Magic Tricks

Bruce Lee has made his debut on playing cards before, with a eye-catching black and yellow colour scheme that featured a dragon back design, and a very striking minimalist "black belt" stripe across the face of bright yellow cards. The original deck was created as a tribute for his 73rd birthday, and now Art of Play brings us a second version of the Bruce Lee deck (V2), in collaboration with Bruce Lee Enterprises.

Like the original deck, the tuck box is presented in a matt black finish, with the shadowy figure of Bruce Lee emerging from the darkness, with his signature in yellow ending any question we may have had in identifying him. The back of the tuck box has a new look however. A red Jeet Kune Do emblem - a hybrid philosophy of martial arts founded by Lee - serves as the tuck box seal, and will return later on the Ace of Spades. There's also full interior printing in yellow and black, which helps prepare us for the yellow and black colour scheme that this deck is about - the same colors as the legend’s famous yellow jumpsuit.

The dragon back design of the original deck has had a graphic make-over, with the elimination of a one-way BL monogram in the center. Now a two-way design gives greater prominence to the dragon heads, that produces a more aggressive look.

But the biggest change is with the faces of the cards. The previous deck already featured Bruce Lee quotes in small print on every card, but instead of being a borderless bright yellow, with a quote in small print across the middle like a black belt, now the faces of the cards feature black rectangular panels with white borders. Each quote is in white capital letters, making it much easier to read, and has Lee's signature below it. The only pips to be found are on the indices, and unlike the relatively standard fonts and shapes of the original version of the Bruce Lee deck, they now add to a sense of customization with a completely new look.

The two Jokers - if they may even be called that - feature black-and-white photos of Lee in action.

This deck is a beautiful homage to a popular martial artist, and a worthy follow-up to the original. It shares enough with its predecessor, while still offering an entirely new look. As for the handling, like Bruce Lee himself, your moves are going to be smooth and slick, with USPCC's crush stock finish ensuring that flourishes will be consistently good. - BGG reviewer EndersGame