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Grid style card game

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jedite1000
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Hi there, I'm currently working on a new type of card game, well i only have come up with around 5% so far but here is my idea, also anything that will help me is appreciated

I haven't decided on a theme yet but i might go with superheroes

anyway, the way this game works is i would like it to have as little components as possible but i don't want it like a traditional card game like atk this and atk that kill card. I've made enough of them and i want to try something a little different. It is a little confusing though as what i want to achieve. I don't want it to play like a traditional TCG game but i don't want it to play like a board game either. I want the cards as the only components but are used like a board game movement piece.

So I'll just tell you what I'm planning and we can figure out what to do afterwards

The cards are like any other card game with atk, hp, name etc but the card has something else which ill call attack pattern. it is a symbol on the card which tells you what area your card will attack on the grid. so let's say i place my card on the grid field and it has a pattern of 4 blocks going horizontal, of the opponent is on any of those pattern blocks then it will take damage. If you played any RPG grid style combat system you should understand where I'm going with this, a better example is the Southpark fbw game, it has a grid style combat system. which possibly where i got the idea from.

Anyway as i said before i want only the cards as the only component, so that is one of the problems i ran into, how can i have a grid style card game that you must have a grid board on the table so you can see where to place your cards, so is it possible to have that type of combat mechanic without using a board? like is there in an alternative, i figured it might be too confusing for the players if there is no grid guide to help them. But if there is no possible way to play this type of game without a board then ill might have to suck it up and use the board.

So with the board out of the way, i would like to explain how the cards work

So far here are the stats i want on the card

Name = duh
Class icon = a class system might make the cards more variable
ATK = either have the attack numbers 1 to 2 digits or 2 to 3 digits or 3 to for digits so the attacks are either in the 1s the 100s or the 1000s
HP = same deal as the ATK
MOVE = this will be the number of spaces the card can move per turn, will only be like 1 to 5 depending how big the field space would be
SPEED = this is what will make the game a little different from other traditional type card games. you and your opponent will still take turns moving and placing your cards on the field, however, if a card is moved or placed in the area the opponent can attack then the speed will determine who will attack first which will play out automatically

So this is all i can come up with for now, here is a little image which i hope can explain a bit about what I'm doing.

Right now this is the roughest stage of my game and it can change a lot

X3M
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A possible direction

Small grids are your only choice if you allow placement to be anywhere.

You can have a bit bigger grid. If you allow placement to revolve around something that has been placed. In other words, right next to another card. Or at least 1 space in between. Horizontal or diagonal.

You simply increase the size of the grid with what you place. But you will always be limited in the distance to what has been placed.

let-off studios
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Created Grid

Why not try designing a game where the grid is built as you place cards? A placement rule (perhaps the only placement rule) is that if there's at least one card already on the field, you must place your next card adjacent to one of those cards.

If cards are removed from the grid for some reason and there are segments that no longer touch one another in a grid, choose one axis (forward/backward or left/right) and rejoin them in a single grid by moving all cards in a segment in that direction.

You may decide that only the card just placed makes an attack, but it might be interesting to see what happens when grid segments are rejoined this way, and if that triggers additional effects.

You can also set limits on how wide or how long a grid can reach, which will limit where cards can be placed in certain situations. Say for example your grid width limit is 6 cards. If placing a card in a certain position would make a grid 7 cards wide, it's an illegal placement, and they'll have to choose somewhere else.

If you try something like this, you may not need a board and at the same time you can prevent the game from sprawling all over the tabletop.

questccg
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Interesting Spatial idea!

This sort of reminds me of "The Duke". Here is a picture of some of the tiles used in that game:

I'm not sure about how their "syntax" works... It's a bit more complex than your version... But you can research the game further to better understand how each tile works!

AND I forgot to mention, each tile has TWO SIDES. And I believe that when you move, you flip over that tile for your next turn (not 100% certain about this... I know they are dual-sided - but not sure under what conditions you turn them over...)

Cheers.


