Exploring Niche Nintendo History Through Menko Cards.
Ben Gilmore, a collector of Menko cards, has launched a website called Mario Menko, which documents these lesser-known Nintendo-branded cards. Menko cards were produced in Japan and were made of thicker card stock and a little smaller in size compared to an American baseball card. They were collected as cards and played as a game. Nintendo-branded Menko cards were released in Japan in the early 1980s, and there are Nintendo Menkos with Mario designs that date from the plumber's pre-NES arcade days.