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Empire Trade: a deal-style game you can put your own game into
Two 55-card decks in a single double-deck tuck box. The format is already sized, tested and printed — bring the artwork and the rules, and skip the part where you work out whether it fits.
Why this one is different
Most of the work on this page is a finished job for a client. Empire Trade is both — a real printed game, and a template we keep.
Fast-play property trading games are one of the most requested formats we get asked about. The mechanics are well understood; what people get stuck on is the physical side. How many cards? What size? Will two decks fit in one box, or does it need two? How thick does the tuck box need to be before it stops surviving a school bag?
Empire Trade answers all of that, because we've already built it.
The format
Cards. Two decks of 55 — 110 cards in total — on 300gsm stock. Enough for a property set, action cards, money and wilds without the deck becoming unwieldy.
The box. A single double-deck tuck box on 350gsm with gloss lamination. It holds both decks, which is the detail people usually get wrong: two separate tuck boxes cost more, look cheaper, and get separated in a games cupboard within a month.
Turnaround. 7–10 working days once artwork is approved.
What "template" actually means
It doesn't mean your game looks like Empire Trade. It means the physical specification is settled, so the only thing you have to think about is your own game.
- Card dimensions are fixed and proven — you design to a known size instead of guessing and rebuilding later
- The die-line for the box already exists, sized to hold two 55-card decks
- The stocks are chosen and we know how they handle
- The price is predictable, because we've run it
If your game needs 60 cards a deck instead of 55, or a different card size, we adjust — it's a starting point, not a straitjacket. But starting from something that works beats starting from a blank page.
Who this suits
Anyone with a fast-play card game idea and no interest in becoming a packaging expert first. Designers testing a concept, brands wanting a branded game as a promotional item, or someone who's played a deal-style game and thought ours would be better.
It also works as a step up from a prototype run — test the rules on a short run, then move to this format for production without re-solving the physical build.
Making yours
Send us the card list and the artwork, in whatever state it's in. We'll confirm it against the template specs, flag anything that won't reproduce, and get it on press. See trading card printing for the full range of stocks and finishes.
Put your game in this format
Tell us your card count and roughly how many copies. We'll quote it against the Empire Trade spec and tell you what would need to change.
Request a quote