What is NeonMob?

NeonMob is a community of artists and designers from all over the world creating original trading card series for everyone to discover and enjoy. Open packs and trade cards to collect incredible art, reach milestones, and complete series. The joy and nostalgia of collecting is captured in this social marketplace that never runs out of beautiful and inventive collectibles.

Independent artists contribute to the large and growing marketplace of original trading card series available on NeonMob. Click the links below to get an overview on how to begin your NeonMob adventure!

• Starting your collection

• Managing your profile

• Trading with other collectors

• Submitting your own ideas for series

NeonMob Policy on AI-generated images (“AI Art”)

Policy as of May 10, 2023

Images created in any part with generative AI trained on content you do not have rights to use are not allowed in either Pro or Amateur series. This includes most popular generative tools such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. You may submit images created with AI-based tools, such as smart brushes or shading assistance, as well as fully algorithmic generative approaches like fractals. You may also submit images from a model trained exclusively using your own artwork. (Props to you if you do; this is currently very technically challenging!)

Generative AI can produce visually stunning images, and it can be a tool in a larger artistic process. However, at the moment, AI-generated images largely depend on training models created by scraping artwork from existing online galleries without the artists’ knowledge. Even images significantly edited are created on this base of scraped work, and we’ve made the decision not to allow them on NeonMob. We may revisit this policy in the future if the scraping and unattributed artwork issue is addressed by further developments made to AI technology. 

AI-based Series submitted prior to May 1, 2023

All existing AI series will be discontinued/marked out of print on June 1st. Until then, packs from AI series will still be available, though only at the Freebie or Pro Freebie level. We understand that series completion is important to many NeonMobsters so we are not removing these series from the site entirely.

 Existing AI series will be clearly labeled with a banner so that users are able to distinguish between non-AI and AI-generated series. 

FAQ

What if I think a published series is AI?

All series released on NeonMob go through review by a real live human, so while we will do our best, there is a chance that AI series will occasionally slip through. Please send a message to support@neonmob.com and we will investigate, which involves reaching out to the series creator and other due diligence.

TL;DR

Yes: 

• Fractals

• Using non-generative AI-based tools (Photoshop smart brushes, shading/light source assistance, etc.)

• Training a model exclusively on your own art

No: 

• Images from generative models trained on art you don’t have rights to (Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, etc.) even if you’re modifying it

AI Series submitted before May 01 2023:

• All series discontinued/Out of Print June 01, 2023

• Only Freebie and Pro Freebie packs available until then

• Series still available to trade after June 01

• Labeled clearly as AI

Is NeonMob free? (Yes.)

NeonMob is free-to-play for all collectors and you don’t need to spend any money to use NeonMob. Collect free packs, trade with other collectors, discover art, and build a collection without ever spending a dime! Look for the blue “Open Pack” button when browsing NeonMob and you can open free packs to collect cards from that series.

Want to supercharge your collection? You can use credits to open additional packs. Unlike free packs which are typically limited to three per series per day, there is no limit to the amount of paid packs of a series you can purchase in a day. Purchase credits by clicking the “Buy Credits” button on the top right of the navigation bar or on the open pack screen.

Does NeonMob sell NFTs or use cryptocurrency? (No.)

Nope! The NeonMob marketplace is limited to NeonMob, and the cards cannot be bought or sold outside of the platform. Payments are conducted through Stripe and Paypal in USD.

Blockchain is a complex and expensive technology fraught with issues, and it isn’t necessary for digital art to have value. We plan to work on other ways to verify ownership and show off your art off the platform, such as CO2ign. 

How do you collect cards on NeonMob?

Collecting on the Website
Every day, collectors receive dozens of free packs that they can redeem on hundreds of eligible series. Free packs contain original, numbered cards of varying rarities from common to chase. On the web, look for the blue “Open Pack” button to identify an eligible series and to open free packs. 

When you are browsing categories, series with available free packs will show a blue “Open Pack” button below the series cover photo. Series with lavender “Open Pack” buttons do not have available free packs for you to open, but will have carat and paid packs still available for collection.

Once you click the “Open Pack” button, you will see all your available pack options for that series. Besides free packs, carat packs and paid packs are also available. Carat packs allow collectors to spend carats in order to open additional packs of available series. Paid packs provide collectors with better odds of receiving higher rarity cards than base packs. There is no limit to the amount of paid packs you can open in a day. Purchase paid packs by using credits.

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Collecting on iOS
When you are collecting on iOS, look for the blue dot in the upper left hand corner of each series cover photo. This blue dot indicates an eligible series with available free packs.

Clicking on the series cover photo will take you to the series page. Press the “Open a Pack” button located at the bottom of the screen to open a free pack.

Once you click the “Open a Pack” button, you will see all your available pack options including free, carats, and paid packs.

