{{Short description|Plastic sleeves for playing cards}} {{about|plastic sleeves for playing cards|sleeves to block RFID scanning of credit cards|Radio-frequency_identification#Shielding}} [[File:Sleeved playing card.jpg|thumb|A playing card in a transparent plastic Ultra Pro card sleeve]] Plastic '''card sleeves''' are used to protect [[trading cards]], [[playing card|game cards]], and [[collectible card game]] cards from [[wear and tear]].<ref name="DUMMIES">{{cite book|title=Trading Card Games For Dummies|url=https://archive.org/details/tradingcardgames00kauf|url-access=registration|last1=Kaufeld|first1=John|last2=Smith|first2=Jeremy|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|year=2006|isbn=0470044071}}</ref> The sleeves are a sheath of plastic into which a card is inserted.<ref name="OWENS">{{Citation | last1 =Owens | first1 =Thomas S. | last2 =Helmer | first2 =Diana Star | title =Inside Collectible Card Games | year =1996 | page =74 | postscript =. }}</ref>
==Varieties== A wide variety of protective devices have been developed following the introduction of collectible card games, including the bulky "top-loader", a rigid plastic case with one open end (essentially a box for a single card) and the less-expensive simple "card sleeve", a card-sized envelope of clear plastic, with one end open.
==Development== Once collectible card games became popular after the advent of ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', new technology was needed for two reasons. First, existing devices were not made with [[shuffling cards|shuffling]] in mind: rigid top-loaders are effectively impossible to shuffle, and traditional card sleeves would tear easily during shuffling. Card sleeves also became more important because of [[Wizards Play Network|Magic tournaments]]: cards that were worn were considered to be [[Card marking|marked]], and could not be used in tournament decks. The card sleeves were also a potential marking device: one drawback of traditional card sleeves was that they were typically slightly nonuniform, and therefore a potential way of marking cards in a deck on their own.
==History== [[File:Magic the Gathering - Commander.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Players with yellow sleeved ''Magic: the Gathering'' cards]]
In 1995, the Ultra Pro company released the first card sleeves designed specifically for collectible card games, which they called '''deck protectors'''. Deck protectors were a tougher and more uniform version of traditional card sleeves, made of [[polypropylene]], and specifically designed to snugly fit traditional cards. The first deck protectors were clear, but soon after, deck protectors were offered with opaque black backs, which would obscure the actual back of the card, allowing worn cards to be used without "marking" the deck. Other colors soon followed, and now a wide variety of deck protectors are available in many colors, and even with images on the back. These early sleeves would have the quality control problem of all the sleeves in the packet not being all evenly cut. Despite other companies like KMC and Player's Choice bringing this issue under control, it is still a common problem with many card sleeve manufacturers.
Today, players can get card sleeves specifically designed for other trading card games like ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]''. The increasing popularity of card games has resulted in the entry of competitors in the protective sleeve market, including companies such as Players' Choice, Dragon Shield, and TitanShield.
With the increasing popularity of [[board game]]s with game card components such as ''[[Settlers of Catan card game|Settlers of Catan]]'', ''[[Ticket to Ride (board game)|Ticket to Ride]]'' and ''[[Dominion (card game)|Dominion]]'', Mayday Games launched card sleeves specifically for [[board games]] in 2008. These card sleeves are now offered in six sizes and two thicknesses for over 500 board games. In 2009 [[Fantasy Flight Games]] also entered the board-game card sleeve market with a line of premium thickness sleeves of its own. Today, sleeves in varying sizes are offered by many companies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-31 |title=Comparing The Different Brands In Search Of The Perfect Penny Sleeve - Cardlines |url=https://cardlines.com/best-penny-sleeves/ |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=cardlines.com/ |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomson |first=Cody Nery |date=2025-11-06 |title=Board Game Upgrades Every Beginner Needs < NAG |url=https://www.nag.co.za/2025/11/06/board-game-upgrades-every-beginner-needs/ |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=NAG |language=en-ZA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Germaine |first=Chloe |url=https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/8910/1/materiality%20COVID%20EMS.docx.pdf |title=Material Game Studies: A Philosophy of Analogue Play |last2=Wake |first2=Paul |date=2022-11-03 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-20273-3 |language=en |quote=Thus a thriving paratextual aspect of the boardgames industry is the supply of protective components such as boxes, bags and protective card ‘sleeves’...}}</ref>
==In tournament== Modern tournament rules for most trading card games allow (or even mandate) the use of card sleeves, and consider the card sleeves (if opaque) to be the real "back" of the card for the purposes of marking. This is also mandated to help players, judges, and tournament organizers to distinguish between player's decks and cards.
==See also== *[[Card binder]] *[[Singles (cards)|Singles]], individual collectible cards
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Card Sleeve}} [[Category:Card game terminology]] [[Category:Collectible card games]] [[Category:Trading cards]] [[Category:Containers]]