Show me the minis!

[TheFeeLion]

Not all hands can shuffle standard sized decks, and not all bags (or pockets) can fit them either. Coincidentally I fit into neither category but, no matter how much I call it a blackhole, my handbag already has enough stuff in it without adding a full sized deck to it 😂

 

So, for all those similarly challenged, let us glory in the diminutive and compile a list of perfectly petite decks! 

What mini decks do you know of? What are your favourites? 

 

They can be any size as long as they are either smaller than a standard tarot deck or smaller than the original eg. Baroque Bohemian Cats mini. 

As the lovely Katrinka has mentioned, if you're after a particular size check the dimensions before buying. 

 

Tarot:

22 Arcani 1835

Agni Roerich

Albano-Waite

Albano-Waite (1968 ed.)

Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot pocket edition

Aquarian Tarot in a tin

Art Nouveau (Castelli)

Baroque Bohemian Cats mini

Besançon

Bohemian Gothic Tarot mini

Bologna Sec XVIII (Meneghello)

Cani del Mondo

Ceccoli Tarot mini

Celtic Tarot mini

Conchiglie Divinatorie

Dragons Tarot mini

Drink Product Gift

Druids

Egyptian Tarot mini

Egyptian (Alasia)

Ethernal Sand of Time Egypt Tarot 

Etteilla (LoS)

Everyday Tarot mini

Everyday Witch Tarot mini

Fairy Tarot mini

Fiori Divinatori 

French Pattern (Ducale)

Gatti (Menegazzi)

Giguil 

Gnomi (M)

Golden Tarot of Klimt mini

Gorgons (smaller)

Greenwood (mini)

Hadar mini

Harmonious Tarot mini

Isidore

Lanzichenecchi

Leonardo da Vinci

Linestrider Tarot mini

Llewellyn’s Classic Tarot mini

Manga Tarot mini

Mani Divinatorie

Mantegna ( Meneghello)

Marseille (LoS)

Marseilles (Grimaud)

Marseilles (Héron)

Marsiglia (Meneghello)

Marsiglia (micro)

Marsigliesi (LoS)

Mermaids

Mestieri dell'Uomo

Minchiate Fiorentini Sec XIX

Mini Coffin

Mini Decoratif

Mini Legacy 

Mini Marchetti 

Mini Royo Dark Tarot

Mini Tarot of Dreams

Mini Tarot Grand Luxe

Mini Tarot Royal

Morgan-Greer Tarot in a tin

Motherpeace

Musica

Napoleon (Menegazzi)

New Vision

Nova (Paschkis)

Oriens Tarot mini

Osho Zen Tarot pocket edition 

Pagan Tarot mini

Pam's Vintage Tarot

Pam's Original Art Only Tarot Bridge Size 

Parac

Personaggi Napoleonici

Piemontesi (Guala, LoS)

Pierre Madenié

Più piccoli del mondo

Pocket Rider Waite Tarot 

Popolare Ligure Piemontese

Psychicks

Radiant Rider-Waite Tarot in a tin

Renaissance

Sardinia

Secret Tarot mini

Serravalle Avondo  

Sheridan-Douglas (Polish)

Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot in a tin

Songs for the Journey Home

Spanish

The Steampunk Tarot mini

Tabacco 22 Arcani

TaRat

Tarot 2-12-1-3-11

Tarot Art Nouveau mini

Tarot de Marseille mini

Tarot of Pagan Cats mini

Tarot Tarot

Tarot of White Cats mini

The Thomson Leng 

Tiny Universal Waite Tarot

Triomphes de Paris

Universali

Universal Tarot mini

Universal Waite Pocket Tarot 

Useless

Victorian Romantic Tarot 2nd ed

Visconti Tarot mini 

Voyager

Waite Tarot (Weiser)

Witchy Tarot mini

Wooden Tarot Cards Deck (Renal)

World's Tiniest Tarot Deck 

WorldTree

 

Lenormand:

Alte Deutsch

Daveluy Lenormand

Dondorf w/Playing Card Inserts

Dutch Deck mini

Ensslin 

Game of Hope

McLoughlin Mystic Cards of Fortunt

Mystic Blues mini

Purple Dragon mini

Sigil Lenormand mini

Stralsunder mini

Wust mini (do know how to get the little dots above the u sorry!)

