Star Wars Loteria Cards
Loteria (the traditional Mexican Bingo game with the illustrated cards) and the classic George Lucas Star Wars movie. Topps released their first Star Wars set in 1977, in order to coincide with the release of the first Star Wars movie. The cards feature color photos from the films, with either puzzle backs or actor/actress profile backs. The cards were issued in 5 different series: Blue Border (Cards 1-66), Red Border (Cards 67-132), Yellow Border (Cards 133.
Years ago dungeonmum had a blog post about Italian lottery cards. I can't find it now because her blog is in hibernation. But I commented at the time about Mexican style bingo cards that seemed similar. According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, the Mexican Lotería cards actually developed from those Italian ones.Anyway, I finally got a set of these puppies. They appeal to me in the same way the Rider-Waite tarot does, simple archetypal images boiled down to the essence of a thing, but also attractive and slightly mysterious. Lotería cards also have little rhyming riddles associated with each which reminds me of runes and rune poems.
The Lotería cards have become so iconic that, like tarot cards, there are different interpretations of the cards by different artists, including Dia del los Muertos versions and a Star Wars version.
Star Wars Loteria Card Game For Sale
One unfortunate thing about the set I have is that it is a lesser quality version. Apparently the set I've seen in collages and art boxes, was the Don Clemente set. The cheaper set doesn't really compare. Here is a comparison, the best version first:
Sorry for the crappy color on the second set, but the color isn't the problem. Check out Atlas' hair, the parrot's cool stand gets dumbed down, and look at the perspective on the tiles under the drunk. I might splurge and try to buy the better version.