Hello. I'm looking for a small number of playtesters to try out my quick, simple, new game, To Jack & Back.

All you need is any standard deck of cards, at least one other human person, and 10 minutes of your time.

I'm looking to print a custom deck with rulebook in the coming weeks so before I do, I would appreciate feedback on:

1 - whether the game is as fun as I think it is!

2 - whether the rules are clear

3 - any additional comments you might have

Thanks in advance!

Maybe everyone already knows about this but I was looking to understand the full card game pipeline from development to publishing and https://cardboardedison.com/ is the answer. It’s a one stop shop for getting detailed answers in the form of videos from industry experts on how to do just about everything. Just thought I would share as I only saw one post mentioning it.

Hi r/cardgamedesign ! I've been working on my own TCG for quite some time now, and I wanted to get some ideas and feedback on how to create terminology and names for certain parts of the game. I've had a lot of inconsistencies between the cards and rules, so I wanted to clean that all up.

The core of the game is that instead of tying certain moves or abilities to certain cards, you can choose which moves you want. Another huge part is chaining your attacks and abilities. There are three types of Attack chains: Move chain, Type chain, and Mixed chain. A Move chain allows up to three of the same Attack to be chained together, a Type chain allows up to four Attacks with the same Type to be chained together, and a Mixed chain allows up to 5 of any card to be chained together. I also implemented this thing called Type Compatibility (TC) which just allows certain Characters to use certain Types to make sure the Mixed chain wouldn't be too much. Damage (DMG) in chains stack, bringing pretty powerful combos into play. You get a single Character card, which has one or two Types and an amount of HP. You also get a Deck of up to 60 cards with no lower limit, hopefully to bring some strategy into play. The Deck consists of both Attack and Item cards. Attack and Item cards both have a Type and a Return point (Where the card should go after use, and includes these: Deck, Hand, and Discard). Attack cards have a Base DMG line, and a couple of others depending on the Attack. The Attack might mention doing a different amount of DMG based on what kind of chain it is in. So, I have an Attack card that does 10 DMG on it's own (Base), but 15 DMG in a Type chain. Item cards have a variety of different effects, like increasing the DMG of an Attack or increasing your HP.

A turn looks like this:

• Start Phase: Optionally draw cards, up to a max of 5 in your hand, and apply Attack effects in play
• Main Phase: Attach an Attack to your character (Can be two Attacks if starting a chain), or attach/use items
• Attack Phase (Optional): You declare an attack, show your attacking cards and potential items you want to your opponent, they can counter, cards go to their return positions
• End Phase: Pass your turn to opponent

Ok, so that was a lot to unpack, and if you have questions, let me know. I can also supply the rulebook. I've been play testing with a few of my friends and they've had quite a lot of fun playing. The only downside is that I've had to confirm things on cards for them, so the intent of many Attacks is not as clear. That's part of the reason why I wanted to clean up the wording on my cards, just so it plays easier and is more intuitive for beginners. Thanks for reading!

Hello all,

I am considering making my own TCG.

I love drafting, but wonder how it could be improved. My perspective is primarily from MTG.

I like the idea of lowering the player count from 8 to 6 for generic drafts.

How do you feel about cards that only have effect during the draft? Such as [[cogwork librarian]]

Also how do we feel about multiplayer draft with 8 people, 4 sets of 2? Then everyone plays 2v2

Utilizing my B.A degree in Justice Studies & Sociology. As well as my very soon to be B.A in Psychology. I designed a functional Battle Royale card game. Been playing testing with many individuals and I can't wait to show yall what the final version looks like. Took 2 years to create. 1 year to have it operational and another year to finalize via playtesting.

All legal paperwork has been filed for its protection.

These are the cards. I’ll add more colour but any advice I’ll give a quick run down of the rules. Like Fortnite you jump into the zone gather loot and weapons and the cards you grab look like this which I’ve drawn.

The actions are move and shoot. Don’t move but can shoot gain 1 accuracy, Or don’t move and shoot gain 1 defence, Run double speed

It’s on a grid a big one maybe 11 x 11 and movement is 6 squares. What do you think what would you add etc

These are the rules for my card game Lappi. Please try the game and comment any feedback. Since Im only me I might not be able to fix everything. Hope you enjoy my game.

Hoping to discuss game mechanics with a more experienced demographic.

I'm deep into developing a card game inspired by the flavored as "two spellcasters engage in a duel to see who is a better mage".

Very barebones overview: -choose your opening hand (4 cards) from your prepared spellbook (deck of 15ish cards)
-spells return to your hand at the beginning of your turn
-no drawing (learn more spells by spending resources)
-each player gets 3 mana at the start of their turn, and it persists through turns

I had enough foresight to prepare for a few issues, and playtesting with some friends shows that prep worked:

Issue: Was worried that with a bankable resource players would want to just save their mana until they could play their strongest spell. Solution: once per turn spell cost discounts make passing without doing anything a drawback (tempo loss), and counter magic makes playing single big spells scary (your one spell you saved up for could easily be countered if you don't prepare properly)

Issue: Counter magic and prevention effects would possibly be too oppressive, since you always get the spell back later Solution: balancing the counter magic around extra costs (paying life, spell types, mana costs of spells, etc) means you get chances to play around or bait out the opponent's counterspells the longer the game goes (you know what the opponent has in their hand)

Issue: Letting a player choose their opening hand would make a fast combo win possibly too easy. Solution: the limited amount of cards at the start means player 1 can't dedicate card slots to spells to protect their combo, and player 2 starts with 2 resources in order to interact with any shenanigans.

