While putting together my reviews for Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage Game and Harrow County, I received a neat deck of playing cards from Off the Page Games, and I couldn’t resist giving it a little love. At this point, you know we love Mind MGMT, both the comic series by Matt Kindt and the Psychic Espionage Game.
The MIND MGMT Playing Cards look like your standard 52-card deck on the outside, but in true Mind MGMT fashion, things are never what they seem. Each card features a special psychic ability that can alter traditional games like Go Fish, Hearts, or Poker. At the start of a round, flip a card to determine which powers are active. Every card of the same value can then use its ability for that round.
Abilities range from rule-bending shenanigans like wild cards and peeking at the deck, to instant discards and other clever twists. Not every power will fit every game, but if you draw a card with a useless power, that’s just your fault for being a bad agent.
The deck itself is also stunning. The cards have silver metallic edging and MIND MGMT artwork by Matt Kindt. Every card in the deck has unique art and an ability, which is nothing short of impressive, as they could have easily gotten away with just doing one set of art for each suit. At this point, I need to stop being surprised at the quality of Off the Page Games’ presentation. It’s clearly the standard.
You can play card games with it normally, or turn on the abilities for the chaos. Either way, it’s a cool collector’s piece for fans of the comic or the game.
Now, do I keep using them for the cool games, or put them away to keep them pretty?
