u/Flipao4

I've reached the point where my prototype has grown to a few hundred cards, and I'm realizing that keeping everything organized is becoming almost as much work as designing the game itself.

Right now I'm constantly making small balance changes, updating wording, tweaking icons, and moving cards between decks. It works, but it's starting to feel messy.

I'm curious how other designers handle this stage.

Do you stick with paper and spreadsheets for as long as possible? Do you move to dedicated software? How do you keep card layouts, components, and versions organized without creating extra work for yourself?

I'd love to hear what your workflow looks like once a project starts getting bigger.