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Idea in search of a theme

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CIDIC
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I just had this short idea for a ccg. most ccgs drawing cards is good, it gets you more options ect. but what if to win you had to get your oponent to have say 15 cards in hand. you would be doing something to cause him to draw and they would be trying to do things to stop you. ect. can anyone think of a theme that would be appropriate for this basic idea?

Stainer
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Idea in search of a theme

well, in a game like that, since it's a CCG I would simply play all the cards that have a really low casting cost and just keep casting them. That way, it would be very hard, if not impossible for the other player to win.

You could have it where when you play a card, you put it back on top of your deck. That way the only way to get a 'new' and 'fresh' card is to have your opponent force you to draw more cards - leading to your demise!!

Wow, that idea is soo good!! You're a genius. I hope you develop it further. I would certainly buy a CCG like that.

Good luck!!

Rob

clapjaws
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Idea in search of a theme

Germ warfare!

Loc_Nar
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Re: Idea in search of a theme

CIDIC wrote:
I just had this short idea for a ccg. most ccgs drawing cards is good, it gets you more options ect. but what if to win you had to get your oponent to have say 15 cards in hand. you would be doing something to cause him to draw and they would be trying to do things to stop you. ect. can anyone think of a theme that would be appropriate for this basic idea?

Possible theme: the focus of the game is a power struggle where the object is to force your opponent to absorb so much power that he becomes overloaded and, essentially, explodes. Absorbing power is reflected through gaining cards. Think of Yoda struggling to catch a ball of Force energy and directing it back at Palpatine, or the spell battle between Gandalf and Saruman. You have to cast spells, i.e. cards, to deplete power.

Ska_baron
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Idea in search of a theme

First thing that came to my mind was "the Source" in the Wheel of Time series.

Epigone
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Idea in search of a theme

On a much different tack, you could be engaged in an epic battle of CYA. Perhaps you and your opponent headed up a project which you both now know will fail, and must strive to make the other the "guy in charge" to take the fall. Of course, the more your opponent is in charge, the more options he has. This could be a good spy theme.

dete
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Idea in search of a theme

germ warfare is good,

I thought Gremlins myself.

or that movie Critters!

Hedge-o-Matic
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Idea in search of a theme

How about Cold War weapons proliferation? Forcing the other player to spend themselves into oblivion? Weapon systems would represent national prestige, or political capital, rather than destructive force. This also allows concepts like weapons research (very expensive propositions that usually get the country nothing concrete), accidents, and coverups, all of which would cost the government in charge political credability.

FastLearner
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Idea in search of a theme

Buddhist monks trying to free themselves of attachments.

Old-fashioned hot-air balloonists in a race, trying to get rid of cargo/gifts they've agreed to carry, encouraging the local crowd at every stop to give the other guy gifts.

Bills trying to work their way through Congress without jillions of unpleasant amendments dragging them down.

Pack mules climbing trails along the walls of the Grand Canyon.

Neighborhood walls trying to keep grafitti off themselves.

Oh, wait, good ideas for games? Hmm. :)

Kreitler
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Idea in search of a theme

FastLearner wrote:
Oh, wait, good ideas for games? Hmm. :)

FastLearner wrote:
Buddhist monks trying to free themselves of
attachments.

Hey! I was actually going to do a game about monks trying to get rid of their attachments. It was sort of a reverse Monopoly. Dead serious.

Hmm...that really does kinda stink, doesn't it. :P

K.

OutsideLime
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Idea in search of a theme

Obsessive snackers trying to drop junkfood from their grocery carts...

Exorcists trying to banish their demons...

Competing yard-salers trying to sell off more junk first....

~Josh

PS - Ditto FastLearner... GOOD ideas... that's a different story.

jedevangelion
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Idea in search of a theme

To me, it suggests something like.....

(a) Executive skiving - trying to offload work and tasks on other managers at a company, get them to do the workload while you take the glory..?

