U.S. Games Systems

U.S. Games Systems, Inc. is an American publisher based in Stamford, Connecticut, whose catalog spans tarot decks, oracle and fortune-telling cards, playing cards, educational products, museum-related card sets, children's games, and specialty tabletop titles. The company was founded in 1968 by Stuart R. Kaplan and initially operated as a distributor of European tarot decks in the United States. Among the early products was the Swiss 1JJ Tarot. Strong sales through bookstores encouraged Kaplan to move beyond distribution and develop a publishing program of the company's own. A decisive turning point came in 1971, when U.S. Games Systems obtained the rights to publish the Rider–Waite tarot deck. The deck, illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith from designs associated with Arthur Edward Waite, became a major commercial success and established the company as one of the most recognizable specialist publishers in the tarot field. Its importance to the company is also reflected in the U.S. Games Systems logo, which uses a silhouette of The Fool based on Colman Smith's artwork. The company's tarot catalog subsequently combined historically influential decks with modern reinterpretations. Its published or distributed offerings have included the Tarot of Marseilles, Visconti–Sforza tarot decks, the Oswald Wirth tarot, and the Thoth Tarot designed by Aleister Crowley and illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris. U.S. Games Systems also became associated with decks that departed from conventional presentation, including the countercultural Aquarian Tarot, the borderless Morgan–Greer Tarot, the circular Motherpeace Tarot, and Fergus Hall's Tarot of the Witches. The latter gained additional public visibility after appearing in the James Bond film Live and Let Die. Beyond divination products, U.S. Games Systems publishes and distributes card games and themed decks for family, educational, historical, artistic, and recreational use. Examples include the Wizard Card Game, Authors, Continuo, Mystery Rummy, the Creative Whack Pack, and historical game products focused on the American Revolution and American Civil War. The company has also developed museum-oriented products based on works held by cultural institutions, including a Mummy Deck drawing on holdings of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and Women in Works of Art, which uses material associated with the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. U.S. Games Systems has also supported the documentary and scholarly side of tarot publishing. Beginning in the 1970s, it expanded into books concerning tarot history. Kaplan co-wrote the four-volume Encyclopedia of Tarot with Jean Huets, issued over a period of two decades. In 2009, the company published a commemorative Rider–Waite boxed set containing Pamela Colman Smith's tarot images, selected art prints, and a short book about Smith. Kaplan's research interest in Smith's theatrical work, costume and set design, association with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and collaboration with Waite later contributed to the biography Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story, co-written with Mary Katherine Greer, Elizabeth Foley O'Connor, and Melinda Boyd Parsons. The company markets its products through a broad specialist and general retail network. Channels described for its catalog include bookstores, museum gift shops, metaphysical retailers, greeting-card stores, toy and game shops, hobby stores, and mail-order catalogs. Wikipedia describes the company as releasing approximately 20 new titles annually and having published hundreds of different card sets. Its current identity therefore combines a specialist tarot publishing heritage with a wider card-game and cultural-products business.

U.S. Games Systems was established in 1968 in the United States by Stuart R. Kaplan. Its first business model centered on importing and distributing European tarot decks, including the Swiss 1JJ Tarot. This placed the company within a specialized but growing American market for tarot and related card products. Distribution experience demonstrated that tarot decks could reach customers through mainstream channels such as bookstores, rather than only through occult or specialty retailers. The company's most important early development occurred in 1971, when it acquired publication rights for the Rider–Waite tarot deck. The deck's illustrated minor arcana and recognizable symbolic system made it particularly accessible to a broad audience. Its commercial performance became the foundation of U.S. Games Systems' early success and helped define the company's long-term association with tarot publishing. The company adopted a silhouette of The Fool, based on Pamela Colman Smith's artwork, as its logo. After establishing the Rider–Waite line, U.S. Games Systems broadened its tarot catalog. It published established traditions such as the Tarot of Marseilles, Visconti–Sforza decks, the Oswald Wirth tarot, and the Thoth Tarot associated with Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris. At the same time, it pursued new visual and conceptual approaches. The Aquarian Tarot reflected hippie-era influences, the Morgan–Greer Tarot used a borderless design, and Motherpeace presented the cards in a circular format. Fergus Hall's Tarot of the Witches brought further public attention when it was featured in the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die. The company did not remain limited to divination products. Its publishing program expanded to children's cards, educational and motivational decks, historical games, museum products, and general playing-card games. Its catalog has included the Wizard Card Game, Authors, Continuo, Mystery Rummy, the Creative Whack Pack, and games dealing with the American Revolution and American Civil War. Some products use art or objects from museum collections. Examples described in reference material include the Mummy Deck, based on holdings of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, and Women in Works of Art, drawing on material from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. During the 1970s, the company also entered book publishing related to tarot history. Stuart Kaplan worked with Jean Huets on the four-volume Encyclopedia of Tarot, released across approximately two decades. This project reflected a broader effort to document tarot decks, imagery, and historical development rather than treating tarot solely as a retail novelty. Kaplan's continuing interest in Pamela Colman Smith led to further editorial and biographical work. In 2009, U.S. Games published a commemorative Rider–Waite boxed set that paired the deck with selected Smith art prints and a short book about her. Kaplan later co-wrote Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story with Mary Katherine Greer, Elizabeth Foley O'Connor, and Melinda Boyd Parsons. The company has marketed products through bookstores, museum shops, metaphysical stores, greeting-card retailers, toy and game shops, hobby stores, and mail-order catalogs. This channel mix reflects its hybrid position between specialist esoteric publishing, cultural merchandising, and mainstream games. Reference material describes a catalog of hundreds of card sets and approximately 20 new titles released annually. No independently sourced information in the supplied material establishes current ownership, current leadership beyond Kaplan's founder role, revenue, public listing, or a precise present-day international sales breakdown.

