A deck of playing cards, each measuring just 5 mm by 3.6 mm—roughly the size of a grain of rice—has been certified as the smallest ever made. This new deck is twice as small as the previous record-holder and 250 times smaller than standard playing cards.
London-based product designer and engineer Rob Hallifax embarked on the challenge to create the world’s smallest pack of playing cards as a New Year’s resolution. Despite having successfully launched four other sets of playing cards on Kickstarter, this project presented unique difficulties.
Traditional card printers were unable to produce the exceptionally thin cards, leading Rob to commission a professional printer. The cards are made from silk stock, a much thinner version of the paper typically used for regular playing cards. According to Rob, the printing process was “relatively straightforward,” but cutting the cards accurately proved to be much more challenging.
“Getting accurate cuts at such small sizes was a challenge,” Rob explained. “At that size, 1 mm is over a quarter of the width of the cards. If you were out by a similar percentage on a regular-size playing card, that would be nearly a 2-cm error!” After experimenting with various methods, he eventually settled on using a laser cutter.
In total, Rob produced 102 packs: 100 were sold to Kickstarter backers for £19 ($24) each, one was kept for himself, and the final pack was recently gifted to Guinness World Records.
The miniature deck includes 52 playing cards, two jokers, and two blank cards, mirroring a standard deck in composition. Although their small size makes them impractical for regular play, their portability is unmatched—two complete decks can fit on the back of a single standard playing card.
Photographing the tiny cards was another significant challenge. “The cards are really fiddly to handle, and getting good shots of them was tricky. I also had to be incredibly careful not to drop them—a sneeze could’ve been disastrous!” Rob said.
Following this success, Rob has also applied for the record of the world’s largest playing card. The current record is held by Ramkumar Sarangapani of India, who in 2020 created a card measuring 2.87 meters (9 feet 5 inches) in height.
You Might Be Interested In:
