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A card game with no card text- Can it work?

5 replies [Last post]
Sun, 01/31/2016 - 02:10
Geikamir
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Hello all,

I am working on a 2-4 player game in which each player has a symmetrical hand of cards. There are only 8 of them. Each has a unique ability and it revolves around simultaneous action/card selection and hidden information. These abilities are generally pretty basic and pretty easy to pick up. The game, including a few rounds, only takes around 10-15 minutes.

Would it be too far fetched of an idea to have a game card that consists of only a individually colored picture (a different color for each player) and the name of the card? I was thinking of including a reference card for each player that has the name and what that card does. I thought of doing it this way because I have a very specific art style in mind and I want it to provide a very stark/artsy look.

The only games that I can think of off hand that does anything like this are Dixit or set collection games like Uno. But neither of those games have cards with unique abilities. Essentially do you think a game like Citadels, for example, could function as well if the cards had no text but instead had a reference card that said what each card did? And also didn't need a reference card for building cities, since there is nothing like that.

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Sun, 01/31/2016 - 02:22
#1
Hook
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A race for the Galaxy has a

A race for the Galaxy has a lot of icons that needs to be decoded on a card :) I think you can do it if it is easy to follow rules for each card effect.

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Sun, 01/31/2016 - 06:37
#2
radioactivemouse
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Unique vs. Standard

The problem with having a card game that has unique mechanics with little or no text is that you'll have issues translating them the more icons you introduced.

Consider this: Have a standard small set of icons (that do specific things), but mix and match them so each card is essentially unique.

You could have a varying string of icons, but you can also have icons that affect other cards. The game that comes to mind is Xenoshyft: Onslaught. In that game, there's lane combat where an enemy card is revealed to show what enemy is going up next, but some are placed in the back and affects all cards in the lane (i.e. gives a +1 to every other enemy in battle).

But to answer your question, yes, I think it can totally be done.

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Sun, 01/31/2016 - 09:09
#3
X3M
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The answer is yes. But just

The answer is yes.
But just like appointed out above me. There can occur problems.
One that I have in mind is when you want to expand the game. New rules might occur. How are you going to deal with those new rules, if you have no text on the cards?

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Tue, 02/02/2016 - 05:37
#4
pelle
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Many games do this and I

Many games do this and I think it usually works well enoughl. There are games like 7 Wonders (especially with expansions) where there are so many different icons and different combinations meaning different things that you pretty much need to memorize all the meanings, but it works quite well anyway (and it is a very successful game despite that little issue).

Even if I think having text is always better, because you have ALL the information you need right there without having to consult a rulebook or cheatsheet, for games that are translated or played with children at least it is well worth it to not have text (plus it can look better).

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Tue, 02/02/2016 - 21:04
#5
markgrafn
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Moonstar Games has a few

Moonstar Games has a few games that don't have text on the cards. Koryo and GOSU Tactics come to mind. They are fun games but you can't play without the rulebook on the table for icon reference.

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