What’s the difference between Series types?

There are two different types of series published on NeonMob: Pro, and Amateur:

Amateur Series

Choosing to create an Amateur series gives you immediate access to the creator dashboard and series editor. You can upload art, assign rarities, arrange your images, and otherwise get a feel for how to construct a NeonMob series. You can create and edit as many amateur series as you want without having to submit them, so if you’re looking to experiment, this is a good place to start.

Once you’re happy with the setup of your amateur series, you can submit it for release. Like a Pro series, all Amateur series are reviewed for potential TOS violations and a baseline of quality before being launched. Amateur series are released on a rolling basis as they are approved - once launched, your series will be available for users to collect! Card packs on amateur series are available to open for free.

To start creating an Amateur series, head over to the create page!

Example Amateur series: Anime Eyes by LazyArtStudios

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Pro Series

Pro series on NeonMob have higher standards for presentation and are from more established or experienced artists. Card packs with better odds for rare cards are available on Pro series for carats (free site currency) or credits (purchased with USD via Stripe or Paypal); artists receive a 30% royalty on all credit pack purchases.

Pro series also have increased visibility - they’re promoted to collectors on site, via email and discord, and featured on our social media accounts. Art from Pro series may also be used in NeonMob-focused promotional material.

To be considered for a Pro series, create a graphic or sample card that shows your series idea, write up a brief description, and submit your pitch over on the voting page. Your pitch will be available immediately for collectors to view and, if they’re interested in collecting, vote for it! NeonMob admin will review and approve pitches based on voting totals, series premise, and other site needs. Approval can take anywhere from 24 hours to one month.

You can also reach out to the series manager via support@neonmob.com if you’d like to discuss your idea for a Pro series.

Example Pro series: Witches Tarot by azuru

What is the difference between Editions?

There are five different types of Pro collections on NeonMob:

• Unlimited Edition

• Limited Edition (LE)

• Replica Edition (RE)

• Infinite Edition (Promo)

Looking for the difference between Pro and Amateur Series? > What is the difference between Series?

Unlimited Series

Most series on NeonMob are released as unlimited collections. Unlimited edition series do not have a set number of prints available. Instead, all cards are created “on demand” whenever a user opens a pack. These series are available for one to six months - based on how long it would take, on average, to complete the series by opening only the free packs. 

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Limited Edition Series

A select number of series will be released as Limited Edition collections. Like a physical print run, a Limited collection has a specific number of each card available, created at the time of publication. The series will be available as long as there are cards left to draw - which could take weeks or years - but once they’re  gone, they’re gone! Most Limited collections sell out of free packs early but remain “in print” due to the remaining paid packs left for purchase.

With both unlimited and limited edition series, once a series is out-of-print the only way to collect cards is to trade with existing owners. 

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Replica Edition (RE) Series

Replica series are re-releases of popular, out-of-print series that then remain available essentially forever. Because the art is popular, we think it should continue to be available for new collectors to experience. Replica Editions are labeled clearly as such, so that the original release retains its value for collectors. It's also an opportunity for the artist to make additional royalties, since a sold-out series no longer makes any royalties even if the cards remain in circulation due to trading

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Infinite Edition (Promo) Series

As the name suggests, Infinite collections are series that are always “in print” and available for users to open packs from. Because there’s no limit to the number of available prints and no deadline, users typically collect these series in a very relaxed way.

Infinite Edition series are identified by having an out of print date of 2099.

Learn how series types impact creator royalties >

Why am I not getting emails from NeonMob?

If you’re not able to receive the account validation or password reset emails, please contact us at support@neonmob.com from the email your account is registered with. Here are some scenarios that come up frequently that might apply to you:

•  If you previously registered via Facebook, you will likely need to contact us to have your password manually reset.

• .edu and .gov addresses seem to have a higher bounce rate. If you’re trying to receive a validation email but  can log in, try using a different address and requesting the validation message again

• Yahoo addresses are also more likely to flag neonmob emails

Do you have a mobile app?

Yes, there are NeonMob apps for both iOS and Android, available in the Apple and Google Play stores. However, the apps are lacking features compared to the web version, and aren’t currently the top priority for development. We suggest using mobile web for the best experience.

Does NeonMob have a Discord channel?

Yes, check out our Discord channel here.

Why can I no longer get free packs of some limited edition series?

Each limited edition series published on NeonMob contains a finite number of free cards and packs created for distribution. Once the predetermined number of free cards has been collected, free packs are no longer available to open as they have sold out for this series. 

If free packs are no longer available, you may still be able to open carat or paid packs of the series to complete your collection. Most limited edition series reserve a certain percentage of cards for paid packs to help ensure our creators are compensated for the work they share on NeonMob. Creators receive royalties for each paid pack sold for their series.

