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Cards or Tokens

8 replies [Last post]
Mon, 12/22/2008 - 15:50
notMe
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I am creating a game that will keep track of bonuses for certain types of equipment (+1 to +3). My question is this: would a deck of 54 (possibly up to 84) cards cost more than an equal amount of printed tokens? Either would be printed 4/4 images of the equipment and it's bonus on one side and a themed back to match the game. Which is the most cost effective way to go?

They would need to be durable for replay but can be a jumble of bits (tokens) rather than a deck (cards) since the only mechanic regarding purchase is laying out the three that are available at any one time and then paying for it.

I would prefer to start designing with this in mind than having to go back and change it as an afterthought.

Any help would be appreciated since I am close to the prototype stage (well for alpha testing anyway).

I will probably be posting a version of the game for feedback once I've gotten some initial testing done and some of the bugs worked out.

This could probably have gone under publication but either I thinks works.

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Mon, 12/22/2008 - 16:52
#1
gameprinter
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Cards or tokens

Depending on the size and thickness of the tokens, tokens will probably be cheaper - up to a point. If you need 2" x 2" tiles as tokens to get all the information on them, then the cards might be cheaper. If you need 1/2" wargame-style counters, then you can get 280 on an 8.5 x 11 sheet at about half the cost of cards.

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Mon, 12/22/2008 - 17:42
#2
notMe
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Cards or Tokens

Well I was thinking it would have the image, the name, and the bonus so it would probably need to be at least 1-1.5 inch if tokens to be readable possibly up to 2 inches depending on what else may be necessary. Thickness would depend on durability. It needs to be thick enough not to bend easily but not any thicker.

Thanks for the response and I hope that helps to clarify.

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Mon, 12/22/2008 - 23:30
#3
Meddler
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I recently went through a

I recently went through a similar set of thoughts for a game I've been working on, with an initial reaction to go for tokens since they'd take up less space and assumedly be a bit cheaper to produce should the game ever get published. I actually ended up swapping to cards for prototyping however since I find cards easier to deal with for this stage of things.

Since I wouldn't be looking to self publish any company that might eventually pick up the game would assumedly be redesigning layout/pieces anyway so testing simplicity became my priority rather than endstate layout/piece design. I'd expect this to vary substantially of course if focused more on the self publish/print and play/something similar approach, though even then I'd argue early testing should be slowed down/restricted by endstate requirements in this regard.

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Tue, 12/23/2008 - 00:51
#4
notMe
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Cards or Tokens

This is actually along my line of thinking as well. In this case though, I am actually creating the game in response to an inquiry on the bgdf forum from about a month back so there is a certain price point involved. Also, I am just curious in general since if I can't actually make this game feasible under the requirements, I may just finish it up the way that I would like and leave design implementation to any publisher who would be willing to look at my game*.

* I don't have a contract with anyone for this game. It was just created to meet the desired result but if it works out, great. I am mostly looking for the credit to leverage for future games but if it ends up not working out for the publisher in question, then knowing what I am looking at for price may help tailor the game bits to fit publishers general expectations as well as to pitch.

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Tue, 12/23/2008 - 04:18
#5
Curufea
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How would the bonuses be used

How would the bonuses be used in the game? Are they secret, or do other players need to see them. If the later - I'd go with cards as you can't see them on tokens across a table.

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Tue, 12/23/2008 - 12:58
#6
notMe
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Cards or Tokens

Bonuses are not secret in this game. They are added to the player's base draw of one allowing them to draw more cards. Along with gear, there are vehicles that can help with bonuses as well (up to 7 max). There is a limit of cards allowed for any one location so the rest would be added back into the deck. This just gives them a better chance of getting better cards (more to choose from on a single turn) though some of the cards drawn may impose penalties or be of no value.

All bonuses and penalties are combined and the result affects the number of cards drawn.

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Sun, 12/28/2008 - 07:28
#7
Curufea
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Would it be better to have a

Would it be better to have a centralised track of bonuses that everyone puts a coloured (or otherwise identifiable) marker on? That way everyone can see everyone else's current bonuses on the one board.

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Sun, 12/28/2008 - 13:58
#8
notMe
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Possibly. I am finalizing

Possibly. I am finalizing the layout of the board now and placement of bits is the last piece to figure out.

I'm going to start a blog soon (possibly Jan 2008) to talk rules and general game design (mechanics as well as theme) to keep discussions like this centralized.

Thanks so far for the advice for those who responded.

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