Afrocentric Playing Cards

The Poker Deck

is available for purchase February 1, 2025 and available for pre-order January 17, 2025

A beautifully reimagined Afrocentric playing card deck with vivid colors and a nice design theme. The Kings and Jacks are carrying African weapons and the Queens are holding flowers indigenous to Africa. Looking at the suits, you will notice they are also redesigned. Spades are stylized spearheads. The Diamonds are faceted stones. Clubs are leaves and is reflected in the reimagining. And the Hearts are enhanced in their design also.

Historical figures associated with the face cards outlined here are not intended to depict how these people actually appeared while living. They are associated with certain suits for reasons attributed to how they are known.

The Joker is represented by Anansi, the trickster spider god. The Big Joker is represented by Anansi appearing in human form. The Little Joker is represented by the god in his spider form.

Mansa Musa (King of Diamonds) was the richest person in recorded history. Shaka kaSenzangakhona is better known as Shaka Zulu (King of Spades), the warrior king. Pharaoh Khufu (King of Hearts) is buried in a place considered one of the seven wonders of the world, The Great Pyramid of Giza. Osei Kofi Tutu I (King of Clubs) was one of the founders of the Ashanti Empire.

Queen Nzinga (Queen of Spades) of Ndongo is the warrior queen known for her battles with the Portuguese. Queen Nandi (Queen of Hearts) is the mother of Shaka Zulu. The most famous of the four queens is Queen Nefertiti (Queen of Diamonds) of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt and wife of Akhenaten. Together they are known to have instituted monotheism in Ancient Egypt. Another famous queen, Queen Makeda (Queen of Clubs) is the Biblical Queen of Sheba.

Hannibal (Jack of Spades) was a Carthaginian considered by many to be the greatest military general in history. Pharaoh Taharqa (Jack of Diamonds) was a pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty of Kemet (Egypt). Tariq ibn Ziyad (Jack of Clubs) was an Umayyad commander. Hendrik Witbooi (Jack of Hearts) was known for revolts against the Germans in Namibia.