If a limited edition series is entirely sold out of free, carat, and paid packs, trading with other collectors will be the only way to obtain cards from the series.

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Unlimited series will never sell out of free packs as there is no predetermined number for how many cards are produced for collection. These series will go out of print once their collection period has ended.

Once an unlimited series is out of print, packs are unavailable to open and trading with other collectors will be the only way to obtain cards from the series. 

What are the series difficulty ratings?

Each series is assigned a rating to indicate how difficult it is to collect all the core cards of a series (common through extra rare) in the allotted time frame utilizing only free packs, carat packs, and trading. Series difficulty is based on many factors including the total number of cards in the series, the amount of time the series is available for collection, the rarity distribution of cards in the series, and more. The number of chase or other special cards does not factor into the difficulty rating as the Completed Core Series milestone is based only on collecting all the core cards of a series.

Most series will fall into one of the following seven difficulty rating categories ranging from Near Impossible to Piece of Cake:

Series difficulty ratings are color coded and appear as a badge in front of the series name on all sections of the website and on the collect screen on iOS. On the website, you can hover over the difficulty rating icon to reveal the rating name.

Special difficulty ratings
There are two additional difficulty ratings indicating special types of series. The QUEST! difficulty rating is assigned to extremely large limited edition releases over 300+ cards or to unique series that can only be collected by opening carat packs. This is the most difficult series rating:

The Beginner difficulty rating is assigned to series that are only available to brand-new NeonMob collectors for a limited time. This is the least difficult series rating:

Series difficulty rating & the bonus multiplier
The series difficulty rating determines the bonus multiplier for series milestone rewards and how many carats you will receive for achieving those milestones. The more difficult a series is to complete, the higher the bonus multiplier. The higher the bonus multiplier, the higher the number of carats awarded for achieving each series milestones. For example, you will receive more carats for achieving the All Commons milestone for a series rated “hard” than you would for a series rated “easy” based on the bonus multiplier of the difficulty rating. The bonus multiplier affects all series milestones.

What are the pack odds?

The pack odds for each pack tier lets you know your chances of receiving a card of a specific rarity when opening a pack. You can see the odds for each different pack option from the “Pick a Pack to Open” screen for each series. For each pack tier, you will see a blue “% odds” link between the series cover and the button for each option. Click on this link to see the pack odds. Below is an example of the Freebie pack odds for the Limited Edition series Ray Guns!

Pack odds are based on the total number of packs opened throughout the entire community, not the number of packs a collector opens individually. Each limited edition series has a different, finite number of cards and packs available for collection so pack odds vary series-to-series. Because there is no print limit for cards in unlimited edition series, the pack odds for each specific pack tier are the same across all sets.

What are the rarities?

All cards are identified by rarity. There are five "core" rarities in ascending order: common, uncommon, rare, very rare, and extra rare.  There are also two “special” rarities: chase and variant. Chase cards are typically unique in some way, either holding special significance to the artist or displaying a different style from core cards. Variant cards are modified variations of core cards in the same series. Variants are created at the discretion of the artist and are not found in every series.

Each series detail page includes the number of copies of each rarity, the name of each card, and your progress toward collecting all the cards in the series. Below is an example of the series details page for Space City: Meterex.

You can also get a quick overview of the rarities for each series by clicking on the series progress meter in Your Collection.

What are chase and variant rarities?

On NeonMob, there are five "core" card rarities: common, uncommon, rare, very rare, and extremely rare. There also exist two types of "special" rarities: chase and variant. 

A chase is a special type of rarity. It is extremely limited and somehow different from the main cards in the series. It is represented by this rarity symbol:

A variant is a special type of rarity that indicates the card is a variation of a core card in the same series. The underlying artwork is the same, but the artist has presented the image in a different way from the original core series card. In the example below, you can see "Cooz" and its variant "Cooz [Sketch]".

Variants are created at the discretion of the artist and are not found in every series.

Why does the rarity of a card matter?

A card’s rarity gives collectors a general idea of the odds of receiving that card type when opening a series pack. The higher the rarity, the lower your odds of receiving one in a pack. Higher rarities such as extra rare or chase cards are intrinsically more valuable to collectors because there are less of them made available to collect. In other words, lower supply = higher value. 

The rarity of a card matters most when trading with other collectors as it is a good indication of the card's value to the collecting community. You will find the most success when offering balanced trades based on card rarities and series type: unlimited vs. limited edition series.

Please note: For limited edition series, rarities are only relative to other cards within the same series because each limited edition series has a different, finite number of total cards available for collection. For unlimited edition series, rarities are the same across all sets. 

Are all cards of the same rarity equally rare?