(b) Being coerced to do something - a hostage situation, or that Dirty Harry / Die Hard 3 situation where you're being made to run here, there and everywhere by the badguy, doing his bidding while all the while trying to work out how to defeat him. Hell, you could probably pitch that as a '24' tie-in. :)

(c) The classic drinking match - think Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark - you're trying to drive your opponent to drink more than you, and the winner is the last one left standing. Every card is a drink, with different amounts of alcohol content.

Any use to you sir? :)

I like fastLearner's hot air balloon idea. If I saw that as a theme for a retail release, I'd be very tempted to buy....

clapjaws
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Idea in search of a theme

There as some really good card game ideas in this thread (love the drinking one!), but looking back at the original post, you were wanting a theme for a CCG...

The best idea for that I've seen is what was said about over-loading someone or something, causing the game-ending explosion. I thought of computer spyware, adware, etc. being added to your personal PC (represented by the player) - but that's too close to reality! Probably wouldn't be too interesting either.

The idea of mad-scientist-controlled, energy-absorbing mutants might work. You could have smaller, friendly mutants that could drain off some of the energy load, or special equipment (or even have location cards) that lets you dissipate it. You could add assistant scientists with special skills. You could have additional mutants that could step up, or even ways to add further absorbing powers to your main mutant. Lab cards could grant a special bonus to certain mutant types.

Feel free to jump in here people, I'm running out of gas! :)

sedjtroll
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Idea in search of a theme

clapjaws wrote:
The best idea for that I've seen is what was said about over-loading someone or something, causing the game-ending explosion. I thought of computer spyware, adware, etc. being added to your personal PC (represented by the player) - but that's too close to reality! Probably wouldn't be too interesting either.

Makes me think of hackers trying to overload each others' systems and propagating Denial of Service attacks, etc.

Julius
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Idea in search of a theme

I'd avoid a 'popup' game... while the game might be sort of popular because it hits home, internet ads are annoying and would taint the feel of the game.

Time for serious suggestions:

The players are giants, and they are trying to show off how strong they are. So, there are cards that represent various large objects of various sizes and weights (windmills, ships, castles, dragons, haystacks, etc.)... and there are cards that are challenges (i.e. "I bet you can't pick up that blacksmith's shop."). Maybe challenge cards cannot be refused, or maybe refusing one is penalyzing in some way...

Anyway, your giant is really strong, so weight isn't an issue. However, size is, and thus can only carry so many things before he loses control and drops them all. Weight does come into play with the dare cards. A stone tower is heavy, and thus would require a more costly dare card to get another giant to pick it up than, say, a house made out of straw.

TrekNoid
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Idea in search of a theme

Honestly, my first thought was a battle of Jugglers...

You and the other jugglers each have the ability to juggle up to, say 10 balls... anything above that, you drop a ball and you lose.

You can perhaps draw cards that allow you to handle more balls... or perhaps instead of a ball, you end up drawing a club, which counts as 2 balls.

You can throw a ball to your opponent... You can distract them...

All sorts of possibilities....

HyveMynd
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Idea in search of a theme

The first thing that poped into MY head was evil little kids filling water balloons, getting ready for an after school fight. If the brats fill their balloon too far (has more than 15 cards in hand) .... it pops and they get soaked. Each player could have a deck, filled with "Water", "Tie Off" and event cards. When you play a "Tie Off" card you lay your hand down in front of you and collect points for it's size, ie the number of "Water" cards present. Then you draw a new hand and keep playing. Event cards could do anything from making your opponent discard their hand (faulty balloon!), draw more cards (I can't turn off the water!), or "pop" a balloon already in play. Though this sounds alot more like "family" card game, or a customizable card game instead of a CCG.

Although I think that someone else has suggested it already, I also thought about viruses attacking a body. I don't really know how this one would work, but draw more than 15 cards and your "virus" had killed every cell in the host, meaning that your virus will die too. Too few cards in hand, and the body's defenses will overwhelm you, knocing you out of the game. It could be interesting for players to play with two decks at the same time. A "library" of sorts, and an "event" deck. I have no idea what you could put in the library, but the event deck would would affect BOTH players at the same time. Again, difficult to adapt to a CCG I think.