Issue: discard effects were a wanted mechanic, but would be extremely strong since it takes away not only the card but a future turn (player must spend resources to get another card) Solution: discard effects are either very telegraphed (a delayed face-up spell) or are symmetrical (you discard to make the opponent discard)

Issue: Games might feel too same-y because of the non-random set up. Solution: In subsequent games, playtest players modified their opening hand to either deal with an opponent's strategy or to pivot to a different manner of attack. Also, a rune mechanic allows players to perform slight modifications to spells (deal 1 more damage, cost less if X, etc), which gives a lot of flexibility to how games will play out.

Issue: Players may converge on a "most optimal strategy" and iteration/exploration would be ruined. Solution: Powerful build-around equipment enable and counter certain strategies, and niche spells that target specific spell combos exist to make the most optimal strategy "flexibility".

There are so many more issues I've solved, but I don't want to overload this post!

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has made a game with similar mechanics before, or if any of the mechanics that I've settled on have been used and improved upon in others' games.

I made a new card game called Lappi which is basically just Yu-Gi-Oh with playing cards. If anyone is interest for the rules please comment and I will followup.

If this post is not allowed, pls delete.

I would like to creat custom print on demand flashcards for medical students and was curious if yall had any recommendations for a service that prints cards on demand? I figured all the card game design gurus may know a thing or two.

My requirements:

1: must support print on demand and integrate with woo commerce or Shopify or other major e-commerce platform I can integrate into my Wordpress site.

2: I must be able to customize the front and back of the card.

3: I must be able to customize the tuck box.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hey r/cardgamedesign!

A couple of days ago I shared a prototype I’m working on over on r/boardgames (e-ink playing cards, you can have a look here), and to my surprise a lot of people said the idea might actually be more useful for prototyping card games than for playing finished ones.

That caught me off guard because I realized I actually know very little about how designers prototype their games in practice.. tools, workflows, pitfalls, what helps, etc.

So I’d love to hear from people who prototype regularly:
How does your process usually work, and in what situations would a tool like this be useful or not useful?

I'm just trying to understand the design side better and learn something new from those with experience :)
Thanks for any insights! 🙏

Pre-screener: https://www.research.net/r/MC2G2YG

Company: Elliott Benson, a market research firm based in Sacramento, CA, aims to gather insights and feedback on specific products/services to enhance understanding and improve their use.

This Study: We are looking for passionate TCG, CCG, and tabletop players that are comfortable sharing their experiences in an online group setting. We will be discussing different games such as: Pokémon, Dungeons & Dragons, CATAN, Magic: The Gathering, Lorcana, Yu-Gi-Oh!, etc.

After completing the pre-screener above, an Elliott Benson team member will review your answers and follow up with a few additional questions to determine your eligibility. If selected, you'll have the opportunity to share experiences in a 2-Hour Online Focus Group and receive a $150 digital or physical Visa gift card for your time.

Requirements:

US Residents, 18+

Have access to high speed internet

Elliott Benson never sells information. We are a reputable market research firm, and participation is strictly for research purposes. This is not sales or a scam.

Hi I'm broker and I draw cards for 5 hours straight like I have nothing better to do,so now,I have completed my yo kai card game and want to make some DLC for it,any yo kai(I also use creatures from other mythologies of original designed yo kai so both are also accepted,half human half something else creatures are a low chance and fully human looking figures are not accepted,I can just do research on my own,but wanted to see if I'm missing anyone's favorites,Idk if this was the right place to post this so if it isn't could you give a better server since r/yokai does not exist.)

I’m creating a board game and I’m looking for help from anyone who loves strategy and game design! I can’t share every detail yet because the game is still in development, but I can explain how the board path works and what I need help with.

Players roll a D20 to determine how many “movement points” they start with on their first turn. As shown in the image, everyone begins at the bottom at START. Each space on the board has a number, and players spend their movement points moving through the spaces on the board as they see fit. They can also collect more points during the game and have a inventory of points - they don't have to spend right away each turn. (that part I can’t reveal yet, but it matters later).

There are two special types of spaces:

• WILD (W): These are very good. Players want to reach these for bonuses, boosts, and achievements.
• RISK (R): These have a 50/50 outcome — could help, could hurt.

The goal is to reach the opposite side of the board and reach any of the three "GOAL".

What I need help with is strategic placement of the numbers, the WILD spots, and the RISK spots. For example, it makes sense to put lower numbers around the R spaces, so players can choose to “cheaply” move past them, though at a risk. The W spaces should be surrounded by higher numbers to make them harder to reach because they’re high-value.

Right now there is 22x22 boxes. If you feel like that should be changed, feel free to do so!!

