Hello, I'm trying to make a TCG all by myself but I'm a bit torn about how to make it interesting. I love the idea of resource mechanics but hate that it's integrated in the deck itself. I also think TCG combat starts to get boring since it's mostly a battle of whoever has the highest numbers. Yu-Gi-Oh pretty much have a very interesting take in both wherein they have limitations as a "resource" and each archetypes have different playstyles and win conditions that it makes most games interesting. They also managed to make decks feel unique and make playstyles very immersive instead of the usual "this card adds damage to this card and when you use this other card, it adds more damage".

I'm curious to hear the thoughts of the community. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I've been working on my own trading card game called Biome Battles, and I'd love to get some feedback from people with more TCG design experience before I get too deep into creating cards.

The Core Idea

Instead of players having life points, each player defends a Biome. Your Biome acts as both your deck's identity and your win condition.

Each Biome has 20 Health. As long as you control creatures, your opponent has to fight through them first. Once your creatures are gone, they can attack your Biome directly. Destroy the opposing Biome to win.

Games are intended to last around 20–30 minutes and be easy to learn, difficult to master.

Affinities

The game currently has eight elemental Affinities:

• Pyro (Fire)
• Hydro (Water)
• Phyto (Plant)
• Geo (Stone)
• Ferro (Metal)
• Cryo (Ice)
• Electro (Lightning)
• Aero (Wind)

Each Affinity will eventually have its own distinct playstyle and mechanics.

Core Biomes

Each Affinity has one signature Biome:

• Ember Peak (Volcano)
• Azure Reef (Coral Reef)
• Verdant Wilds (Jungle)
• Sunscar Dunes (Desert)
• Ironstride Colossus (A massive walking mechanical city)
• Frozen Expanse (Tundra)
• Stormshard Plains (Perpetual storms where lightning has magnetized the land, causing shattered pillars of earth to float)
• Skyreach Isles (Floating islands)

Current Mechanics

• Players begin the game by placing their Biome.
• Creatures can attack the turn they're played.
• Maximum of 5 creatures on the battlefield.
• Mana starts at 1, increases by 1 each turn, and caps at 10.
• Current card types are:
  • Biomes
  • Creatures
  • Items
  • Structures

Where I'm Stuck

The biggest thing I'm trying to figure out right now is the Biome mechanic.

My original idea was for every Biome to have a simple once-per-turn ability, but the more I think about it, the more I want those abilities to influence how you play your hand and manage resources, rather than simply giving creatures +Attack or healing them.

I want each Biome to fundamentally change how its player thinks and acts, not just make its creatures stronger.

Questions

• Does the overall premise sound interesting?
• What are some pitfalls I should watch out for with Biomes acting as both the player's "base" and their deck identity?
• Do you have ideas for making each Affinity feel mechanically unique?
• If you've designed a TCG before, what's one piece of advice you wish you'd known early on?

I'd appreciate any thoughts or critiques. Thanks!

What i mean is that the resource system is built on that there is no explicit resource cards and no "sacrificing" cards as resources like in Duel Masters or Lorcana. So you would make a decision every turn which cards would act as resources and which would be attacking/use effects.

What im thinking: it could work but there is the issue of rich gets richer since someone with a strong board presence technically have a fuckton of resources aswell. I was ofc planning for some cards to not generate resources like an uninkable in Lorcana. But it doesnt really help solve that issue. Same with letting some cards generate 2+, its gonna exist but wont help with the problem. What do you think? Can you think of something else aswell?

Im making a tcg card game for fun, not making it super professional, but i wanna know if i did spend money and make it a game you could buy, would any of you guys play it? its a basket ball styled game, kinda like pokemon in a way, like you have rarities and energy, but there's basically card packs and a game board to play on with the cards, they all have special moves and designs, its skill, stat and luck based all at once. The idea is original, at least i think, I've play tested it with some family members and friends where they said they liked it, sorry for the lack of context, if this post gets enough upvotes i'll try and explain it more

I'm making a TCG and while about 80% of the game is just a highlight of my favorite mechanics from like 8 different TCG's i've played over the years, I'm trying to think of the 'win condition' a bit and decide how much I want a player who is getting behind to be able to get back into the game by getting some rewards.

I've noticed quite a bit of hate for the 'shield trigger' mechanic as i've dived into more duel master style clones over the last few years. In general, the mechanic seems to cause massive swings when it happens and if you don't get the free upside sometimes you just lose. It almost feels like mario party at times.

Curious what different people here think of such strong 'comeback' mechanics in their games? I'm generally leaning towards the idea of something more akin to the Bandai games where you get card advantage potentially but no effect. However, FFTCG isn't terrible either where you get effects but none of the effects are quite as swingy as like duel masters itself where you might kill a creature AND get a body getting a 2:1 and tempo swing.