Maybe if the markings were black on the hearts as well it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but it feels like spades/clubs and hearts/diamonds should either be two different colors, all the same color, or all different colors. This "one of these things is not like the other" business doesn't jive with my design sensibilities. Again, maybe it won't bug you, but looking back through the photos, it wasn't super obvious until I had the deck in my hands. Other than that, it's gorgeous. Hope this helps someone!

Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing cards are not my cup of tea. I did not quite enjoy the color and design as much as I thought I would. Though they were not for me, others may really enjoy.

The Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing Cards have a very luxurious design both on the cards and the tuck box.

I was really excited about this deck. The card backing design is superb, the pips are unique and really well executed. The court cards are AWESOME. The glyph and counting system that is used to denote the card number or court card instead of the traditional number/letter is also really cool. Here's the problem: spades, hearts, and clubs are all denoted in their traditional dark or red colors. Diamonds, being represented by corn, are yellow. This, in and of itself is not an issue. What quickly became a deal breaker for me is that every number/glyph on a diamond card is black. The glyph stamps and counting system for hearts are red, and EVERY other card is black. Maybe that doesn't matter to you, but it started to drive me nuts. I appreciate the added challenge of interpreting a number/glyph system rather than having a straightforward letter/number to decode each card, but adding the filter of trying to remember that "diamonds are black now" seems like a design flaw. Maybe if the markings were black on the hearts as well it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but it feels like spades/clubs and hearts/diamonds should either be two different colors, all the same color, or all different colors. This "one of these things is not like the other" business doesn't jive with my design sensibilities. Again, maybe it won't bug you, but looking back through the photos, it wasn't super obvious until I had the deck in my hands. Other than that, it's gorgeous. Hope this helps someone!

Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing cards are not my cup of tea. I did not quite enjoy the color and design as much as I thought I would. Though they were not for me, others may really enjoy.

The Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing Cards have a very luxurious design both on the cards and the tuck box.

I was really excited about this deck. The card backing design is superb, the pips are unique and really well executed. The court cards are AWESOME. The glyph and counting system that is used to denote the card number or court card instead of the traditional number/letter is also really cool. Here's the problem: spades, hearts, and clubs are all denoted in their traditional dark or red colors. Diamonds, being represented by corn, are yellow. This, in and of itself is not an issue. What quickly became a deal breaker for me is that every number/glyph on a diamond card is black. The glyph stamps and counting system for hearts are red, and EVERY other card is black. Maybe that doesn't matter to you, but it started to drive me nuts. I appreciate the added challenge of interpreting a number/glyph system rather than having a straightforward letter/number to decode each card, but adding the filter of trying to remember that "diamonds are black now" seems like a design flaw. Maybe if the markings were black on the hearts as well it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but it feels like spades/clubs and hearts/diamonds should either be two different colors, all the same color, or all different colors. This "one of these things is not like the other" business doesn't jive with my design sensibilities. Again, maybe it won't bug you, but looking back through the photos, it wasn't super obvious until I had the deck in my hands. Other than that, it's gorgeous. Hope this helps someone!

Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing cards are not my cup of tea. I did not quite enjoy the color and design as much as I thought I would. Though they were not for me, others may really enjoy.

The Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing Cards have a very luxurious design both on the cards and the tuck box.

I was really excited about this deck. The card backing design is superb, the pips are unique and really well executed. The court cards are AWESOME. The glyph and counting system that is used to denote the card number or court card instead of the traditional number/letter is also really cool. Here's the problem: spades, hearts, and clubs are all denoted in their traditional dark or red colors. Diamonds, being represented by corn, are yellow. This, in and of itself is not an issue. What quickly became a deal breaker for me is that every number/glyph on a diamond card is black. The glyph stamps and counting system for hearts are red, and EVERY other card is black. Maybe that doesn't matter to you, but it started to drive me nuts. I appreciate the added challenge of interpreting a number/glyph system rather than having a straightforward letter/number to decode each card, but adding the filter of trying to remember that "diamonds are black now" seems like a design flaw. Maybe if the markings were black on the hearts as well it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but it feels like spades/clubs and hearts/diamonds should either be two different colors, all the same color, or all different colors. This "one of these things is not like the other" business doesn't jive with my design sensibilities. Again, maybe it won't bug you, but looking back through the photos, it wasn't super obvious until I had the deck in my hands. Other than that, it's gorgeous. Hope this helps someone!

Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing cards are not my cup of tea. I did not quite enjoy the color and design as much as I thought I would. Though they were not for me, others may really enjoy.

The Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing Cards have a very luxurious design both on the cards and the tuck box.

I was really excited about this deck. The card backing design is superb, the pips are unique and really well executed. The court cards are AWESOME. The glyph and counting system that is used to denote the card number or court card instead of the traditional number/letter is also really cool. Here's the problem: spades, hearts, and clubs are all denoted in their traditional dark or red colors. Diamonds, being represented by corn, are yellow. This, in and of itself is not an issue. What quickly became a deal breaker for me is that every number/glyph on a diamond card is black. The glyph stamps and counting system for hearts are red, and EVERY other card is black. Maybe that doesn't matter to you, but it started to drive me nuts. I appreciate the added challenge of interpreting a number/glyph system rather than having a straightforward letter/number to decode each card, but adding the filter of trying to remember that "diamonds are black now" seems like a design flaw. Maybe if the markings were black on the hearts as well it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but it feels like spades/clubs and hearts/diamonds should either be two different colors, all the same color, or all different colors. This "one of these things is not like the other" business doesn't jive with my design sensibilities. Again, maybe it won't bug you, but looking back through the photos, it wasn't super obvious until I had the deck in my hands. Other than that, it's gorgeous. Hope this helps someone!

Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing cards are not my cup of tea. I did not quite enjoy the color and design as much as I thought I would. Though they were not for me, others may really enjoy.

The Maya LA CEIBA Sacred Tree Playing Cards have a very luxurious design both on the cards and the tuck box.