I have been working on a 2-player card game where both players start with the same deck and battle each other in 4 card hands. I designed the game with a medieval theme; Both players were kings leading their army of cards against each other. The medieval theme seemed cliche and overdone, so, with my brother's advice, I switched the theme to cops vs the mob. One players deck is cops, with card names that fit cops (officer, chief, informant) and one deck is the mob with card names that fit the mob (thug, boss, enforcer). I think this theme will help it stand out and my brother is currently working on some artwork.
I have two concerns:
- I am worried that decks with different themes but identical functioning cards will be confusing to players, both because a single function will have two different names, but also because decks with different themes suggest a difference that is not really there is the game play.
- A publisher will not want to double the amount of unique artwork, when he could by with less.
Do any of you have advice or insight? Is the increase in artwork and intuitiveness worth gaining a theme that stands out?
