u/thelittlemouse6483

Hi all, I am currently aspiring to try and create a card game with the premise "The booster ... is all you need to get in the game" and if possible wanting to make it a Trading Card Game (but accepting the case if it becomes an Expandable). I have tested currently 3 designs for this idea but I am stuck on the attractiveness factor or not making it too frustrating for a beginner. One of the designs have been publicly playtested for months, the other two have barely been playtested in private with relatives:

• "WarPlus" - a MOBA-like 1v1 The original idea when "The Booster and a Deck of Playing cards is all you need" was the main idea: get a booster and a deck of playing cards together with a friend and play immediately. You are playing an updated version of War, but the booster offers you a special Leader card (with the base rules of the game on the back) and MOBA like abilities that influence the board. Draw cards, flip cards into battle, flip between your abilities to increase your numbers and win Exchanges until you control the most Victory cards. This one I did playtest on multiple occasions and I got some likes from strangers but they hated the balance: some numbers were too high and the natural randomness of a standard deck of playing cards made slight frustrations even if some cards were tutoring. The other problem was a lack of proper fantasy - no one understood the vision of what are they supposed to play, even with my intention that the abilities are named after idioms. Apart from this, I had personal issues and put this into hiatus, but now returning I have an anxiety to play because I notice I cannot convert it into a proper trading card game like I would want to and I have bloated it with rules and potential rules that make it a Magic game.

• "Rotators" - a fight against the chain of time This one is latest and I playtest it on TTSim with the proposition that you no more need playing cards, JUST the Booster and the booster only is all you need. The thing I did is "funny" in the sense that the board (represented in text) would be like this: (North) |

(West) - - [Core] - - (East) | (South) The objective is to turn the opponents' clock (or core) around the board by using the limited 7 cards you get from the booster. How do you turn the clock? By creating conflict with your attacking characters! Using spells. Your cards occupy a space on the space of your core and stay in that position. If one's coes does the final turn from north to west, they lose. The place is available for this randomness especially that some cards are powerful AND that the core contains two faces: Evil Force or Good Force. Because the cards also care if one is good or one is evil and if you are creative enough with what9 you offer even if one knows nothing about card games, you can make a comeback. The fear I learned is possibly how fast the game can go based on the cards power. Second problem is how a game can end fast: if one gets to just keep hitting the core 3 or 4 times, it's over in minutes. Another problem would be where do you put the tutorial? Like with the WarPlus, the cards had the rules on them (1 on the leader, one on one of the abilities and one on a token) but with this one I no longer have space for an additional pamphlet or something, thus the introductions are difficult.

• "Spotlight" - a cinematic ticket of random cards This is one of the earliest ideas but an evolution from the previous Rotators idea. The idea is that the booster is a ticket to a randomly generated movie and you are trying to construct the plot by creating a conflict it with your opponents' movie. The objective is to progress the camera through all the 4 Acts and bring their side of the movie to an end. To do it, you have a two-faced "Camera" card that has one of two themes (almost like passive you can choose from), 7 cards and a zone of 4 Acts. In each Act you can place up to two cards which are either actors, props, scenes or effects. Your camera starts in the first Act and every time you attack with your actors the opponent you "check" them like in chess - if they accept, they must move to the next act, if not they protect their pride. This one has the benefit of doubt but the idea finally has a thematic cohesion which I like - the others work way too "universally". The main problem is too early to tell.

So, by reading this, I ask again: which of these ideas should I pursue further?

Hi all, I am currently aspiring to try and create a card game with the premise "The booster ... is all you need to get in the game" and if possible wanting to make it a Trading Card Game (but accepting the case if it becomes an Expandable). I have tested currently 3 designs for this idea but I am stuck on the attractiveness factor or not making it too frustrating for a beginner. One of the designs have been publicly playtested for months, the other two have barely been playtested in private with relatives:

• "WarPlus" - a MOBA-like 1v1 The original idea when "The Booster and a Deck of Playing cards is all you need" was the main idea: get a booster and a deck of playing cards together with a friend and play immediately. You are playing an updated version of War, but the booster offers you a special Leader card (with the base rules of the game on the back) and MOBA like abilities that influence the board. Draw cards, flip cards into battle, flip between your abilities to increase your numbers and win Exchanges until you control the most Victory cards. This one I did playtest on multiple occasions and I got some likes from strangers but they hated the balance: some numbers were too high and the natural randomness of a standard deck of playing cards made slight frustrations even if some cards were tutoring. The other problem was a lack of proper fantasy - no one understood the vision of what are they supposed to play, even with my intention that the abilities are named after idioms. Apart from this, I had personal issues and put this into hiatus, but now returning I have an anxiety to play because I notice I cannot convert it into a proper trading card game like I would want to and I have bloated it with rules and potential rules that make it a Magic game.

• "Rotators" - a fight against the chain of time This one is latest and I playtest it on TTSim with the proposition that you no more need playing cards, JUST the Booster and the booster only is all you need. The thing I did is "funny" in the sense that the board (represented in text) would be like this: (North) |

(West) - - [Core] - - (East) | (South) The objective is to turn the opponents' clock (or core) around the board by using the limited 7 cards you get from the booster. How do you turn the clock? By creating conflict with your attacking characters! Using spells. Your cards occupy a space on the space of your core and stay in that position. If one's coes does the final turn from north to west, they lose. The place is available for this randomness especially that some cards are powerful AND that the core contains two faces: Evil Force or Good Force. Because the cards also care if one is good or one is evil and if you are creative enough with what9 you offer even if one knows nothing about card games, you can make a comeback. The fear I learned is possibly how fast the game can go based on the cards power. Second problem is how a game can end fast: if one gets to just keep hitting the core 3 or 4 times, it's over in minutes. Another problem would be where do you put the tutorial? Like with the WarPlus, the cards had the rules on them (1 on the leader, one on one of the abilities and one on a token) but with this one I no longer have space for an additional pamphlet or something, thus the introductions are difficult.

• "Spotlight" - a cinematic ticket of random cards This is one of the earliest ideas but an evolution from the previous Rotators idea. The idea is that the booster is a ticket to a randomly generated movie and you are trying to construct the plot by creating a conflict it with your opponents' movie. The objective is to progress the camera through all the 4 Acts and bring their side of the movie to an end. To do it, you have a two-faced "Camera" card that has one of two themes (almost like passive you can choose from), 7 cards and a zone of 4 Acts. In each Act you can place up to two cards which are either actors, props, scenes or effects. Your camera starts in the first Act and every time you attack with your actors the opponent you "check" them like in chess - if they accept, they must move to the next act, if not they protect their pride. This one has the benefit of doubt but the idea finally has a thematic cohesion which I like - the others work way too "universally". The main problem is too early to tell.

So, by reading this, I ask again: which of these ideas should I pursue further?