Sick of playing card games at your grandparents’ house every time you visit? Perhaps this football-themed equipment might be enough to convince you to play a little longer.
Gus Scott is a 26-year-old freelance illustrator and designer, but crucially, he’s also a football fan.
After one of many conversations with his friends about who the best players in the Premier League were, Gus decided to put his skills, and interests, to good use.
The result is a very good looking pack of cards, with each suit representing either the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A or the Bundesliga, while Ligue 1’s Neymar and Edinson Cavani take their place in the deck as jokers.
“I tried to represent each league differently, and to reflect the style and voice that each league brings that makes them unique,” said Gus of his creation.
Aces are goalkeepers, while numbers two, three and four are defenders, five, six and seven are midfielders and eight, nine and 10 are forwards. The picture cards depict the three most dangerous players from the 2016/17 season in each league according to goals and assists combined.
“(Selecting the players) was really difficult,” said Gus. “Obviously everyone is going to have different opinions on who their favourite players are. In the end I set myself some parameters and chose who I felt the best players that fitted them were.”
The project was backed on Kickstarter and met its target, but packs are still available to buy, although if you’re a Liverpool fan, prepare to be disappointed by a lack of Reds players.
“The people that bought them off Kickstarter seem really pleased,” said Gus. “Some people bought them who didn’t like football which must be a good thing!
“I’ve had quite a few emails from Liverpool fans who are fuming that I haven’t included any of their players,” he continued. “But I guess that’s the beauty of football, you can have your own opinion!”
As for the future, it seems these cards might be just the start for Gus, with the 2018 World Cup having the potential to inspire some ideas.
“I’ve been talking to a few different companies that liked this project about potentially creating something with them,” he said.
“I’d love to do something with the World Cup, and this year some of the kits that people will wear are amazing, so the patterns and designs of the cards could be really strong!”
To see more of Gus’s illustrations, click here.