Here is the backside of each of those game tiles:

Really a very interesting game which is played on something like a "chess" board...

jedite1000
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I have just come up with a

I have just come up with a new mechanic but doing so i might have to get rid of the attack pattern mechanic or at least tone it down

So each card unit has links on the side of the template, and once linked to another hero with the same coloured link, both heroes gain a bonus ability

So take my first 2 units, the shadow ninja and demon dog

shadow ninja ability lets him teleport to any empty square on the field and while demon dog does not have an ability on its own, it gains one when linked to the shadow ninja, so the shadow ninja when using his ability can take the demon dog with him when he teleports, as long as there are 2 open spaces that can fit both cards. the demon dog can attack which causes the bleed effect.

The effects are another mechanic which should be self-explanatory, bleed units lose 1 hp per turn and shocked units cant attack. the effects would most likely not stay on the unit for long, i think 3 turns is long enough until the effects disappear

So as i mentioned previously the attack pattern will most likely disappear instead i might make it a little simpler, such as the melee heroes can only attack 1 squares from itself so it can attack on all directions. The range classes such as mages can attack any square except for the melee squares so if an enemy is right next to the ranged hero then it cannot attack it. I could restrict the classes even more so example assassins can attack all directions but warriors can only attack above and mage can attack all spaces except for melee but archers can only attack 2 blocks apart. i probably would make another icon determining which hero can attack which space.

Another thing, if your hero is linked to another hero on the left of itself then that hero cannot attack left units unless its a range. Which kind of makes melee heroes more restricted than range heroes. Any way to make it work so its fair for all class types?

i posted another image to give you an idea what the links are

jedite1000
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I just uploaded a 3rd image,

I just uploaded a 3rd image, its just a rough template of the card, i created the template now just so i can see where everything would go. I am nowhere near the design phase of the game

so here is the shadow ninja, and i want some help on what i should have or take away.

So the name, of course, needs to stay

top left is the cards class, there would be lots of other classes and there is a hidden rule for each class which ill explain later

on the top right is the movement icon, this determines how many spaces the hero can walk

The white box in the middle is reserved for the character image. Not sure if i should use a box for the character or no box and just make the character larger so it can cover most of the card.

Under the box is the cards ability. Some cards will have no ability on its own while others will.
Under the ability is the linked ability. some cards will come with 1 link while others will come with 2,3 or 4 and will be on any of the 4 sides of the card

You will need to have the same coloured link on the adjacent card for it to have a successful link and able to use the link ability

On the bottom, left is the stats
ATK is the damage onto the card
HP is the hitpoints of the card
and SPD is the speed how fast the card can attack

So there are 3 or so phases so far

the first phase is the summon phase, you get to play 1 card from your hand
Next phase is the movement phase. you can choose to move your cards or not. on the 3rd phase is the attack phase. when you are on the path of the enemy card then you can attack and whichever card has the highest spd will attack first. There is also another rule i just thought of.

If you move your hero to a space that is in the line of sight of the enemy card then your movement phase ends and you must go into attack phase

AS for the hidden rule for the classes. each different class have an attack pattern, so this is where it might get confusing for some people, should i have something on the card that determines the class attack pattern or should i just have it hidden and write it down in the rule book so players can read which class can do what

So example, the assassin class is a melee class and can only attack 1 space around the hero, to clarify the assassin attack pattern is 4 squares around itself.

More examples, the warrior class can only attack 1 space in front of itself

range classes such as mages can attack 2 squares around itself while the archer can only attack 2 spaces in front of itself

Oh also the battlefield grid is most likely would be 3x5, 6 grids on both side of the field and 3 grids in the middle so the 6 grids are your safe zones and your opponent cannot move to your space unless with a special ability. range classes can still attack your safe zones though.

So with that in mind, do you think i should have a limit to how many cards can link to each other, should there be no limit so lets say you have 6 cards on the field and they all match up with the colored links, and all of them have a bonus link effect, it will be extremely hard to get 6 linked cards on the field but do you think it will be too overpowered?

Edit: added 3 more cards to show you the variety of the cards that will be in the game. The abilities and stats are just to show you and might not make it into the actual game

Would this be a game you be interested in? im open to suggestions as long as it doesnt change the core mechanic of the game, such as the link system

The main suggestion i would like is, how would i win? as i dont have a win condition yet. It would be good if it has multiple win conditions but i doubt it can

Ill need some feedback so i can continue on with my game, ive stopped until i get some feedback

edit 2: anyone?

questccg
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You could simply do like Xeko!

