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Creating Card Game For Once-Off Production

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Leeton
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Joined: 04/28/2013

I'm looking to create a card game for a friend's birthday and while I've got the idea mostly ready, I'm struggling on how to actually do it. I obviously want the price to stay as low as possible, but I don't want it to be terrible.

I'm thinking of buying blank trading cards and just drawing straight onto them, which would add to the uniqueness - would ebay be a safe bet or is there anywhere else that would sell them with good quality? I'm from Ireland so the P&P will also come into play, which is why I'm also working hard to try and source what I need locally, but so far there's been no joy with that.

Where I'm really struggling though is to find a box for them. Again, I'd want a blank one that I can draw the design directly onto.

As for the rule book, my computer and printer should do.

So can anyone help me find a good place to find these things? I'd be happy to buy in (relative) bulk as I intend to do this for other friends too, so I'm open to single or multiple purchases. Any help you guys could give me would be great, I'm fairly new and lost in this! Gone are my days of stick men on napkins...

Stormyknight1976
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Joined: 04/08/2012
Check out The Gamecrafter.

Check out Thegamecrafter.com or any of the "thegamecrafter" here on the board forums.

Gilmok
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Joined: 03/09/2010
Index cards

When I make game prototypes I just buy packages of 3x5 Index cards (a package of 100 costs around $0.50 at Wal-Mart). Cut them in half and you have a pretty good size card for holding. I usually then just write the necessary text on the cards.

You could also print the text and glue it onto the card if you want to go the extra mile (this would make the card thicker and easier to shuffle, too).

Stormyknight1976
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Joined: 04/08/2012
3x5 cards

I am using the same method for my prototype card game. Been using this method for a long time. I have drawn on graph paper 9 wide x 14 down. This is the same size as a yugioh card template on graph paper.

dabuel
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Joined: 04/13/2010
Hi! For all my card games I

Hi!
For all my card games I use card sleeves. Then you can print the card on regular paper and just put them into the sleeve. Can add a nice backside by printing as well. Looks good and is very durable!

MikeyNg
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Joined: 07/12/2012
Game Crafter

For the box - you probably want to look at gamecrafter
The ideas for prototyping the cards here are fine - but it sounds like you want a bit more. Again, try gamecrafter for the cards. I've also heard of people using artscow.
you may also want to look at nanDECK to help you design the cards and create files you can provide to either gamecrafter or artscow

Finally: depending on how much sweat equity you want to put in - you could always get them printed at a local printer and do some of the labor (cutting out cards) yourself.

Leeton
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Joined: 04/28/2013
thegamecrafter

Thanks for all the responses, guys.

I'm looking at thegamecrafter.com and it looks perfect for what I need. Is the quality of product good? Compared to a game you'd buy in the shop, what's the comparison?

questccg
questccg's picture
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Joined: 04/16/2011
TGC is your best bet

Leeton wrote:
I'm looking at thegamecrafter.com and it looks perfect for what I need. Is the quality of product good? Compared to a game you'd buy in the shop, what's the comparison?

The quality is supposed to be *superior* as in resistant to shuffling. Someone told me he had a prototype deck for 2 years and the appearance still looked great. They use some king of clay coating, not sure if it is on the paper or a post-print process, to make the cards more resistant.

If you want HIGHER quality cards well then you can use: http://customizedplayingcards.com

Everything is made custom there and you would need to get a quote to know how much it will cost you and how many runs you want to make... But I think for your purposes TGC is the better choice, especially if you want to order only 1 or 2 games. The other link is for designers that want *casino* quality cards (Even more resistant).

vIQleS
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Joined: 05/24/2013
Bit more expensive, but for

Bit more expensive (possibly), but for quality cards, check your local magic shop (or online). They'll sell you a deck of blank bicycle cards. They're really good quality and fan really nicely, making it easy to shuffle etc...

E.g.: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/810

frankgallagher
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Joined: 06/09/2013
Maybe this?

http://www.makeplayingcards.com/promotional/blank-playing-cards.html

I found this site looking for the same thing as you. Haven't tried them yet. Prices look pretty low, maybe worth a try.

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