How do you call "spells" in sci-fi? (SOLVED)

Psychic/psyker powers are common as seen in Warhammer 40K. If you wanted it to feel more magicky you could call it cosmic power/energy, mutations, warp abilities or some mix of those.

To really get a feel for the best name I'd say it'd be worth figuring out the source of the power in your universe.

Why don't you make a list of all the things that you can do, and see if someone can come up with a term that might adequately describe them all?

The theme-appropriate name will depend on the context.

Are these cards usable once (like a D&D spell or MtG sorcery) or repeatedly (more like an "item")?

Are these cards dealt/chosen once at the beginning of play (a "fixed" trait), or only at well-marked phases (an "upgrade"), or drawn and discarded constantly?

Personally, I'd prefer cards that are drawn and discarded constantly to represent the random opportunities and constraints of combat... which lends itself more to actions, maneuvers and take-that obstacles. Magic-themed games can make up some BS about what is possible at any given moment, so it could work there, too. But a card like Energy Beam seems a bad fit for sci-fi because it represents something that ought to be an obvious physical part of a mecha.

Just seems like big metal bolt-on mecha modules should be more-or-less fixed for the duration of a combat, and furthermore should generally be face-up on the table. Switching these up between battles is fine (MechWarrior did this with OmniMechs). Things that could plausibly be hidden work fine as a hand of cards (e.g., special ammo, higher-performance engine, maybe jump-jets), and there's no reason you couldn't have both in the same game.

For my game "TradeWorlds", I am using "Tactic" cards and they are obtained from the "Research Facility". They work much like Magic "Instant" cards. And usually played during a Space Battle to alter the outcome of the battle in some way.

But then there was the need for "Special Abilties" for Starships, so I came up with the name "Retrofits". Meaning that the "Ability" is configured onto the starship AFTER it has been built. Much like a "Car-Mod", this is a "Starship-Mod".

So I think you need to work with the context of each "Space-related" card.

There is no absolute like "Spells" in Sci-Fi games. Spells by definition belong to Fantasy themed games. And I guess in Sci-Fi, they are ALL a type of "Technology" even if you want another term.

Maybe since your game is about Robots, how about "Robotics"? Just an idea...

Just wanted to give you some "context"...

Also you can have a "Basic Attack" and an "Advanced Tactic" per robot... These terms might also be more suitable - not sure. You're welcome to use them if you think they apply...

If you're looking for a generic name, much like 'spells' I'd simply go with plain ol' "Powers" which is broad enough to cover everything while still being clear.

Well, as stated before, this really depends on if you want a literal magic or mystic feel, or if this is simply some kind of temporary power or ability. If the former, there are literal examples of "space magic" like the force in Star Wars, but I don't think that's what you are thinking. For temporary combat modifications or abilities, you could call them powers, enhancements, tech, upgrades, modifier, ability, code, binary, software, malware, command, strategy, science, research, skill, etc. Or you can center it around something like a scientific magic feel like a tesseract or something. It really depends on the feel of the game and what the source of the power is: thr robot's hardware, software, skill level, or an external source. Hopefully something here helps :)

-Austin