Living Card Game (LCG)

I thought this up last night while trying to fall asleep:

XTG: eXpandable Tabletop Game

As Tuism suggested, the term could be more *broad* than just for a card game (like in my case).

1. In terms of expandability, it would have to be a game that has been designed with "expandability" in mind. So the original game would be enhanced with new expansions.
2. The definition of "expansions" is meant to be something you would add to the "original game" in order to change the way the game plays or is played.
3. There is no card chasing, however we could state that the original game and future expansions could be designed with a collectable aspect such as original artwork. Although most games would fall in this category, I would say that the game would have a bigger production budget in terms of artwork.
4. When it comes to affordability, I think we should talk about "Game Value". This occurs with expandability and means that the original game has more value because expansions add to the initial game. Remember it's NOT two (2) games: original + expansion. It's a NEW game (where both original and expansion are used).
5. We use the term "Tabletop Game" which is meant to include board games (party, abstract, etc) in addition to card games. This would therefore encompass all types of social games that have an expandable concept.

I'm omitting any mention of tournament or league play simply because as stated, it would probably be possible to setup a game tournament using a round-robin approach or something similar.

Note: I think I am trying to achieve a different and OPEN terminology that can be used as opposed to coining an acronym only one company can use. As it was pointed out, having a term for something similar but that is more closely tied to a broader range of games, is more in the direction I was headed with this...

Well I think you need to take a better look at the definition of an XTG.

In particular, MOST card games are NOT Expandable. Things like Uno, Go-Fish, Old Maid, etc. Those are ALL "Card Games" also.

The other thing is board games like Settlers of Catan are NOT Graphically Intensive games. Most board games in truth are NOT Graphically Intensive games. Sure the board or tile, but this doesn't compare to a game that has over 100 pieces of individual artwork!

So if you take these cases and re-examine the various aspects I have proposed you can definitely site games that DO FIT into the category. An example is Munchkin especially with all their themes, makes for an Expandable Tabletop Game... Another would be of course Dominion.

Therefore I believe it is *wrong* to call it a "Card Game". It's more than a game made with cards, it's an Expandable game with a plethora of artwork! :P

I still think it needs a name...

You bring up a good point larienna. So your point is that expansions and the base set are the SAME. Meaning you could play the game with EITHER the expansion OR the base set.

In my particular case, such is NOT the case. An expansion is an add-on which changes how the original game is played. Good or bad, what this does is add value to the original (or base) set. That's what I am trying to achieve with my expansions: make the base set more valuable because newer ways of playing the game will exist at a later time.

So in your case base and expansion are DISTINCT games. Both can be played independently of each other. In my case, the goal being to add value to the base set, the expansion alters how the base set will be used (during play).

That means in your case base set and expansion are TWO (2) different games (fundamentally). In my case the base set and any expansion are still ONE (1) game with different styles of play.

So I think the point you bring up is a very good point. I think what matters is what you are trying to achieve in the end. Let's say the base set sells 5,000 copies, when a NEW expansion set comes out it may sell like 3,000 copies. However the base set may also sell MORE and add another 2,000 copies of the original game. I think that is part of the sales pitch: "Buy this today so that in a not too distant future you can play a different way..."

This has a MAJOR impact on the perceived VALUE of the base (or original) game. So when an expansion is sold, side-by-side with the original game, there are two (2) things that can happen:

1. A NEW player buys both the original game and the expansion.
2. An existing player buys only the expansion.

So each time there is an expansion, the possibility of selling more base (or original) game sets increases... Spreading the game further in terms of popularity. I think this is part marketing and sales strategy. Obviously the goal is to bring forth anew the original (or base) game... And sell more copies of it to new players!

Well here is what I made the logo look like.

I think the design is clean and illustrates modularity by the contrasting letters. I had both pieces as puzzle pieces - but it was too much. Just the separation in colour between the two made for a more clear logo.

Feedback/Comments welcome!

You bring up very good points. So now I have changed the logo to "Expandable" and "Tabletop Game". Those units make more sense and overall it improves/conveys the logic behind the logo.

So what you are saying is that "expansions" are OPEN to be developed by other designers but that the original game remains a separate licensed entity?

I'm all for other people being able to design other ways of "expanding" the game. That's part of the reason why I think it's interesting. It also adds more VALUE to the original game (because expansions rely on the original game). It would also boost the sales of the original game whenever somebody comes up with an intelligent expansion! :D

This is the opposite to what LCG, Living Card Game and FFG stand for. Their purpose is to have a registered trademark that may only be used by permission of FFG. So they want a "fancy" way of branding their products only.

I think another aspect of such a game would be to "attract" potential game designers! In a nutshell, designers who see the original "XTG" logo will recognize that this game was designed for expandability!

Why this is cool is because other designers who want to publish a game title might want to create a new way of playing the base game. And so it gives the product more attention (in general) than if it was a "Card Game" that had "Expansions".

The Original "XTG" logo is a direct license to design new expansions based on the game. Each expansion should be branded using the "expandable" logo (to let people know that the game was designed for another game)!

I think I need to think more about how to manage the "expandable" portion of things. There need to be some standard that can be used as reference as well as some requirements. For example, the "expandable" XTG logo must be place on the back cover or cover of the game's box. Things like that...