I have been working on a game for a bit. It has cards that have multiple uses for each card. They can be used as movement, have abilities, currency, and combat number. It might also have 1 more choice on it as well.
I was looking for a few examples of games that use a mechanic like this well. I know Cry Havoc does something like it. Star Trek: Panic has multi use as well. Are there any other good examples? Like card games where the cards are also the manna or something like that.
"Tradewars - Homeworld" (TWHW) is my current work-in-progress and it uses cards for multiple purposes.
So yeah TWHW uses cards for dual purposes: currency, starships and tactics.
For more information visit our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/tradewarshomeworld
Earlier posts explain clearly all the mechanics used by the game.
Update: You can check out the Video on our TGC webpage also:
http://www.tradewarshomeworld.com
Cheers!
Check out Arctic Scavengers and Bruges. I've also heard that La Granja uses multi-purpose cards quite heavily, but I haven't played that one yet.
Check out Roger Cotton's game that is coming out. He is on facebook, he has been working on a super hero card game that has double uses on his cards. Examples: missions, hits, tasks, movements and a few other details. The game is called,"Extraordinaire".
Stormy
Fleet
San Juan
Race for the Galaxy
Check those out.
Race for the Galaxy...
"Tradewars - Homeworld" (TWHW) is partially based on "San Juan": the roles available for selection on a player's turn.
Plus, although somewhat primitive in the case of "San Juan", the cards are also used for currency - in a more simple fashion. In TWHW there are nine (9) distinct types of resources - which will be used in expansions and other scenarios.
But definitely check out those two that Gabe suggests...
I was looking for a few examples of games that use a mechanic like this well. I know Cry Havoc does something like it. Star Trek: Panic has multi use as well. Are there any other good examples? Like card games where the cards are also the manna or something like that.
The members above have said some awesome examples. I would have said Race for the Galaxy, but someone tagged that one already. Other card games like Cardfight Vanguard (See BushiRoad), the old World of Warcraft CCG, even the new Vs. card game use cards for its natural ability and as potential resources. However, while ability/character cards can be resources, the (specialized) resources cannot be ability/characters, which can cause some issues if the decks are shuffled wrong.
I'm not a fan of one-trick-pony cards, but of course it depends on the situation. Magic The Gathering is famous for this, which is where terms like "Mana Starved" or "Mana Flooded" came to be. Still, you can't deny the popularity of Magic...so it works for them.
Though on the other hand, I do think that giving a card too many uses can end up confusing a player. It's like giving a player two choices as opposed to 7. Yes, the 7 choices will bring more to the table but 1) You will need to provide all the content for the choices (as well as the balance) and 2) when you have multiple cards with 7 choices, the web of exponential possibilities easily can stall a player into AP (Analysis Paralysis). Race for the Galaxy has been criticized for this, even though it's one of my favorite games...and their cards have just 3 uses (natural card abilities, currency, and goods).
My card game's (Conquest at Kismet) cards have 2 uses for each card, a) Their natural card ability and b) Can be used for combat. My resources are dealt with separately. When a player has their full hand, it becomes easy for them to quickly pick a or b, but give enough choices in their hand to make meaningful decisions. It also doesn't lock them to cards they can't play...they can shoot them off into the Combat Stack to add to their odds of a hit/miss.
In the end, it's balance, but of course it depends on what kind of audience you are making your game for. If you're hitting the hardcore group, cards with many uses can be optimal. But only give a player a few uses for a card and suddenly it becomes accessible to more people and easier to teach.
In my opinion it's already too much for a player to think about the strategy of 3-7 cards mixed in with the fact the cards may have more than 3 uses. Stick to 1 or 2 uses.
I looked at all the games listed and a few more. I am trying to get the card design to a point where all the info is easy to sort through. As of now, I have it where if you use it as currency, that happens in a different phase so it is seperate. The ones used to ad resources happen in the same phase so they are presented together. The abilities are text so the obviously are in a text box.
I am trying to keep from overloading the brain. What I have now I am pretty happy with after lookimg at all the games and learning from their design.
Unfortunately, you'll have to find that out by play testing. Even if the cards are used as currency in a separate phase, it still has potential to confuse the player.
"You mean the card is also used to pay for stuff?"
"But isn't the card money?"
"I thought you told me the cards were used for this"
Believe me, these are typical questions I get when I have this conversation with my students when they are building their games in my class...or when I teach them Race for the Galaxy, lol.