Xeko Trading Card game has up to THREE (3) colors per side. And when you place cards on the table, your card must line up with the correct colors to be played in that position.

I can't remember the rules of combat (too bad). It was an interesting game to say the least!

Cheers.

I think when there is no colors on a side, ANY other card may be played next to that card... Not 100% sure about the rules. I've been trying to find more information about this game ... because it's kinda cool.

jedite1000
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That's cool, hopefully mine

That's cool, hopefully mine plays out differently

Will it be something people would be interested in? like its not a tcg or anything its just a box with grid board and cards. Down the track if people enjoy it i can bring out expansions cards

Like its not like a traditional card game with i attack your monster its dead. well this does have kind of the same thing with attack you and kill this but you get to move around the board.

jedite1000
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Any feedback would be great,

Any feedback would be great, i don't really want to continue until i get some more criticism and feedback

I won't make the same mistake this time ill be, ill listen to anyone for improvements and changes are welcome except for the main mechanic

Ok, since I'm not getting many responses i decided to go ahead and come up with a card template design

So i went ahead and tried out a card template, ive done the link colors and all, would like some feedback which do you prefer the rustic grungy look or the plain grey template

https://imgur.com/a/tykGA

X3M
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I would prefer the rusty

I would prefer the rusty look.
Imho Grey is rather boring.

Unknown Depths
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Environmental Interactions?

It would be very easy to introduce environmental elements / gameplay mechanics in a game structured like this. I'd like to suggest thinking about how card movement could be impacted by environmental elements (in the forms of obstacles, enhancements, and/or others) that could be indicated on a game board or tiles included with the game. There may even be mechanics that could be created to include environmental interactions directly on the cards themselves, if the designing the mechanics leads you towards getting rid of the game board.

This is an interesting concept and has certain design elements that reminds me of the game I have been crafting away at slowly (albeit used in extremely different ways). Keep at this. I'm interested in seeing how it develops.

jedite1000
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Yeah, i was thinking players

Yeah, i was thinking players can place down obstacle cards like guard tower or walls, they have 0 movements so they cant move. but it doesn't fit with my theme very well, as these characters are heroes, not medieval characters, which i seem to keep doing. i have to remember not to create medieval or monster character cards.

I haven't created the characters yet but i plan on drawing chibi style character as they don't require a lot of details and i don't want to spend too long drawing each character.

Another problem i am running into is the core mechanic the links. I want the characters to move around the grid but once i link to another card why would i want to move that card again since i will lose that cards bonus effect.

It is a 3x5 grid so there is not much movement anyway. I guess i can make it like this, all cards i play must be placed on a certain square first before i can move that card on the grid. so instead of placing a card anywhere on the grid, they have to be placed on a starting sqaure first then they would have to move first

jedite1000
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Hmm, there always seems to be

Hmm, there always seems to be a problem with my card designs, with all my games they just do not look professional enough, I've been using photoshop, but i think i rely on too much of different rectangular shapes and circles. How does one create a professional looking card template

Is it my lack of creativity?

Here are the designs of my previous card game which went through 3 different game revamps. Looking back, it is just not good enough

https://imgur.com/a/Mlsv7

Here is a card design i found on another forum created by a member
https://boardgamegeek.com/article/27390592#27390592

It just looks so much better than my childish designs, even though the card had some criticism is still liked it, the creator designed it to look even better but i still liked the first one so much too

I just can't make them like other creators can

Guess the lack of confidence in myself always hinders my abilities

questccg
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Find a graphic designer

Worry about your game... And let a graphic designer worry about the card template. Just like you let an illustrator or artist worry about art.

As a game designer, your job is to make an awesome GAME. And if that means b&w with no art - that's fine for a prototype...

The way things look - or how you want them to look... Is secondary to the game. I think you are focusing on esthetics when you should be worried with functionality...

Keep working on the GAME and its DESIGN.

Cheers mate!

jedite1000
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I am a graphic designer. sort

I am a graphic designer. sort of, i just finished my course last year.

