Card Shuffler

[Fluffy Chick]

Are there any battery operated card shufflers that will cope with small
(Ticket To Ride etc) and regular sized cards? And if so, where can I buy
one for shipping to the UK?

Thanks

Mark

[Michael Ward]

"Fluffy Chick" <fluffy...@empty.com> wrote in message
news:8weDd.71$xw...@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net...

FunAgain has a *manual* card shuffler by Thinkfun for $23.95, but its out of
stock. The very same shuffler for the same price by Binary Arts is also out
of stock. I have no idea if FunAgain ships to the UK.

I asked about this very shuffler in this forum (rec.games.board) back on
08/25/04, and whether it would handle those small type cards.

Here are the (serious) responses I received:

Technically there are two rollers drawing in the cards from each side into a
central tray... I think you could use smaller cards, but would have to
fashion some sort of guide rails on the feeds (like printers have to feed
envelopes vs regular sized paper) and and inner drawer to keep the smaller
dimension cards from drifting to and fro (and possibly getting caught or
bent if they go in diagonal.) Just a little bit of work with plastic or
cardboard and some tape. -Larry

After I saw your post, I asked that we some tests in the Funagain
warehouse and found that the shuffler you mention works fine for
mixing the smaller cards. However, it does not do a good job of
making a nice neat pile of shuffled cards, so you have to organize
them yourself after the shuffle.

Given that this is a manual shuffler, I guess an over-zealous crank
might zing the cards around in the collating compartment, but normal
use seems to indicate that it shuffles smaller cards well without
hurting them. It just leaves you with a very untidy pile. -Ray Mulford
Funagain Games

I have the Binary Arts Shuffler and it works well. I have used the
shuffler with the small cards with no problems. You may need to experiment
a little to find the best location to place the cards. As I remember it,
dead center may work the best. Occasionally, a card will flip over and
cards don't always stack perfectly neatly. But the cards are easily
straightened. Also, turn the crank slowly. A rapid spin doesn't work very
well. - Randy Schmucker

http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.games.spielfrieks/13176
-- Iain Cheyne

I hope this helped.
--
-
Michael Ward
Fort Worth, Texas