And this is just the fourth trick out of 28 that are featured. The player has to keep in mind the cards he sees on opponents, the way to signal, and how to cut a deck to deal a good hand to his benefactor. Then the complexity ramps up significantly. Three Card Monte is next, a little more challenging, with a trick built around rhythm. Pour wine, read an opponent's cards, and use motions to signal the Comte what you have learned. The game’s world is not aiming for historical accuracy, but the writing does a good job of communicating the stakes, although Saint-Germain can become a little annoying, especially when the game uses his conversations to critique the social system.Īt first, Card Shark seems simple in terms of mechanics. Secrets (and Voltaire) soon come up and there are hints of a deeper narrative, centered on the King and his own high-betting table. He becomes a protege of the Comte de Saint-Germain, who relies on him to win card games against the French upper class in the XVII century. The protagonist is a young mute with a knack for learning how to cheat at cards. As the name implies the title focuses on showing players a range of card cheating techniques and giving them the space to try and perfect their use. The game is available on the PC via Steam, where I played it, and on the Nintendo Switch. But as the difficulty and stakes increase, I find that nerves can ruin even a virtual hand when trying to cheat with the big boys.Ĭard Shark is developed by Nerial, with publishing in the hands of Devolver Digital. So, I move around locations in France, trying to part people from their money by performing card tricks that I would never dream of in the real world. The game showed me how to perform it, gave my character the space to practice, and does not take into account my fat fingers. But in Card Shark, I can now do it reliably, after having quite a few issues with it on the first try. Not in the real world, of course, where emotions would get the better of me and my hands would tremble and lead to failure. When thinking of the piece Guastella had the hardest time selling, the answer was as business-like as ever - he’s never had a tough time saying goodbye to a piece.I think I understand how to actually reveal the card that someone else chooses out of a deck of cards. “We are also conservative on our card quality grading … sometimes people are surprised because it will even look better than we advertised.” “When people buy it and pay for it right away, we ship it out. “The secret there is good service,” Guastella said. Guastella has proven to be one of the website’s top card merchants, racking up an astonishing 100 percent positive feedback rating while having cards from nearly every sport for sale. He isn’t complaining about moving his business to the Internet, and his buyers certainly aren’t complaining either. “You sit in those (card shows) for three to four days, spending time setting up and tearing down. “eBay is more faster and trending, not as time-consuming,” said Guastella, whose seller ID on is FGCards. His collection of 6,500-plus cards that go as far back as the early 1940s is up for sale, and the luxury of the Internet allows him to sell to anyone at any time. Cards weren’t cards anymore - they were inventory.įrom there, Guastella did a few card shows, but when eBay came around it was like adding another gem. Somewhere along the way, the attachment to the cards disappeared.
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