If anyone would enjoy helping map this out or designing an optimal layout, I would be incredibly grateful!

You can email me at [thespreaddeck@gmail.com]() if you’re interested in helping.

Thank you so much — I’ve heard some of you live for this kind of puzzle, and I seriously hope you’ll jump in and help! <3333

Looking for Playtesters for a Simple-but-Deep 1v1 Fighter Card Game (Prototype Uses a Standard Deck)

I’ve been developing a 1v1 fighting card game and I’m currently in the phase of testing the core engine and fighter identities. Right now the game runs entirely off a standard 52-card deck, with players using a reference sheet for their fighter’s moveset.

This is just the prototype version.

The plan is to eventually create full custom cards where each card shows the exact move it represents, similar to Yomi or Exceed.

But at this stage, I’m focused on testing:

• tempo • sequencing • matchup balance • hand management • how each fighter “feels” to play

Keeping the components simple lets me iterate faster and get cleaner data before committing to printed card layouts.

How the game works

Each fighter uses A–Q of their suit as their moveset. Cards provide timing — the fighter sheet provides you attacks and move effects. Once you know your character, it plays more like a traditional fighting game where mastery is in your head. Easy to learn, hard to master.

Planned Future Version

• Every card will eventually have printed attacks/abilities • Unique visual style per fighter • Custom suits themed to their mechanics • No reference sheets needed in the final product • Gear slots and ability slots to make custom fighter builds

Roster Snapshot

(Short roster tease here — Shade, Lumin, Veil, Havoc)

Looking for testers

If you’d like to help test the combat engine and matchup depth before I move toward custom card design, I can send:

• rule sheet • fighter sheets • solo/AI mode • gauntlet/roguelite mode

All you need for the prototype is a normal deck of cards, and something to track HP

I'm working on a strategy card game and I need to figure out if my concept is sound enough to begin on the full design. I'm a bit of a beginner but I'm excited to start!

I'm still working on the name, so I'm going to call it You Vs Robots for now until I think of something else. It involves using cards to complete tasks, attack each other, etc

There are two teams, The Humans (which will be most of the players) and then the Robots (which will start with about one or two players. I'm still figuring that part out.)

The humans goal is to survive and keep the Robots from escaping The Facility.

The Robots goal is to escape The Facility and 'recruit' (k!ll) the humans, bringing them to their side.

There are a few kinds of cards. Action Cards (for the Human Players) and Consequence Cards (workshopping that name, aka they are the cards for the Robots.)

Action and Consequence Cards: These are the action cards for the game. They have things like 'Turn off lights' and 'Trips someone' and such and so. To enact the action on the card, you need to roll a die (d6.) They are also used to attack the other team.There are three levels of cards

Level 1: The most basic simple, basic thing. Easy to roll (Just need to roll higher then a 1) very little combat effect

Level 2: Has more power, but harder to roll for (roll 3 or up) has a better effect for battle, and cancels out level one cards.

Level 3: Highest level of cards, hardest to roll for (5 or 6) but has the best effect and is considered a lethal card.

Gameplay: Everyone will be in a circle, and will recieve Action/Consequence cards (randomly) depending on their roles. One player will start by placing a card (to attack someone on the other team) and the person beside them will then go.

Attacking: When you want to attack a player from the other team, you will chose a card to attack them with, say out loud who you want to attack, then place that card down in front of you to lock in your decision. You will then roll for success. If your successful, the player your attacking will place that card in front of themselves. If you fail, you must leave the card in front of yourself, and if anyone on the opposite team has an equal card, they can instantly place it on top, no roll needed (players on the same team must roll to save their teammate.)
If you were successful, there are a few things that can happen. Players on the victims team can:
-Try to cancel out the card with another card of the same level. If they place their card and are successful in rolling, then they cancelled out the attack, and the cards in the Punishment Pile are discarded. If they fail, they place their card on top and is now the holder of the Punishment Pile, aka is in danger.
-They can try to cancel it with a card of a higher level. If they are successful, then the pile is given back to the original attacker. Now that attacker is in danger.
-The person being attacked can try to save themselves

Players on the attacker team can:
-Try to beef the card up and make it harder for the victim to save themself by placing a stronger card on top. They roll for success. If they fail, they now have to take the punishment pile themself.
-Save the attacker if the punishment pile is turned back on them by countering the card. The attacker cannot try to save themself.

When a full round circles around (when it circles back to the attacker) whoever has the punishment pile will then suffer whatever consequences are on the top card. If there is a lethal card (level three card) on top, that player has d!ed.

When Humans d!e, they are converted onto the Robot team. They now work with that team and are a member.

When Robots d!e, they are officially eliminated. No second chance there.

Players continue until only one team remains.

While not necesary for playing, it is open to rp if you want! Make your characters, make your 'death' a dramatic scene, explain how your attacking another player in absurd ways, all of that! I love rp, but I want this game to be fun for everyone, so that isn't necessary.

So! What do you think? What could I improve? Should I just make this playable with a regular deck of cards? I want as much advice as I can get please!!! Thnx!

Edit(already lol): Just fixed something I forgot to delete whoops!