Poker, Bridge, Tarot or Mini: How to Choose the Right Card Size for Your Game
Card size changes how your game reads, shuffles, packs and prints. Here's what each common size is good for, the exact dimensions, and how to decide before you design a single card.
· 4 min read
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Card size feels like a detail you can sort out later. It isn't. Size decides how much text fits, how a hand feels, how many cards print on a sheet, which sleeves fit, and how big the box is. Change it halfway through and every template and piece of art has to be redone.
So decide early. Here's what each common size is good for.
The common sizes at a glance
| Size | Dimensions | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Poker | 63.5 × 88.9 mm (2.5 × 3.5 in) | Most card games; the safe default |
| Bridge | 57.15 × 88.9 mm (2.25 × 3.5 in) | Big hands; games with lots of cards held |
| Tarot | 70 × 120 mm | Text-heavy cards, big art, event or character cards |
| Mini US | 41.3 × 63.5 mm (1.625 × 2.5 in) | Small decks, reference or resource cards |
| Mini Euro | 44 × 68 mm | Small cards in Euro-style games |
| Square | 70 × 70 mm | Tiles, cards placed in grids, unusual feel |
| Jumbo | 3.5 × 5 in | Player boards, character sheets, big reference cards |
Every size has its own page in the card size guide, with trim, bleed and safe zone in millimetres, inches and pixels, and a free blank template:
Card size guide and blank templates
Poker, bridge, tarot, mini, square and more card sizes, with tokens, hex tiles and game boards: trim, bleed and safe zone in mm, inches and pixels at 300 DPI, and a free blank template for each, as a PNG with guides or a printable PDF sheet.
Poker: the safe default
If you're not sure, use poker size. It's what most players expect, sleeves are easy to find in every shop, nine fit on a sheet of Letter or A4, and print-on-demand services all support it. It holds a name, a cost, a type line, a small illustration and three or four lines of rules text comfortably.
Bridge: when hands are big
Bridge cards are the same height as poker but 6 mm narrower. That doesn't sound like much, but in a hand of ten or more cards it's the difference between holding them comfortably and fanning them across the table. The cost is less room for text, so it suits games with short card text.
Tarot: when cards need room
Tarot cards give you almost twice the area of a poker card. Use them for cards that carry a lot: quests, events, characters with abilities, or big illustrations. They're awkward to hold in a hand, so they work best for cards that sit on the table.
Mini cards: for small jobs
Mini US and Mini Euro cards are great for anything with one or two pieces of information: resources, reference cards, small decks of upgrades. Keep text to a few words, because there's very little room once you leave a safe margin.
Square: when cards become tiles
Square cards work well when cards are placed next to each other in a grid, or rotated, because there's no "right way up". They're also memorable: a square card makes a game look different on the shelf.
How to decide
Ask four questions:
- Is it held or placed? Held cards want poker or bridge. Placed cards can be any size.
- How many words? Under 15 words fits a mini. Up to 40 fits poker. More than that wants tarot, or shorter text.
- How many in a hand? Over eight, consider bridge.
- How will you print it? If you plan to manufacture, check your printer supports the size before you commit.
Mixing sizes in one game is fine and common: poker-size main deck, mini resource cards, a jumbo player board.
Trim, bleed and safe zone
Whatever size you pick, design with three lines in mind:
- Trim: where the card is cut, its finished size.
- Bleed: art that runs past the trim, usually 3 mm, so slightly off cuts show no white edge.
- Safe zone: a margin inside the trim, usually 3 mm, where text stays clear of the blade.
At 300 DPI, a poker card's art with a 3 mm bleed is 821 × 1121 pixels. The print size calculator converts any size:
Print size calculator
Convert millimetres, inches and pixels at any DPI, see the image size a card needs with its bleed, and how many cards fit a sheet of Letter, A4 or A3. Free, in your browser, with no sign-up.
In Decklab AI, every size above is a preset when you add a component, with the same 3 mm bleed and safe zone already set, so you only make this decision once.
Try it in your hand
Before you design anything, print a blank template of two or three candidate sizes on card stock, cut them out, and hold a hand of them. It takes ten minutes and saves a redesign. The size guide's PDF sheets are made for exactly that.