Gemaco Playing Cards Review

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Gemaco Compass Star

Playing card

Review of Gemaco Compass Star Playing Cards

I just received a sample deck of Gemaco (Compass back) plastic playing cards. These are extremely nice cards with superbly detailed graphics. They remind me most of KEM cards but are a bit slicker, thinner and more flexible. They are very nice cards!

Sample deck provided by

The card lacks almost any texture, making them very smooth and more slippery than a KEM card. Of all the plastic playing cards that I have reviewed so far (6) these were the most flexible and felt the thinnest. They seemed to sail across the table. Measuring the thickness of the cards with a caliper prove that they are not any thinner than the other plastic cards, they just feel that way. These cards seem to have a fairly thick plastic with very deep colors. I get the impression that the colors would never smudge or fade.

Gemaco box The thickness of all 52 playing cards was 15.90 mm. Ten cards weighed 22 grams. The backs of these cards looked a bit like KEM Arrow backed cards. In fact, almost everything about this card seemed like a KEM, just a bit thinner and slicker, with less texture.

The eyes on the Gemaco face cards are rather unique. They are much bigger than the other cards. They're kinda spooky and it almost feels like they follow you around so that they are always staring at you.

My deck of Gemaco cards came in a cardboard box, not much better than a Bee or Bicycle deck. The closing flap was extra large so the box did stay closed on its own.

Gemaco Weave

Playing card

Review of Gemaco Weave Playing Cards

I was a little shocked when I first opened this deck of Gemaco playing cards. The black ink was rather thick and blotchy and the white background was very white and shiny - it looked like a Royal playing card.

The characteristics of this card are completely different from any other Gemaco that I have seen. It is whiter and more slippery and the font, graphics, and ink are much different from the Gemaco Star playing cards reviewed above. When I handle the Gemaco Star cards, I feel like I am handling a deck of Kem cards crossed with a deck of Copag cards - a bit thick and plasticy. When I handle the Gemaco Weave playing cards, I feel like I am handling a cross between a Royal and A-Plus playing card - much smoother and shinier than a Gemaco Star.

The Weave design is bridge size, regular index, and features a full bleed back design, meaning that the graphics on the back extend all the way to the very edge of the card, rather than having a white border around the edge.

The Gemaco box is a hefty piece of work made of thick acrylic. It is 2.25mm thick and has the word "GEMACO' etched in the sides. The inner section of the box slides into the outer section of the box and is held in place by being pinched into the far end. You stick your finger through the round hole to push the inner deck out. This results in one of the sturdier card boxes available, but I would probably still wrap an elastic band over the entire box.

This deck includes an information card that indicates that the cards were made in China. The deck comes with 52 cards, a black joker, a red joker, and an information card. There is no information about replacements. The retail price is $14.95 for two decks. December 2006

Gemaco Sextant

Playing card

Review of Gemaco Sextant Playing Cards

These are poker size, large index Gemaco cards that are similar to the cards reviewed above and come in the same acrylic box as what is shown above.

There are no markings on these cards to indicate where they were manufactured but since they look, feel, and are packaged identical to the Gemaco Weave cards reviewed above, it can be assumed that they are made in China. The retail price is $14.95 for two decks. December 2006