I am trying to design a CCG which is for 3 to 4 players (no 2 player variant). I would like to hear your opinions about comparing 2 player CCG against 3 to 4 player CCG. For the sake of the discussion, the 2 player CCG that I mentioned can only be played by 2 players only (therefore no 3 and above players variants). As for the 3 to 4 player CCG, there will be no 2 player variant or more than 4 players. We won't be discussing about whether a CCG business model is viable, because I would like to focus on the game design and not business model.
The thing is, I am mostly a 2 player only game fan. I like the fact that it feels competitive , because if you and me play, it is either I am better than you, or you are better than me. In a 3 to 4 player game, it may be difficult to compare between me and you because there is another player(s) who can screw either of us.
Now, my decision to consider a 3 to 4 player only CCG is a step towards exploring games that can only be played by minimum 3 players like Settlers of Catan, Puerto rico, Munchkins and the like. While that maybe good for growing gaming experience, there are some concepts that don't ring well with my preference for competition.
Most competitive games out there resembles 2 player games. For example, tennis, soccer, badminton, football are either one player against one player or one team versus another team, which resembles a 2 player game. You can say that there is Poker where you play againts many people, but Poker can also be a 2 player game (heads up) while Puerto Rico and other 3 player games can't.
However, 3 player games can be interesting by the fact that it resembles interesting situations like the Romance of the 3 kingdoms, or warring states of Japan or China. Unfortunately, most of the wars in American history as I know of (I don't deligently read American history)are one on one. For example, WW2 is about Allies vs Axis. Cold War is USA vs USSR.
Just to clarify things, I haven't thought of the theme or mechanics about this CCG. I am just thinking about the concepts of 2 player game vs 3 player game. I want this CCG to be competitive, however most successful CCGs out there only have tournaments for 2 player mode. MTG has multiplayer variants, but they are not supported in tournaments. In fact, there are people telling me that a game for more than 2 players are usually casual games.
So, for the sake of a competitive game, should it stay as a 2 player game or should it be viable for more than 2 players (but not viable for only 2 player).
Thanks.