Blind play testing is the key, so your documentation through your rules will have to be on point.
Good luck.
Yeah, as with any idea, playtesting is key.
I'm currently working on a deck builder that has 2 main actions: fight & search. There are tons of cards that affect those 2 actions.
But there are 4 secondary actions that can be taken by discarding any card without using it.
This is my attempt to avoid the "mana starved" situation when a player really needs to do a specific thing but doesn't have the right cards.
Combat Commander - Pacific is the one I am familiar with. Cards are used as actions, events, dice, etc...
I'm currently working on a deck builder that has 2 main actions: fight & search. There are tons of cards that affect those 2 actions.
But there are 4 secondary actions that can be taken by discarding any card without using it.
This is my attempt to avoid the "mana starved" situation when a player really needs to do a specific thing but doesn't have the right cards.
That's a clever idea! Always having a set of options by just discarding any card helps players not feel stuck...I like that!
There's a new game I'm trying out on Tabletopia, but I think it's already published - called "In the Name of Odin". Cool looking Viking game, but your cards all have 2 symbols to show the dual use of each card. They can either be used to recruit Vikings, or for the actions of building/raiding. The symbols are clear enough, so there is no text on the cards at all.
Shadow Era is like MTG, only no resource/mana cards - any card in your hand can be discarded and become one resource point per turn. Of course that means you have to pick which cards to sacrifice for resources, and which to keep for playing.
That seems to be the trend with card games today...instead of having specific cards for resources (a la Magic), to offset Mana Starved and Mana Flood any card, placed facedown from the hand can be used as a resource. While that does offset Mana Flood/Starve, it can get pretty hard to sacrifice cards just to make them a resource.
"Adventure of D" uses cards for multiple purposes in a rather intuitive way. It's the basis for the whole game.
BGG Listing:
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/53840/adventure-d
Rahdo's Runthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjm8ap8XkcI&list=PLmQverenaaqLHsEDZHoqtR...
Sounds like Epic too. You only have 1 Gold per turn, gold does not accumulate per turn, many cards are Free to play and others require 1 Gold to play. So you can pay as many Free cards as you like and 1 Gold card per turn.
Sounds like Epic too. You only have 1 Gold per turn, gold does not accumulate per turn, many cards are Free to play and others require 1 Gold to play. So you can pay as many Free cards as you like and 1 Gold card per turn.
I really wanted to like Epic, but the almost removal of resource distribution to fix a well known Magic issue was just annoying.
Plus, it was obvious that is was made to compete directly with Magic, so it just felt like a Magic clone.
Sorry for going off topic...
The cards in lewis and clark are used 3 ways. Each has an action, a power, and a resource symbol. In order to do the action, you also must play another card in order to "power" that action - and you do the action a number of times according to how much power you gave it from another card. (You always play 2 cards). Finally, when someone performs an action that generates resources, they also generate resources according to which resource symbols are shown on cards that are already on the table.
BGG Listing:
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/53840/adventure-d
Rahdo's Runthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjm8ap8XkcI&list=PLmQverenaaqLHsEDZHoqtReMvNw9paVWk
Seeing this game reminded me of a football game I played a few years ago and really liked. Here's a how to play video about "Third & Long."
I'd suggest looking at Star Realms - many cards have a "scrap" option which does some powerful action but removes the card from play; others offer a choice of main effect, eg. generate HP or money as the player chooses. No movement option though.
Also Burgenland - cards can either be used as resources/currency in several different ways.
Just saw a review for another game with multi-use cards. "La Granja" does it in a really cool way in which the effect of the card changes based on where you place it on your player board.
Knizia's En Garde and Sirlin's adaptation Flash Duel have very simple cards numbered 1-5 that can then be used for multiple purposes (e.g. Move 1 forwards/backwards, Attack at range 1, or block an enemy attack from range 1). You could have very simple cards like this where each card represents a number/type of action point(s) that can then be used in multiple ways.
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Thanks for that reply.
I looked at all the games listed and a few more. I am trying to get the card design to a point where all the info is easy to sort through. As of now, I have it where if you,ise it as currency, that happens in a differwnt phase so it is seperate. The ones used to ad resources happen in the same phase so they are presented together. The abilities are text so the obviously are in a text box.
I am trying to keep from overloading the brain. What I have now I am pretty happy with after lookimg at all the games and learning from their design.