• 2009

  Commemorative Rider–Waite boxed set

  [1]U.S. Games Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  The company published a commemorative Rider–Waite set containing Pamela Colman Smith's tarot images, selected prints, and a short book about Smith.

• 1971

  Rider–Waite publication rights acquired

  [1]U.S. Games Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  The company obtained the rights to publish the Rider–Waite tarot deck, which became the central commercial foundation of its early growth.

• 1970

  Expansion into tarot-history books

  [1]U.S. Games Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1970s, U.S. Games Systems expanded beyond cards into books about the history and development of tarot.

• 1968

  Company founded

  [1]U.S. Games Systemsen.wikipedia.org

  Stuart R. Kaplan founded U.S. Games Systems in the United States, initially focusing on the distribution of European tarot decks.

A specialist card publisher that combines historically important tarot traditions with contemporary artistic interpretations, cultural-institution collaborations, educational decks, and accessible card games.

• Tarot deck · 1971

  Rider–Waite Tarot

  The Rider–Waite Tarot is the company's signature historical product and the deck most closely associated with its early success. U.S. Games Systems acquired publication rights in 1971. The deck's imagery was created by Pamela Colman Smith in association with Arthur Edward Waite and became one of the most widely recognized visual systems in modern tarot publishing. The company has also issued commemorative and supplementary formats connected with the deck and Smith's artwork.

• Tarot deck

  Tarot of Marseilles

  U.S. Games Systems' Tarot of Marseilles represents a traditional European tarot pattern in the company's historical and specialist catalog. It sits alongside other classic systems and gives readers an alternative to the Rider–Waite visual tradition. The deck is part of the company's effort to publish both established tarot formats and newer artistic interpretations.

• Tarot deck

  Thoth Tarot

  The Thoth Tarot was designed by Aleister Crowley and illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris. U.S. Games Systems is known for publishing this influential occult and tarot title as part of its broader range of historically significant decks. Its inclusion demonstrates the company's attention to major twentieth-century tarot traditions as well as its commercial publishing role.

• Tarot deck

  Aquarian Tarot

  The Aquarian Tarot is one of the company's notable modern interpretations of tarot. It is associated with hippie-influenced visual and cultural themes and illustrates U.S. Games Systems' willingness to publish decks that depart from strictly historical presentation. It forms part of the company's best-known group of alternative tarot designs.

• Tarot deck

  Morgan–Greer Tarot

  The Morgan–Greer Tarot is recognized for its borderless card design, a presentation choice that distinguishes it from many conventional tarot decks. Its inclusion in the U.S. Games Systems catalog reflects the publisher's interest in accessible, visually distinctive reinterpretations of tarot rather than only archival reproductions.

• Tarot deck

  Motherpeace Tarot

  Motherpeace Tarot is notable for its circular cards, an unusual physical format within tarot publishing. The deck is among U.S. Games Systems' prominent examples of experimental presentation and alternative interpretation. Its format and thematic approach broaden the company's catalog beyond standard rectangular tarot products.

• Tarot deck

  Tarot of the Witches

  Designed by Fergus Hall, Tarot of the Witches is one of the company's more publicly visible tarot titles because it appeared in the James Bond film Live and Let Die. The screen appearance connected a specialist card product with popular cinema and helped make the deck recognizable beyond the usual tarot and metaphysical retail audience.

• Card game

  Wizard Card Game

  Wizard Card Game is one of the better-known general card games published by U.S. Games Systems. It represents the company's expansion into structured recreational play and its effort to serve family, hobby, and game-store customers in addition to tarot readers and collectors.

• Card game

  Mystery Rummy

  Mystery Rummy is a themed card-game line associated with U.S. Games Systems. It demonstrates the publisher's use of familiar card-game mechanisms in narrative or mystery-oriented formats and belongs to the company's non-tarot tabletop catalog.

• Museum and educational cards

  Museum and art card products

  U.S. Games Systems publishes card products based on museum collections and works of art. Cited examples include the Mummy Deck, drawing on holdings of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, and Women in Works of Art, associated with the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. These products translate cultural-institution collections into accessible educational, collectible, and gift-shop formats.

• 2009

  Launch of a commemorative Rider–Waite boxed setProduct launch

  Background

  The company continued to build on the historical importance of the Rider–Waite deck and Pamela Colman Smith's contribution to its imagery.

  Action taken

  U.S. Games Systems released a commemorative boxed set combining the tarot cards with selected Pamela Colman Smith art prints and a short book about her.

  Aftermath

  The set reinforced the company's archival, collector-oriented, and biographical approach to the Rider–Waite publishing program.

  Source

• 1971

  Move from distribution into rights-based tarot publishingStrategy

  Background

  The company began as a distributor of European tarot decks. Strong bookstore sales encouraged Stuart R. Kaplan to develop and publish tarot products directly.

  Action taken

  U.S. Games Systems acquired the rights to publish the Rider–Waite tarot deck.

  Aftermath

  The Rider–Waite line became a major success and formed the foundation of the company's early publishing business.

  Source

• 1970

  Expand into tarot history and reference publishingStrategy

  Background

  The company's work with tarot created an opportunity to document the history, imagery, and development of the decks it published and distributed.

  Action taken

  U.S. Games Systems entered book publishing and supported the multi-volume Encyclopedia of Tarot, co-written by Stuart R. Kaplan and Jean Huets.

  Aftermath

  The project extended the company's role from card publisher into tarot documentation and reference publishing over approximately two decades.

  Source

1. 1U.S. Games Systemsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2U.S. Games Systems official websiteusgamesinc.com