Printworks and Rosewood Define New State of Play

Playing games—a term sometimes used by adults to describe a child’s playtime, and just as often, another adult’s less-than-mature behavior. Yet this diminutive framing overlooks something essential. In an increasingly unstable world, play is not frivolous—it is foundational. Play is essential for developing relationships, keeping brains sharp, and improving strategy skills. Traditional games derive their value not from ease, but from difficulty: by structuring activities through rules and resistance, they transform simple actions into meaningful pursuits.

A new collaboration between PRINTWORKS and Rosewood embraces this ethos with intention, presenting a collection of Playing Cards, Classic Chess, and Classic Backgammon that elevates analog rituals through thoughtful design and tactile pleasure. Rooted in a shared appreciation for craftsmanship and meaningful connection, the partnership draws inspiration from the Scandinavian philosophy Leva I nuet—“to live in the moment”—encouraging players to slow down, engage, and savor uninterrupted togetherness.

Cards are ubiquitous within the gaming sphere, everyone having their own favorite, and ultimately, their own way to play. The Classic Double Playing Cards capture a balance between order and delight. Two decks, adorned with Rosewood’s signature trigon motif in Discovery Green and grey, offer both aesthetic wit and graphic clarity. The visual language, bold yet classic, underscores another tenet of amusement culture: the aesthetics of play matter. Colors, shapes, and contrasts heighten engagement, adding festivity to the act of competition.

The Classic Double Playing Cards set captures this balance between order and delight. Two decks, adorned with Rosewood’s signature trigon motif in Discovery Green and grey, offer both aesthetic wit and graphic clarity. The visual language – bold yet classic – underscores another tenet of amusement culture: the aesthetics of play matter. Colors, shapes, and contrasts heighten engagement, adding festivity to the act of competition.

The travel-sized Classic Chess set distills “serious play” into object form. Designed with a smooth acrylic board and elegantly carved wooden pieces, it invites high-order thinking within a beautifully defined system. Serious play, after all, is a means of learning in situations that demand creativity and purposeful commitment. Weighted pieces settle softly into place, reinforcing the quiet discipline that chess demands.

Meanwhile, the Classic Backgammon set—one of the oldest games in the world, reimagined in Rosewood’s signature green—opens like a book, creating a portable arena for strategy and chance. The sleek acrylic surface and contrasting 24 points create a clear visual field for pursuit, reminding us that structured difficulty sharpens cognition as much in adulthood as it does in childhood.

The graphic design features two sleek hues, a grass green paired with a darker, hunter shade, contrasting nicely on a warm white board. These pieces also carry a nice heft, extra glossy to play off the tactility of the exterior fabric.

Throughout, the collaboration feels natural. PRINTWORKS’ nostalgic reverence for analog culture meets Rosewood’s refined visual identity in objects that function as both pastime and statement piece. More than decorative accessories, these games are small worlds unto themselves—spaces where effort is meaningful and connection unfolds thoughtfully, move by move.