The International Toy Fair held in New York was the venue for the launch of a new interesting variation on the way that QR codes can be used on playing cards.
Though the barcodes on playing cards aren’t anything new, the company that manufactures the well known Bicycle brand playing cards, the United States Playing Card Co., has come up with a whole new game style to be used with the “Jacked Up” decks. This involves decks in which some of the cards have QR codes printed on them, for the players to use as a part of the game.
The premise is that the players can scan the barcodes that have been printed on the cards at various points of the game. To do this, they will need an Android or iOS mobile device with the Jacked Up app installed. Using this will show the players how the rules of the game have been changed.
According to the company, the decks will be on store shelves by April 2012, and will include new play options for the classic games of War, Solitaire, and Hearts. These are games that are highly familiar to just about everybody who has played cards in their lifetimes. Now, the Bicycle brand playing cards will be taking them to a new level with a twist added by the 2d barcodes so that these older games will be refreshed into an entirely new playing experience.
The app is available for free so that those with the cards can take advantage of the QR code feature.