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by TheFeeLion

[Decan]

Yes, indeed!

I don't know if there is a difference of size between a pocket deck and a mini deck; I'm not sure if mini is smaller than pocket?

I have the Radiant RW Tarot pocket in a tin, perhaps a few others but I need to check that.

[reall]

On 9/8/2020 at 3:26 PM, Decan said:

Yes, indeed!

I don't know if there is a difference of size between a pocket deck and a mini deck; I'm not sure if mini is smaller than pocket?

I have the Radiant RW Tarot pocket in a tin, perhaps a few others but I need to check that.

Yes there is!:) *mini are usually smallest!:) it goes like this Standard Tarot>Poker->Bridge->mini!:D

 

eta : here is pic my fav mini manga & mini rws manga evidently not same size!:)

& purple back below is standard Tarot size & next is what most Pod refer as mini card size(think it's half of poker size?) next to Poker Lenormand edt 

imo card size less than poker & Bridge is too small for Tarot but even postmark would be perfect for lenormand!^^ lol

& I prefer Bridge size as my favorite *mini!;D

Edited September 17, 2020 by reall

[TheFeeLion]

Hmm, I didn't think of that! Let's include pocket, poker, and bridge sizes as well 😁 we dont what to be elitist after all (or would that be smallist?) 😉

[Riimukissa]

Let me think... These are the ones I have heard of:

• Everyday Witch Tarot mini deck
• Everyday Tarot mini deck
• Klimt Tarot mini deck
• Ceccoli Tarot mini deck
• Llewellyn’s Classic Tarot mini deck
• Pagan Tarot mini deck
• The Steampunk Tarot mini deck
• Universal Tarot mini deck
• Tarot of White Cats mini deck

I know there are much more. I own the Everyday Tarot mini deck but I don’t use it much. I love the size but I hate the box with the force of thousand suns and I haven’t felt like making it a pouch yet because it’s not one of my favourite decks anyway. I’d love to get the mini version of Everyday Witch Tarot but I have the standard size already.

[katrinka]

These terms aren't standardized. The Baroque Bohemian Cats mini is almost as big as the RWS Centennial in a tin, which is being sold as pocket sized. Lemormand minis are quite a bit smaller. Ciro's mini Tarots are about the size of a Lenormand mini.
"Poker" and "bridge sized" ARE standard sizes with fixed dimensions, but as for everything else, it's the Wild, Wild West out there. When in doubt, check the dimensions before buying.
And the smallest I've seen is those USG RWS decks that come in a plastic case on a keychain, though I'm sure somebody has shrunk the RWS even more by now.
https://www.usgamesinc.com/Tiny_Tarot_Key_Chain.html?category_id=2

 

[Grace]

Yes! I also have a preference for the smaller sizes. It's odd that I don't own more pocket-able decks. 

Though I can imagine some of my decks would loose a little detail in the artwork if it were to be pushed too far on the shrink meter. I guess it's one of those things, where some sort of balance needs to be met, unless you are so familiar with the deck that it doesn't bother you. 

I have found that a standard size with a high gloss coating is easier to shuffle than one with a matte finish. Aesthetics aside, the gloss helps the cards glide over each other in a way my matte cards just don't. The matte cards tend to grip each other, and make the process that much harder. The satin finishes are a good in-between. That extra slip makes a big difference in shuffle comfort with larger cards in my opinion. That being said, I have never chosen a deck based on the finish alone!

My tinned Centennial RWS is great for the handbag, and I love that it doesn't take up the whole cafe table when out and about. I would love the keychain deck, though I wonder if by virtue of being so small it would be tricky to use in itself. All my others are very much 'stay at home' size. 

[katrinka]

31 minutes ago, Grace said:

I have found that a standard size with a high gloss coating is easier to shuffle than one with a matte finish. Aesthetics aside, the gloss helps the cards glide over each other in a way my matte cards just don't. The matte cards tend to grip each other, and make the process that much harder. The satin finishes are a good in-between. That extra slip makes a big difference in shuffle comfort with larger cards in my opinion. That being said, I have never chosen a deck based on the finish alone!