Within the same series you can assume that cards of the same rarity are equally weighted. In other words, one rare is just as difficult to acquire as another rare in the same series. So when you are trading within the same series, it is easy to gauge the value of a card relative to the other cards in the series … common = common, uncommon = uncommon, and so forth. But what about when you are trading across different series?

Differences in the number of total cards in a series, rarity distribution between series, number of prints of a specific card, series run time, and other factors all contribute to how difficult any one card is to find. For example, the image below shows a trade between collectors with two extra rare cards from different series. Although each card is extra rare, these cards are not equally hard to find because of the number of prints for each card is not equal. In the example below, this extra rare “Air Joe” card is more scarce in comparison to the extra rare “KEV-19” card because only 200 copies of this “air Joe” card exist while there are 1200 copies of the “KEV-19” card in circulation.

Remember, some cards can have thousands of copies while others have just a few hundred or even just a few dozen … this happens with limited edition series. Some cards have no print limit at all … this happens with unlimited edition series. So when you are trading across different series, be mindful that cards of the same rarity might not be equally hard to obtain or may be more valuable to collectors because of their scarcity.

How do I view my collection?

Viewing your collection on the website
To view all the series and cards in your collection on the website, go to your profile page by clicking the diamond logo in the top left corner and selecting the "View a Series..." dropdown list. This menu displays all the series you have in your collection alphabetically. Scroll through the menu and click on the series you would like to view to be redirected to that series detail page.

Another way to view your collection is to click on the “YOUR COLLECTION” link in the top navigation bar on the website. This page displays all your series along with sorting options in the Series Finder to quickly locate the series for which you are searching.

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Viewing your collection on iOS
To view all the series and cards in your collection on iOS, click on the dual cards icon in the bottom navigation to visit the Your Collection section. You will see the latest cards added to your collection in the Cards section by default. 

Click the Series option to see all the series in your collection. You will see the most recently collected series in the Recent section by default. 

Select the A-Z option in the Series section to see an alphabetical list of all the series in your collection.

What are favorites and wishlist?

Do you have specific series or cards that you really like? Mark them as favorites to easily keep track of your most prized collection pieces. Use the corresponding wishlist option to designate specific unowned cards as your top collecting priorities and to alert traders to your trading preferences.

Favorite a Series
To favorite a series, hover over the series cover photo and click the button on the right containing an empty star. Once you click, the star will change to gold to indicate the series is now a favorite.

You can view all your favorite series by visiting Your Collection and clicking on the Favorites toggle in the series finder filters. 

Favorite a Card
To favorite a specific card, hover over the card and click the button on the right containing an empty star. Once you click, the star will change to gold to indicate the card is now a favorite.

You can view all your favorite cards in each series by clicking on the Favorites toggle in the sorting options. Wishlist cards are also included in your favorite selections and are designated by blank placeholders.

Wishlist a Card
To add any unowned card to your wishlist, hover over an unowned card in your collection and click the button on the right containing an empty shooting star. Once you click, the shooting star will change to gold to indicate this unowned card has been added to your wishlist. 

View Favorites & Wishlist
You can view your favorite cards, favorite series, and wishlist all in one place by visiting your favorites page. Access this page by clicking the link labeled Favorites in the top right of your profile below your trader grade and next to the link for Milestones. Once you click, the link text will turn bold and you will be directed to your favorites page. 

The default view shows all your favorite cards. You can remove an entry by clicking the corresponding gold star to the right. Once you click, the star will become empty to indicate it is no longer a favorite card. This does not delete your card, simply removes it from the Favorites section.

View all your favorite series by clicking the center link with the same name. You can remove an entry by clicking the corresponding gold star to the right. Once you click, the star will become empty to indicate it is no longer a favorite series. This does not delete your series, simply removes it from the Favorites section.

Finally, view your wishlist cards by clicking the right link labeled Wishlist. You can remove an entry by clicking the corresponding gold shooting star to the right. Once you click, the shooting star will become empty to indicate it is no longer on your wishlist.

What is my display case and how does it work?

Your display case appears at the top of your profile page. It's a great way to show off some of the cards in your collection. By default, the display case will select random cards from your collection to display. You can expand the display case by hovering over the the display case and clicking the down arrow. You can also manually select which cards to display by clicking the Edit button in the bottom right corner.

The display case will highlight eight of the cards from your series. You can replace any item in your display case with a random or specific print by clicking the "Replace" button.

Once you click the Replace button, you will see various search options in the dropdown menu. Click on the LET US PICK FOR YOU! button to randomly select a different image to feature. If you know the card name, you can enter it in the “Search for cards …” field. To browse all the cards in a particular series, click the “Show all Series” dropdown to find the series you want to select. Scroll through the card results and click on the card you would like to select. Once you have set all the images in your display case, click on the Done button in the bottom right hand corner to save your changes.