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Basic CCg project

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Mon, 05/09/2005 - 12:09
CIDIC
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Joined: 12/31/1969

Me and my friend are workin on a CCg game. we are making it just for fun, and to learn about game design. If it becomes a success maybe we will try to market it but at this point we aren't worried about market apeal and such just the game design.

The GAME:
the idea is to have very simple rules, and most of them on the cards. you both have 50 card decks, your trying to deplete by attacking eachother. you draw a 5 card hand and draw a card every turn.on your turn you put cards into play from your hand paying their cost. players then take turns activating (taping) cards and resolving their effects, or damage.

The mechanic in question:
All the cards have a number in the corner (real original right? lol) this is the cards 'worth'. Every card has a differing cost to put it into play from your hand, such as "discard a card or cards that total a worth of 5" to put this card into play. Other cards my say discard a ninja of worth 5 to put into play ect. some will say sacrifice a card of worth X. this is putting a card you have into play into your graveyard. Some cards may require other cards or a number of other cards or a type of card to already be in play. and some cards will have combinations of these costs.

Simple rules, fast game play, seemingly infiniate possibilites for card design. With these rules you could easily design cards for whatever theme you wish.

I'm asuming that such a simple mechanic has been atempted before, although i haven't seen it. if anyone could point out a game that uses a similar mechanic i would be very interested in looking at how it worked out. The main question is WILL IT WORK? what problems developing in the design of this game? comments suggestions ect. thanks

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Wed, 05/11/2005 - 00:12
#1
daem0n_faust
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Joined: 12/31/1969
Basic CCg project

You get to play cards by removing other cards you own?

Attacking other players' decks is NOT original. In fact, it is beginning to be boring. But that's just me, so DO NOT FRET! If your main mechanics are good, then it should pay off, right? Although, I think paying cards by discarding seems fairly original. There are some ccgs (well, there are a lot) which uses discarding and sacrificing as part of the pay mechanism, but not entirely. If it is the only pay mechanism in your game, you will give the players an in-game dilemma like, "Do I sacrifice/discard this other (possibly useful later) card and play this other card instead, and hope my strategy pay off?". What I've learned from ccgs is that you focus on one strategy mostly, because your deck construction limits you. So perhaps, your game will likely be a setup game. It seems that there is no cheaper way to get your cards through, so all cards in the deck is useful.

How many cards of the same name in deck? Unlimited like VTES? Or by fours like Magic? Multiples allow players to A.)Get their power card in play immediately, B.)Prevent some of their cards from being destroyed before they get it out (since you attack decks, right?), and C.)Use their power card multiple times.

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Wed, 05/11/2005 - 02:54
#2
Johan
Johan's picture
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Joined: 10/05/2008
Re: Basic CCg project

Hi CIDIC

Your main question first!

CIDIC wrote:
I'm asuming that such a simple mechanic has been atempted before, although i haven't seen it. if anyone could point out a game that uses a similar mechanic i would be very interested in looking at how it worked out. The main question is WILL IT WORK? what problems developing in the design of this game? comments suggestions ect. thanks

Yes it will work and No it will not work!!! Its not in the rules, it's in the cards.
The problems with CCG are not the basic rules. It’s the cards themselves. One card or one combination of cards could make the game totally unbalanced (one winning strategy). I believe that the third reason why MtG comes out with new releases all the time. Releases that make the old cards invalid are to remove those one winning strategy (the first and second reason is to make money).
A CCG have a never ending possibility of combinations and it is impossible to cover them all. The only way to see the problems is to test, test and test the game (and when you believe that the game is completed you have probably only done a minor part or the tests that is required).

Quote:
Me and my friend are workin on a CCg game. we are making it just for fun, and to learn about game design. If it becomes a success maybe we will try to market it but at this point we aren't worried about market appeal and such just the game design.

Since you are (at least) two that designing this CCG a different approach to the design could be possible.
- Set up the basic rules for the game (you have a good start here).
- All designers create there own decks of cards from those rules (write the cards and build one or several decks).
- Then you do the test of the new decks (run the game 3-5 times each time) and then have a discussion of how the game rules and the rules of creating cards should be changed (don’t start banning any card (except those that says the player will win immediately)).
You will have an interactive development and at the same time run the developments a CCG.
I have done this with friends on a tabletop. I just told them what basic rules that should be used (Example: Low fantasy style, 25mm figures. We using D10 (opposite dice (they know what I mean)), max 10 miniatures, 2 actions per turn and standard movement is 2" per action. The unit has to have a story). Within those Spartan rules each player make there group and set up there own rules for the group. This works as long all players wants to play and have fun (it is ok to loose). This works and is fun.
In August I'm planning to have the same type of game but this time with Kinder-eggs (you have the eggs with you to the game and then you take out the toys and make the rules).

Quote:
Simple rules, fast game play, seemingly infiniate possibilites for card design. With these rules you could easily design cards for whatever theme you wish.

It depends... You can start to make the rules and then create themes wrapped around the rules or start with a theme and try to wrap rules around it. My experience is that you should start with both (at least make some outlines of the theme (I now that some of you don’t agree with me)). You can use the same rules for CCG around a Bar fight and building an Intergalactic empire, but the games will be different in there objectives.

Good luck with your game

// Johan

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Thu, 05/12/2005 - 14:50
#3
CIDIC
Offline
Joined: 12/31/1969
Basic CCg project

thanks for all the helpful advice!

as for the attacking of the decking being borring and unorigonal, I wanted to keep this game simple, i didn't want too many components other than the cards (if any at all). this was the simplest solution i could think of. If anyone could suggest an alternative i'm open to anything. I agree that the ccg delema is not usually the rules it is the cards. I thought that the warlord ccg was a very interesting idea with lots of opportunites for card designs. but the cards they created hardly complement the system, they make it borring.

discarding isn't the only cost mechanic either, some cards call for the sacrifice of cards of X cost. This is removing cards you have already payed to put into play, and is obviously for the more expensive cards. the only other game i can think of with a similar mechanic is duel masters. but they just have every card produce 1 mana and have 5 colors wich are loosley related to the cost of things. cards in my game will have worth equivalent to their effective/usefulness (or insome cases extremely powerful cards will have lowwer worth than they should to balance them out.

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