I prefer a slippy deck, too. That's why I like linen best - you get that air cushion!

[Grace]

1 hour ago, katrinka said:

I prefer a slippy deck, too. That's why I like linen best - you get that air cushion!

AHA! So THAT'S the secret behind the fabled linen stock! Little divots of air that create that nice sliding cushion.... makes sense to me!

[katrinka]

1 hour ago, Grace said:

AHA! So THAT'S the secret behind the fabled linen stock! Little divots of air that create that nice sliding cushion.... makes sense to me!

Yes. Take a moment to watch these guys - all of this is possible because of a linen finish:
 

Well, that and a lot of practice, lol. If your deck can do THAT, you needn't worry about cards sticking and clumping together!

I should add that the true linen finish hasn't been manufactured in decades. It was done with cloth-covered rollers that kept wearing out, so now they use a process where they stamp the texture into the deck, and people just kept calling it linen. It works quite well, but if you ever find an old enough deck of playing cards with a cambric (linen) finish, it will look like actual woven cloth.

Different playing card companies use different names - linen, cambric, linoid, air cushion - but they're all similar and they handle beautifully. (A plain flat finish is called "ivory". )

Tarot is woefully behind playing cards in that respect. I've only been seeing linen Tarots for the last decade or so. But I've read that the original 1935 Thomson Leng was linen.

[Decan]

Not Tarot here, but the Teuila Fortune Telling Cards (1923) was linen too.

Otherwise I haven't mini Tarot decks finally (just pocket size), but the real mini size could be cute!

Edited September 9, 2020 by Decan

[Grace]

1 hour ago, katrinka said:

Yes. Take a moment to watch these guys - all of this is possible because of a linen finish:

😮 I took it upon myself to learn how to shuffle over our lock-down period. I was so happy when I got to a respectable riffle shuffle. It was by no means perfect, but when I didn't mess it up - it looked and sounded awesome. I was strutting around the house making my husband watch me like I was a 2 year old child on a swing set demanding attention. I feel somewhat less impressed with myself now. 🤣

Edited September 9, 2020 by Grace

[TheFeeLion]

On 9/9/2020 at 10:43 AM, katrinka said:

These terms aren't standardized. The Baroque Bohemian Cats mini is almost as big as the RWS Centennial in a tin, which is being sold as pocket sized. Lemormand minis are quite a bit smaller. Ciro's mini Tarots are about the size of a Lenormand mini.
"Poker" and "bridge sized" ARE standard sizes with fixed dimensions, but as for everything else, it's the Wild, Wild West out there. When in doubt, check the dimensions before buying.
And the smallest I've seen is those USG RWS decks that come in a plastic case on a keychain, though I'm sure somebody has shrunk the RWS even more by now.
https://www.usgamesinc.com/Tiny_Tarot_Key_Chain.html?category_id=2

 

Thanks for that insight, I didn't realise "mini" was such a loose term! I'll change my original post to include decks smaller than original (like the Baroque Bohemian Cats mini) and smaller than standard tarot size 😊 hopefully that fixes the problem! 

 

@Kati thanks for that list! I'll add them in 😁

 

Thanks for the input everyone! Now that it's been decided, we'll include all tarot decks of smaller than standard or original size. So bring on the liliputs! 

[Decan]

Okay @TheFeeLion, so I have the Radiant RW in a tin, the Morgan Greer in a tin and the mini Bohemian Gothic Tarot, actually just 3.

[TheFeeLion]

3 hours ago, Decan said:

Okay @TheFeeLion, so I have the Radiant RW in a tin, the Morgan Greer in a tin and the mini Bohemian Gothic Tarot, actually just 3.

