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Non-Trading Card M:TG type games?

9 replies [Last post]
Wed, 10/24/2012 - 13:38
TheGeeque
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Hello all,

I've come up with a basic idea of a cardgame that plays out similarly to Magic: The Gathering, but it's not collectible. I'm not sure if it would be considered an LCG either, as I don't want deckbuilding in there either. The style is similar to Munchkin and Bang wherein all players play from the same deck and there can be expansions, but I wanted a less humorous more high-fantasy feel to it. Also I wanted something with a bit more complex play mechanics (thus the comparison to M:TG).

Does anyone know of any similar cardgames out there already to draw inspiration from or to at least avoid making a near duplicate to something someone else did?

Thanks!

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Wed, 10/24/2012 - 20:12
#1
questccg
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One thing is certain...

TheGeeque wrote:

I've come up with a basic idea of a cardgame that plays out similarly to Magic: The Gathering, but it's not collectible. I'm not sure if it would be considered an LCG either, as I don't want deckbuilding in there either. The style is similar to Munchkin and Bang wherein all players play from the same deck and there can be expansions, but I wanted a less humorous more high-fantasy feel to it. Also I wanted something with a bit more complex play mechanics (thus the comparison to M:TG).

Well if you use the standard deck and the expansion model, you should be able to develop it on http://www.thegamecrafter.com and self-publish the game. BTW you can check out the games being sold on TGC and see if you can find something similar. They have like over 1,000 games!

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Thu, 10/25/2012 - 15:03
#2
Horatio252
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Race for the Galaxy?

From your description it sounds like Race for the Galaxy might be similar? It is different in that it has a sci-fi theme, and it is a tableau builder, but it is a complex card game played from a common deck.

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28143/race-for-the-galaxy

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Fri, 10/26/2012 - 08:28
#3
larienna
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There are many games like

There are many games like that (even I tought about it). From my memory, I know "Emmerlaus" which had the same theme, but there is no summon. I think "elemental clash" also does that, but I am not sure if they use a common deck.

Her are the links:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7838/emmerlaus-duel-of-mages

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/47158/elemental-clash-the-basic-set

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Fri, 10/26/2012 - 10:09
#4
TheGeeque
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questccg: Thanks for the

questccg: Thanks for the link. I had run into TGC before, but hadn't explored all that much. I'm still very early on the designing stage so I was more focusing on making quick prints with NanDECK (which looks awesome). I'll keep that in mind, though, as I doubt I'd be getting a publishing deal from any major players.

larienna: Thank you! Those games look to be pretty much exactly what I was thinking. Emmerlaus in particular sounds rather similar in design to what I was planning, so I'll have to see about finding a copy to make sure it isn't too close. Elemental Clash has some interesting mechanics and looks fun in general, but is designed around two players and I was hoping to go from 2-6 with potential team play, so there is at least a bit difference there.

It's someone comforting that there aren't any huge names that easily jump to mind for a lot of people.. I think there is still a niche to be filled there. Once I get things nailed down more I'll post the expanded idea and see what everyone here thinks :)

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Fri, 10/26/2012 - 12:19
#5
larienna
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Quote:Emmerlaus in particular

Quote:
Emmerlaus in particular sounds rather similar in design to what I was planning, so I'll have to see about finding a copy to make sure it isn't too close.

First I have to warn you that the game is in French, but the mechanics are straight forward, so I could always write you a small summary. If you can read French, I can scan you the rules of the first edition

There is 2 edition of the game, I only have the first. The second edition correct a few bugs and place more informations on the cards. But it also supplies a shit load of expansion which at a certain point breaks the game. So maybe you could learn from their errors.

There is a lot of dice rolling in their game, and there is a lot of powerful cards or randomness that can make a game last from 5 minutes to 3 hours. So it's a very chaotic game, but it has a strong appeal for light gamers, teenagers, etc. Still a bit more control on the game length and card release would have been necessary in my point of view.

If you want more information about this game, just ask. Because it's true that this game looks very similar to what you want to do. It's also what I thought magic the gathering was before playing my first games. Until I realized that it was just about summoning creatures ... Boring!.

Example of powerful cards:
Body exchange: Allows to change body with your opponent
Desintegration: Roll a die and instantly kill a player.
Massive Desintegration: Roll a die and instantly kill all players!? (This is the kind of games that can end in 5 minutes)

In an expansion they even released allies which are an additional character played by a player with hand of card of his own. The goal was to prevent player elimination, the problem is that the game never ends.

So as you can see, very random and chaotic.

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Fri, 10/26/2012 - 14:52
#6
TheGeeque
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Sadly, I don't know French

Sadly, I don't know French very well (some Canadian I am!). Your description sounds fairly different from the one on BGG. It sounds, on whole, far to random and chaotic. Reading your short description it doesn't really sound like it's quite so close, afterall. I'm also no planning to involve any dice as I was hoping to focus more on strategy than random luck.

Even when I look closer at Elemental Chaos, it isn't quite what I was expecting. That game, in particular, seems a lot closer to M:TG than I would have expected. I do like the Attack and Defense tiers for a summon to be part of, though. It's a mechanic I had already considered when I was coming up with ideas.

Out of curiousity, what bothers you about M:TG having an emphasis on summoning creatures? Do you find Elemental Chaos boring that way too, if you've played it?

Overall, I think I still have enough unique twists in my idea that it can be a fun and original game, which was my main concern. That's one reason I don't want to go the deckbuilding route whether in game or not.

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Fri, 10/26/2012 - 16:02
#7
larienna
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Quote:Do you find Elemental

Quote:
Do you find Elemental Chaos boring that way too, if you've played it?

I did not have a chane to play elemental clash, but for me, it was no different than MTG except your deck was your HP. It did nothing to remove the MTG bug.

What makes Emmerlaus close to your game is that all spells are direct attack spells. I like that kind of game, but it's tricky, because the area of effect of a card is much more reduced since it use direct abilities instead of indirect abilities.

Take a look at this article to understand what I am talking about:

http://bgd.lariennalibrary.com/index.php?n=DesignArticle.Article20090610...

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Sat, 10/27/2012 - 12:58
#8
larienna
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I finally decided to write a

I finally decided to write a review of the game on BGG. It is currently waiting for approval. I can post you the link when approved. There is so few threads for this game that it should not be hard to find.

I really like the idea of a direct spell attack game with a common deck. So if your game design ever progress, I would be happy to ear about it or even play test it.

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Sun, 10/28/2012 - 11:01
#9
larienna
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The review has been accepted,

The review has been accepted, it can be found here:

http://boardgamegeek.com/article/10386442

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