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Hobbit Playing Cards: Jackson Robinson's New Deck

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Hobbit Playing Cards: Jackson Robinson's New Deck

Jackson Robinson's hand-painted Hobbit playing cards are on Kickstarter until November 5, 2026. Here's what's in the deck, how it ties into his Lord of

PlayingCardHub November 2, 2026 7 min read

There's a certain kind of deck that collectors talk about before it even ships. Jackson Robinson's Lord of the Rings decks were like that, and his new one is following the same path. THE HOBBIT™ Playing Card Deck from Kings Wild Project is live on Kickstarter, and at the time of writing it has raised $152,472 from 1,949 backers, more than 3,049% of its $5,000 goal.

The campaign ends on Thursday, November 5, 2026. If you want these Hobbit playing cards in your collection, that's the date to keep in mind.

This article covers what the deck is, why it's drawing so much attention and how it fits next to Robinson's earlier Middle-earth decks, all of which you can find and track on PlayingCardHub.

What is THE HOBBIT™ Playing Card Deck?

It's a set of officially licensed playing cards based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, illustrated by Jackson Robinson, the artist and owner behind Kings Wild Project. The campaign describes the deck as a visual journey through Bilbo Baggins' adventure, from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain.

The thing that sets it apart is how the art was made. Every court card started as an original ink drawing that Robinson then painted by hand in watercolor. Across the project there are more than 30 original illustrations. Watercolor isn't the easy choice for a deck. You can't hide much, and the paint does what it wants at the edges. But it gives the cards a warm, storybook feel that suits The Hobbit far better than a crisp digital look would. It feels closer to the illustrated editions many of us grew up reading than to a movie tie-in.

The editions

The campaign offers two decks, and each one has a standard and a gold-gilded version:

  • Expanded Edition: a full 54-card deck plus 12 extra Dwarven court cards, for 66 cards in total. Thirteen dwarves are a lot of characters to fit into a standard deck, and the extra courts give them room.
  • Companion Edition: a separate 54-card deck with its own lineup of characters.

There are also collector's sets for people who want everything. Pledge levels, prices and shipping details change during a campaign, so check the Kickstarter page for the current tiers rather than relying on a number you saw elsewhere.

Robinson has also been sharing behind-the-scenes updates as the campaign runs, including a time-lapse of the back design and a look at the Arkenstone Joker. If you like seeing how a deck comes together, they're worth a scroll.

Why collectors are excited

A deck raising well past its goal isn't rare anymore. A deck raising thirty times its goal is. There are a few reasons this one has caught on.

The artist has a track record with this material. Robinson has already done Middle-earth, and collectors know what his Lord of the Rings decks look like in hand. When an artist comes back to a world they've drawn before, people expect more confidence, not less, and the early art backs that up.

It's hand-painted. Plenty of decks are beautiful. Far fewer are painted by hand, card by card. Collectors notice that kind of craft, and it tends to age well. Ten years from now, the art will still look like a choice someone made rather than a trend.

It completes a set. If you own Robinson's Lord of the Rings decks, The Hobbit is the story that comes first. For a lot of collectors, it's the missing piece on the shelf.

Campaign editions are hard to find later. Gilded and Kickstarter versions of earlier Kings Wild decks are some of the most-tracked variants in the database. Once a campaign closes, getting those editions usually means the secondary market.

How it ties into the Lord of the Rings decks

Jackson Robinson and Kings Wild Project have released several Lord of the Rings decks over the past few years, and The Hobbit is a natural next chapter. If you're new to them, here's where to start on PlayingCardHub:

You can see everything Robinson has illustrated on his artist page, and every Kings Wild release on the Kings Wild Project company page.

For more decks like these, visit the Kickstarter decks hub and the gilded decks theme.

Put side by side, the decks show the same hand at work. The courts are character portraits rather than generic kings and queens, and the cards read like illustrations from a book. The Hobbit leans further into that with its watercolor finish, which fits a story that's lighter and more whimsical than the trilogy that follows it.

If you already own some of the Lord of the Rings decks, add them to your PlayingCardHub collection. You'll see at a glance which editions you have and which you're missing, and you can put the Hobbit deck on your wishlist so it's waiting when it arrives.

Back it before November 5

Kickstarter campaigns don't stay open, and this one closes on Thursday, November 5, 2026. After that, the campaign-only editions and collector's sets may not be easy to get.

If you want these Hobbit playing cards:

  1. Go to the THE HOBBIT™ Playing Card Deck Kickstarter.
  2. Pick the edition or set that fits your collection.
  3. Back it before November 5.

Then come back to PlayingCardHub and add the Lord of the Rings decks you already own, so your Middle-earth shelf is tracked in one place.

FAQ

Q: Who made THE HOBBIT™ Playing Card Deck? A: Jackson Robinson, the artist and owner of Kings Wild Project. He hand-drew and watercolor-painted the artwork, and Kings Wild Project is running the Kickstarter.

Q: When does the Hobbit playing cards Kickstarter end? A: The campaign runs from October 6 to Thursday, November 5, 2026. Back it before then if you want the campaign editions.

Q: What's the difference between the Expanded and Companion editions? A: The Expanded Edition is a 54-card deck with 12 extra Dwarven court cards, for 66 cards in total. The Companion Edition is a separate 54-card deck with its own lineup of characters. Both come in standard and gold-gilded versions.

Q: Is this deck connected to Jackson Robinson's Lord of the Rings decks? A: Yes. It's by the same artist and the same company, and it covers the story that comes before the trilogy. You can find the Lord of the Rings decks on his PlayingCardHub artist page.

Q: How much has the campaign raised? A: At the time of writing, $152,472 from 1,949 backers against a $5,000 goal. Totals change daily, so check the Kickstarter page for the latest figure.

Q: Can I track the Hobbit deck on PlayingCardHub? A: Yes. Once the deck is in the database, you can add it to your collection or wishlist for free, alongside the Lord of the Rings decks you already own.

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