Thanks! Just added Bohemian Gothic to the list 😁

[katrinka]

Yes! Another pocket/mini. 😊

[reall]

ok!:) if you are adding all smaller than standard then I would add my

Pam's Vintage Tarot

Pam's Original Art Only Tarot Bridge Size &

Ethernal Sand of Time Egypt Tarot are all published as smaller than standard Bridge size edt!:)

also think the gamecrafter drivethrucards printerstudio & makeplayingcards all have plenty indie decks smaller size?:) will add if I remember some!:)

ETA Oriens Tarot got mini edt recently!:)

also are we adding circular decks as well?:)

Edited September 17, 2020 by reall

[TheFeeLion]

@reall ooo thanks! I'll add those to the list 😊 yes circular ones count as long as they're smaller than standard or original sizes

[katrinka]

Here are the best mini Lenormands!
Vintage art makes a solid foundation for beginners. Very good quality, and you can fit a GT on a placemat!
http://gameofhopelenormand.bigcartel.com/product/minis-are-here

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by katrinka

[katrinka]

The Thomson Leng that I've been raving about and working through at the 78 Weeks group is bridge sized and purely wonderful. 💖
It's primo stock (not linen, but slippy nonetheless!) and it follows a wonderful system that I can't recommend enough: Wirthy, but more cartomantic, less occultish. An incisive, Lenormand-like, old school cartomantic Tarot system! A simply elegant reading deck!
Available here: https://www.tarotcollectibles.com/store/p148/Thomson-Leng-Tarot.html

 

[TheFeeLion]

That's such a warm looking deck @katrinka, so much red and yellow! 😊

 

ETA I'll add a Lenormand section to the list! 

Edited September 18, 2020 by TheFeeLion

[katrinka]

Very warm, and I'm normally a sucker for cool colors like mints, seafoams, aquas and teals! (Where I live, it was 107F until recently - I take my coolness where I can find it!) But I love this deck, and yes, I even love the warmness.
It's just such an exceptional deck - what's not to love? 💖 And the reading system - OMG, so cartomantic. Studying this one will enhance all the others!

[gregory]

I have - a lot. I'll get to it as soon as I get home from being out all day.

 

 

[TheFeeLion]

I'm currently in bed doing a pre-midnight scroll so I will update the list hopefully tomorrow. 

 

@katrinka Heh I can tell you're loving using that deck! 😉

 

@gregory I will eagerly await what decks you have to add to the list! Admittedly I'll probably be doing most of said awaiting with my eyes closed though 😂

[gregory]

OK - I don't make a note of poker sized, but here are my minis:

 

22 Arcani 1835 ,

Agni Roerich

Albano-Waite

Albano-Waite  (1968 ed.)

Art Nouveau (Castelli, )

Baroque Bohemian Cats

Besançon

Bohemian Gothic 3

Bologna Sec XVIII  (Meneghello, )

Cani del Mondo ,

Conchiglie Divinatorie ,

Dragons

Drink Product Gift ,

Druids

Egyptian (Alasia, )

Etteilla  (LoS, )

Fairy Tarot

Fiori Divinatori ,

French Pattern (Ducale, )

Gatti  (Menegazzi,)

Giguil ,

Gnomi  (M)

Gorgons (smaller)

Greenwood (mini)

Hadar mini

Harmonious

Isidore ,

Lanzichenecchi ,

Leonardo da Vinci

Mani Divinatorie ,

Mantegna ( Meneghello, )

Marseille (LoS, )

Marseilles (Grimaud, )

Marseilles (Héron, )

Marsiglia (Meneghello, )

Marsiglia (micro)

Marsigliesi  (LoS, )

Mermaids

Mestieri dell'Uomo

Minchiate Fiorentini Sec XIX

Mini Coffin  

Motherpeace

Musica

Napoleon (Menegazzi, )

New Vision

Nicoletta Ceccoli

Nova (Paschkis, )

Pagan

Pagan Cats 

Parac,

Personaggi Napoleonici

Piemontesi  (Guala, LoS, )

Pierre Madenié

Più piccoli del mondo  ,

Popolare Ligure Piemontese

Psychicks ,

Renaissance

Sardinia ,

Secret (LoS, )

Serravalle Avondo  

Sheridan-Douglas (Polish)

Songs for the Journey Home

Spanish ,

Tabacco 22 Arcani

TaRat

Tarot 2-12-1-3-11  

Tarot Tarot ,

Thoth (small)

Triomphes de Paris ,

Universal Waite (Pocket)

Universali ,

Useless ,

Victorian Romantic Tarot 2nd ed

Voyager

Waite Tarot (Weiser, )

White Cats

Witchy

Wooden Tarot Cards Deck  (Renal, )

World's Tiniest Tarot Deck 

WorldTree