Mario Quiz Cards (partially lost educational flashcard designs based on game franchise; 1995-1997)
The front of the box set.
Status: Partially Lost
The Mario Quiz Cards are a set of educational flash cards that were officially licensed by Nintendo. They were produced by Atlas Editions and Newfield Publications in 1995, and are considered an international derivative of the 1992 Fiches Tintin set (made by Èditions Atlas, Atlas Editions’s European branch). The cards are divided into 91 decks, each having 20 cards from 18 different categories, bringing the total amount to 1820 cards.[1]
Atlas Editions/Newfield Publications
Atlas Editions and Newfield Publications are no longer active, as seen on their website.[2] Due to Atlas Editions acquiring Newfield at some point during production, there are two box variants (one with the Newfield logo, the other with the Atlas logo).[3] The 1998 website of Atlas and Newfield does not list the quiz cards, implying that they stopped selling them sometime during 1997-1998.
Illustrations
Many of these cards are infamous for their unusual depictions of the Mario universe (Ex: Luigi reading about Hitler, Bowser worshiping Al Capone, Mario and Luigi protesting nukes, etc). Illustrations for all of the quiz cards were done by cartoonist Gary Fields. Interestingly, older cards do not credit him at all, whereas cards from 1996-1997 have illustration credit in the bottom left-hand corner on the front of the card. Each card has unique art not seen elsewhere, inspired by 2D Mario titles and illustrations from the 1993 official Nintendo Character Manual.[4] As seen in the prototype cards, said manual was heavily referenced, with exact Pantone colors and character illustrations being used for each Nintendo character featured in the cards.[5]
Promotional Materials and Distribution Methods
Similar to other educational card sets sold by the same companies, the Mario Quiz Cards set operated on a subscription-based distribution. To promote the cards, sample packs would be mailed at random, with recipients being able to subscribe for more cards; These sample packs contain 12 cards from the first two decks and a pamphlet with steps for claiming subscriptions.[6] For a small fee, subscribers could obtain new decks every month, as well as a card box, user manual, tattoos, dividers, and a calculator. It is likely that certain card decks could only be obtained during specific times while subscriptions were active. This is due to the varying amount and selection of cards throughout different card sets. In addition, there are also various pamphlets included, typically promoting subscriptions and bonus materials.[7]
Codes
Numerical codes can be found on the back of each card, around the bottom right corner, representing deck and card numbers. The D2 and D3 parts of the code reflect languages.[8] Some cards have D2 in their codes, being the same as the ones found in the Fiches Tintin set. The card prototypes also have these codes, which match with their final counterparts. This suggests that deck and card numbers were decided early on during production. Many of the cards also match directly with their Fiches Tintin counterparts, though there are noticeable differences between the two sets; The amount of cards per section varies, and the Mario set has several questions geared towards an American audience.
Card List
| Deck | Status |
|---|---|
| Deck 1 | Partially Found |
| Deck 2 | Partially Found |
| Deck 3 | Found |
| Deck 4 | Found |
| Deck 5 | Found |
| Deck 6 | Found |
| Deck 7 | Found |
| Deck 8 | Found |
| Deck 9 | Found |
| Deck 10 | Found |
| Deck 11 | Found |
| Deck 12 | Found |
| Deck 13 | Found |
| Deck 14 | Partially Found |
| Deck 15 | Partially Found |
| Deck 16 | Partially Found |
| Deck 17 | Partially Found |
| Deck 18 | Partially Found |
| Deck 19 | Partially Found |
| Decks 20-22 | Existence Unconfirmed |
| Deck 23 | Partially Found |
| Deck 24 | Partially Found |
| Deck 25 | Partially Found |
| Deck 26 | Found |
| Deck 27 | Found |
| Deck 28 | Found |
| Deck 29 | Partially Found |
| Deck 30 | Partially Found |
| Deck 31 | Partially Found |
| Deck 32 | Found |
| Deck 33 | Found |
| Deck 34 | Found |
| Deck 35 | Found |
| Deck 36 | Found |
| Deck 37 | Found |
| Deck 38 | Found |
| Deck 39 | Found |
| Deck 40 | Found |
| Deck 41 | Found |
| Deck 42 | Found |
| Deck 43 | Found |
| Deck 44 | Found |
| Deck 45 | Found |
| Deck 46 | Found |
| Deck 47 | Found |
| Deck 48 | Found |
| Deck 49 | Found |
| Deck 50 | Found |
| Deck 51 | Found |
| Deck 52 | Found |
| Deck 53 | Found |
| Deck 54 | Found |
| Deck 55 | Found |
| Deck 56 | Found |
| Deck 57 | Found |
| Deck 58 | Found |
| Deck 59 | Found |
| Deck 60 | Found |
| Deck 61 | Found |
| Deck 62 | Found |
| Deck 63 | Found |
| Deck 64 | Found |
| Deck 65 | Found |
| Deck 66 | Found |
| Deck 67 | Found |
| Deck 68 | Found |
| Deck 69 | Found |
| Deck 70 | Found |
| Deck 71 | Found |
| Deck 72 | Found |
| Deck 73 | Found |
| Deck 74 | Found |
| Deck 75 | Found |
| Deck 76 | Found |
| Deck 77 | Found |
| Deck 78 | Found |
| Deck 79 | Found |
| Deck 80 | Found |
| Deck 81 | Found |
| Deck 82 | Found |
| Deck 83 | Found |
| Deck 84 | Found |
| Deck 85 | Found |
| Deck 86 | Found |
| Deck 87 | Found |
| Deck 88 | Found |
| Deck 89 | Found |
| Deck 90 | Found |
| Deck 91 | Found |
Gallery
Card of Bowser admiring Al Capone.
Code found on card 12 in deck 6.
Code found on the draft of card 12 in deck 6.
External Links
References
- ↑ Information on the Fiches Tintin set. Retrieved 10 Mar '24
- ↑ Atlas Editions now defunct site on the cards. Retrieved 10 Mar '24
- ↑ Atlas Editions and Newfield Publications card boxes. Retrieved 10 Mar '24
- ↑ 1993 Nintendo Character Manual. Retrieved 10 Mar '24
- ↑ Prototype cards. Retrieved 10 Mar '24
- ↑ Promotional Sample Pack. Retrieved 10 Mar '24
- ↑ Promotional pamphlets advertising the cards. Retrieved 10 Mar '24
- ↑ Site detailing information about subscription card sets. Retrieved 10 Mar '24