My final major project (FMP), for which I chose to look at the signalling flags used at sea. They are an international used form of communication, and are therefore universally understood, making them a crucial part of sealife.
I created three decks of traditional playing card games, each with the intention of being both fun and informative at the same time. The complexity of the decks varies, meaning it is accessible to all, whether you are a young child, or a weathered sea dog! Furthermore, the decks could be tailored for any naval city with its own history, thus making each deck more unique.
Deck 1 - Sailor's Deck: Flag pairs, a set of 52 cards, with each letter of the alphabet (and its corresponding flag) repeated twice. Can be also used to play Snap, or similar games. This is the beginner's deck, which simply helps you learn the letter/flag combinations, which is enhanced by playing a memory-based game.
Deck 2 - Captain's Deck: Top trumps, where you being to take in the finer details of the flags, learning their assigned letters, and distinguishing them from each other.
Deck 3: Admiral's Deck: Standard deck of 52, for which you can use to play any well-known card game, such as Rummy, Solitaire, or Poker. The four existing suits remain, but with subtle naval twists, using shapes from the signalling flags to give it a maritime feel.
Also, the face cards (King, Queen, Jack) show images of the three ships that reside in the Portsmouth Naval Dockyard. This place was a big inspiration for my project, though it had little information on the flags themselves; a hole I sought to fill.
