Bryan Berg is known for the biggest tower of cards ever made took over 218,000 playing cards to construct (or over 4193 decks total). While that might be nothing to the typical Casino owner, that's more than I have ever used making a house of cards. So what secret allows Bryan to build these behemoths?
Bryan Berg with his world record setting replica of the Venetian Macao Resort
The Problem
The biggest difference between most people's structural nightmares and Bryan's work is the basic shapes he constructs with. Most people are used to building houses by lining up tent-like structures. Cards are fairly slick and light, so any added weight or movement could shift a pair of cards and cause the whole thing to come falling down.
The Solution
Instead of using cards as the rough of the house, you should be treating them as walls that can be pieced together. Having cards rest on each other likes this allows cards to be supported atop each other too, which means more floors to the building!
The Steps
1. To start, put two cards perpendicular to each other, like so:
2. Then add another wall:
3. Enclose this first "room" of your card house. You can then keep expanding off of it:
4. Once your floor plan is all setup, tile the roof by placing cards flat down. You want to make sure this is as light and flat as possible to allow an even surface for the next floor.
5. Repeat steps 1 - 4 until you have a card tower you are happy with, like this
