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A card game by The Telescope Man · coming soon
42 Wonders of Our Night Sky
52 wonders. Five stats. One deck. Coming soon, at £19.99.
tap a card to flip it, or drag one out to pick it up
BBC Sky at NightI write for the magazine
From me
I promised you the cards. Here they are.
Fourteen episodes, 42 wonders, three at a time, and you rated every one of them in the comments. I promised you a card game at the end of it, with your names in it. Here it is: 42 wonders, 10 bonus wonders, and five stats on every card. Power, Mystery, Beauty, Wonder and Ease.
The deck's designed and the print file is nearly done. It's coming soon, at £19.99 a deck, and you'll hear it here first.
Damon
01
What's in the box
55 cards · one tuck box
42wonders from the series, ranked
10bonus wonders, each with its own power
3special cards: the cover, how to play, and the Thank you card
5stats on every wonder, with gold, silver and bronze for the top three in each
The $1 billion view
Hubble and friends
Space telescopes and the world's biggest observatories. Credited on every card.
The $1 million view
From a big observatory
Remote telescopes under some of the darkest skies on Earth. Credited too.
The $500 view
From a smart telescope
What a $500 telescope really shows you. My own photos.
63 × 88 mmpoker-size cards
2 to 6players
8+ages
20 mina game
Flick through the whole deck
Every card here is the real print file. Tap one for a closer look. Six bonus wonders are still under wraps.
02
Draw your wonder
five cards to a hand
Which wonder will you get?
Tap the deck. Every card is a real one from the print file.
03
Beat me in 30 seconds
how to play
Deal every card face down. You only ever look at your top card.
Pick a stat and read it out: Power, Mystery, Beauty, Wonder or Ease.
Highest number wins both top cards. The winner picks the next stat.
A draw? The cards wait in the middle for the next winner.
Win every card and you've won the whole sky.
Ease is the twist. It's how easy a wonder is to see from your back garden. The Moon scores 100, so it beats any galaxy on Ease.
Bonus wonders and their powers stay out of the 30-second game. In the real deck they play like any other card, and each one has a power that bends the rules.
Score 0Streak 0×1
You0
30
Damon0
0Power0
You get the first pick. Choose the stat you think beats my card.
04
Your name in the deck
You left thousands of comments on the 42 Wonders series, and I promised you a card with your names on it. Every deck has a Thank you card covered in your YouTube names, front and back, set as small as print allows. That's about 250 names.
One card can't hold everyone, so the QR code on the back will take you to a Wall of names: every commenter, on one page, searchable. It opens when the deck is made, and you will find yourself there whether you buy the deck or not.
The names on these sample cards are placeholders. I'll check every real name by hand before it prints.
Tap to turn it over
05
Questions
The short version: it's coming soon, at £19.99 a deck, and this page will have it first.
A specialist playing-card printer that prints every card face individually and posts each deck straight to you. The print file is built and checked against the printer's own specification, and I'll approve a printed proof before the batch.
Are all the photos yours?
The $500 view cards are mine, taken with a smart telescope, and so are the bonus wonders marked "My own photo". The $1 million and $1 billion views come from remote observatories, big ground telescopes and space telescopes, and every one is credited on its card. Seeing all three side by side is half the fun.
Will I pay import fees?
Decks are posted from the printer's warehouse in Hong Kong. Before it goes on sale I'll confirm what import VAT or fees apply in the UK and Europe, and build them into the postage so nothing is due at your door.
I commented on the series. Am I on the Thank you card?
About 250 names fit on the card, and everyone else will be on the Wall of names behind the QR code. If you'd rather not be listed, tell me and I'll take your name off.
What could go wrong?
Printing delays are the usual one, so the timeline leaves room. I'll check a printed proof before the batch goes ahead, and I'll post an update every step of the way, including anything that slips.
