Tavis over at TGC has been really helpful trying to help me diagnose the problem with the prototype cards I received from them...but I'm still not sure we've got an answer.

He's saying it is image quality issues but I'm not convinced.

I've been thinking about the artistic style of the cards and have decided that for the prototype/play test versions, it might be better to go with a more plain style anyway.  Really, I envision the cards ultimately being produced in many different styles...so for this first run I could go with a plain vanilla version.

Hopefully, cutting down on the image complexity will help me figure out if it really is an image quality issue.

Finally after a long wait (since the were moving facilities) I received my package from The Game Crafter.  I must say that I'm a little disappointed.  The idea was to compare ArtsCow to TGC and see which was better...and boy did I hope and expect it would be TGC coming out on top.

While the packaging was great, the quality of the printing was significantly poorer than AC. 

I'm not sure if I got a bad run, or if things were not quite right because of the recent move...but many of the card fronts had what I would describe as "double printing"  which make the words look blurry.  These same exact images came out crisp and clear from AC, so I'm pretty sure it was not the image.  Also, it is not consistently bad as there are some cards that look ok (although none is as sharp as the ArtsCow cards).

So now what do I do?  TGC offers a much better model/price for what I hope to do, but I can't be satisfied with that level of quality.

Based on the results of the prototype I've been rethinking the icons used to represent the Focus of each Virtue Card.  Coming up with icons to represent God and "Self" have been the most difficult.

My order arrived yesterday from ArtsCow.  The deck contained one full suit for Virtue Cards as well as several test cards to get the full spectrum of colors, layouts, etc. that ArtsCow cards can offer.

It was great to see the cards in a more professional form (ie, not just hand drawn prototypes).  Lots of small tweaks are needed so the next stage is to finalize the other suits, make the tweaks, and send off for a complete deck.

Still waiting on the order to arrive from gamecrafters to compare/contrast.

Prototype orders are away!  Virtue Cards have been ordered through ArtsCow and The Game Crafters.  Once the orders arrive, I'll be comparing and contrasting to figure out which to go with.