The Into the Weird deck of cards is very different from your average deck of playing cards, and is truly a weird and wonderful deck that enables you to discover a story within as you look at it. This deck was produced by Art of Play in collaboration with Jenny Gebhardt and was inspired by a fascination with the strange and unusual, and a special card is included inside the deck to explain the back story. On the inside of the tuck flap there are the words “Wonders of an Odd Journey”, which capture exactly what this deck is about.

It’s not easy to describe what this deck is like, since everything about it is truly out of the ordinary, but the tuck case immediately gives a taste of what the deck is like. The front depicts an unusual cave entrance with the words "Into the Weird" in the centre. White wisps near the top emphasize a sense of mystery, and the entire image conveys the impression that as you open the deck, you are entering into a weird and strange world. The choice of unusual red and green colours on a black backdrop also emphasize a first impression of something strange and ghostly.

More surprises await discovery by the curious, including full interior printing on the inside of the tuck case, which has been printed with red on black, showing an image of a black hole sucking things into it.

The back design of the deck uses the same strange and mysterious colours as the tuck case, with a ghostly green and unusual red being prominent. It also features a large eye in the centre of a starry diamond, with green plant-like ripples coming off of it. Everything about this design confirms our initial impressions: we are really entering the realm of the strange and unusual.

The faces of these cards all have individual unique artworks on every single card. Each suit even has its own "theme", with the Diamonds being air/science, Clubs being earth/nature, Hearts being water/dream, and Spades being fire/nightmare.

While there are unique eye-catching artworks on every card, a real strength of this deck is that the indices are nonetheless clear and distinct. This ensures that Into The Weird remains a very usable deck, still you can even play games with the cards while appreciating their designs.

The courts also have a very unique feature of being slightly different when flipped upside down, and this quality gives added details to explore and enjoy.

The deck also comes with two jokers, an ad card, and an information card about the deck. The Jokers picture an intriguing eye type figure that has been divided in two and is floating in space.

The cards have been printed by USPCC on a thinly crushed stock, and they handle amazingly, being soft and still long lasting. The back design is actually quite nice for cardistry, being unique and detailed while also have a few key focus points. Since the indices are very clear, the deck can also be used for card games, while the unique design ensures there's additional interest that goes beyond mere functionality. While not for everyone, this is certainly an intriguing and interesting deck that stretches us far beyond the ordinary! - BoardGameGeek reviewer EndersGame