And just wanted to say that the idea of putting the card back on top of your deck after playing it is a really nice idea. It is a really sweet trade off to only get new options in your hand by having you opponent force you to draw cards, putting you that much closer to loosing. Although (as an avid Magic player) it would be outrageously frustrating to draw up to 14 cards, and get complete crap.

Kaltros
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Re: Idea in search of a theme

CIDIC wrote:
I just had this short idea for a ccg. most ccgs drawing cards is good, it gets you more options ect. but what if to win you had to get your oponent to have say 15 cards in hand. you would be doing something to cause him to draw and they would be trying to do things to stop you. ect. can anyone think of a theme that would be appropriate for this basic idea?

Interesting. This CCG seems very similar to Gin and Gin Rummy, in that cards in hand are bad and count against you.

Theme ideas that leaped into my mind:
Cards could represent debt. Not necessarily a fun topic, however.

Pounds. Each card is 5 pounds of weight, and you and your siblings (the other players) are trying to get The New Jeans (or whatever), so you want them to gain weight so they won't fit them. Not sure how good it is, but hey, the theme of handing someone an Oreo and having them flinch is kind of appealing.

In the family vein of things, the cards could be chores, and whoever has too many can't finish them on time and gets grounded.

More politically, you could have each player being a corporation... but too many senators in your pockets (or hand) means you have to keep bribing them all, which is expensive. Or if too many come over you get investigated by the FCC and lose (because all corporations are crooked).

Just a few notions.

CIDIC
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Idea in search of a theme

wow these are some really imaginative ideas. after reading them i came up with this one, i don't know why reading them make me think of this but it did. the setting could be a distant future scifi setting where most of the solar system has been colonized and such. the players are rival factions or corporations ect. that operate under the rules, laws and regulations of a UN type organization. i guess call it UW (worlds). you both operate your corporation of country or whatever under the rules and regulations of the UW just like everyone else. most of these rules and laws are about limiting the stock piling of weapons or certain illegal materials or goods. you and your rival are trying to compete either financially, for territory, or in an outright aggressive conflict, without violating the UW rules. violating them would attract unwanted presure to end your operations and you would loose the conflic. you would be trying to wipe eachother out in the general wargame sense but you would also try to report your oponents violations to the UW, while minimizing his ability to do that to you. what do you think? got any ideas for this?

HyveMynd
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Idea in search of a theme

So basically, when you hit 15 (or whatever the number will be) cards in hand, the "WN" comes in and busts you for all those illegal weapons, right? Sounds really interesting, and I love the setting too.

However I am having trouble seeing what exactly the different cards will do. Is there some alternate "win condition" that you are going for, and having to draw cards is sort of like a "timer" of sorts? Meaning that if you make bad game choices, you draw alot of cards, making it harder to get to that win condition. If thats the case, then you could have all sorts of interesting cards that affect gameplay, the "better" ones forcing you to draw alot of cards as a payment.

In fact, I think it would be interesting to have drawing cards from your deck as sort of the "casting cost" (to use a Magic term) or "activation cost" for your units and effects. If, when the player ends his/her turn, they have more than 14 cards in hand, they loose. Daring and/or desperate players could gamble on a huge effect, in the hopes of knocking their opponent out first, or finding a way to deal with all the excess cards before they end thier turn. That would make for some very interesting game play in my opinion.

But, if there is no alternate win condition, or nothing much more to the game then just forcing your opponent to draw cards, then I don't really see how the cards will work. I would love to hear more about how you envision the game working, or any rough ideas of cards that you have. I'm really interested in seeing how this develops!

Kaltros
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Idea in search of a theme

CIDIC wrote:
you would be trying to wipe eachother out in the general wargame sense but you would also try to report your oponents violations to the UW, while minimizing his ability to do that to you. what do you think? got any ideas for this?

If you start with the initial concept that everybody is breaking rules, you could make the cards reflect that. So the person caught with the card "Labor Violations" in hand, but is able to force someone else to take the card and thus the liability for it...

Intruiging idea.

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