With this project, I sought to uncover the functionality that is hidden beneath the surface of cards. I revealed the intrinsic nature of the playing card by distilling them to their foundational form, removing suits, Arabic numerals, and the Latin alphabet. Instead, the spirit of each card could be completely realised with straight lines running in a single direction. The cards played with human’s innate pattern recognition; the angle of the strokes convey the suit, and the shape of the pip pyramid shows the value. The cards created their own language, readable to everyone. In this rule-based design, every function is retained, and every line is essential.