Every time I design a CCG/TCG/LCG I always have the same problem: what kind of INSTANT cards do I design???
This may sound stupid, however I usually manage to create interesting mechanics in the various phases of the game. And sometime end up with a "decent" result.
However my question is this: "How do you design for the future (expandability)?"
I struggle with most games finding 20 cards to match my mechanics... How do games such as Magic: the Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh! design SO MANY cards???!!!
What is their secret??? How do I get my games to be so expandable??? Anybody have any answers? Or tricks to follow?
I think it may have something to do with "compartmentalizing" (Yes - it's a word!) For example my current card game has an RPS 3 system used during combat. It divides "units" into three (3) distinct categories: melee, flight and ranged. So one aspect for "expandability" is creating more "units" for each category.
Another example is the RPS 5 system also used in combat. It divides "units" into five (5) spheres: light, death, earth, fire and water. So another aspect for "expandability" is to create more "units" for each one of those categories...
So from a "unit" perpective... I think my game is "expandable". In Yu-Gi-Oh! many cards are "monsters". But that is only PART of the equation.
The NEXT part is INSTANT/TRAP/SPELL cards. This is where I have NOT mastered the ART of card creation.