I like to do everything by creating and designing the game, it's more fun for me

Anyway, If Linking colours have a negative effect on movement, is there any point of moving a card, like yeah you will need to move the cards to the other cards on the field to link them but once you have, is there any point on moving the cards again? this is what I'm having trouble with. Is there a way to have the 2 mechanics work with each other or even combine them somehow to form a new mechanic?

Maybe just make 2 card link only sort of like partner power boost or something i dunno

jedite1000
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Im going to delay testing for

Im going to delay testing for now as i want to improve the link mechanic, can anyone help me with this

It is the only thing that is stopping me moving forward. Since cards can move around the board i feel that linking to other cards are useless, like why would you want to move your card again after you link to another card with a powerful link combo. It's like you don't want to move your card again, i guess its makes for a good defence for not letting opponent cards reach your side but still i would like my cards to move around a lot and not just move to a linked card and that it, im not moving the card again

dnddmdb
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Scattershot Comments

Hey, looks like you have some momentum which is good. A few things (in no particular order. Sorry):

Early on you said that the theme is still uncertain. If so, you can ditch the superhero thing if you want to go medieval to incorporate the walls and towers idea. Or you could make the obstacles more superhero-worthy, like a Laser Defense Grid, a Toxic Wasteland, an Insurmountable Mountain, etc. But I think the obstacle idea is cool.

I think you could take or leave the attack pattern idea. I think it might be neat to use. As for balancing the melee vs ranged heroes, I would say you could lower the stats on the Ranged heroes by some amount, which would probably compensate for them being much more versatile.

Links:
I think linking between multiple cards sounds manageable, but if they all give each other tons of effects it might get hard to keep track of.
For movement: why not have them move together? They could move using the lowest movement among them, which could be a drawback on linking two cards. But maybe they would both attack at the highest card's speed? Just some ideas.

Graphic Design/Art:
I think there are some things you should consider on this front: as questccg said, if you're trying to design a game, that should come first. I would recommend getting the rules figured out and everything before worrying too much about the design of the cards or the art. But I know that that might be an enjoyable aspect of coming up with the cards, so I understand.
However, you say that you don't want to spend too much time on the drawings, so maybe it would be best to just ignore them for now. Or if you want to do a quick design just to add a feel for the game, don't worry about it coming out as a professional product. You're still figuring out the rest of the game. It's a long road ahead. So don't get discouraged about the art. In the future either you can do it and can really take some time to nail the art, or you can hire someone to do the art for you.
As for the "professionalism" of the other cards you pointed out, I think a lot of that comes down to shading and detail in the card. If you look at the other example you posted of the card you liked, you can see detail and shading that make the card look more 3-dimensional. The icons that list the stats look 3-dimensional. Maybe experiment with shading, gradients and effects like that to make your designs pop. Although I'm the farthest thing from an artist there is.
I guess all I'm saying is if you're worried about your art right now: don't. There's time for that later. It's okay if you like designing the cards, in which case please do what you enjoy, but don't beat yourself up over it not looking amazing right now. You'll improve, and there are still other options.

I guess as far as your links, let the linked cards move around. They like to link because they get power boosts, and they like to move because they need to in order to be in range of places to attack. Does that solve your issue?

Finally, for a win condition: maybe you need to just control most of the board? Or have your heroes move to all the corners of the board to collect items? Maybe the heroes can link to some special "heart" card that represents the player's life force, and they have to keep it away from the enemy heroes? Hope this helps.

Best,
Dan

jedite1000
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Wow this is the kind of help

Wow this is the kind of help I look me to see, I’m at the cinema right now so can’t do anything but when I get home I’ll work on it

questccg
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Collection of ideas

dnddmdb wrote:
...I think there are some things you should consider on this front: as questccg said, if you're trying to design a game, that should come first. I would recommend getting the rules figured out and everything before worrying too much about the design of the cards or the art. But I know that that might be an enjoyable aspect of coming up with the cards, so I understand...

Does it ever feel like you have a "collection of ideas"??? For me, it seems like I want to use this "mechanic here" and that "element there" (like the mathematical operations) ... but nothing FIRM. It's just like filling in the blanks... But it's sort of "whimsical".

Like in my mind I can picture it working ALL TOGETHER. But in reality I don't have a prototype, nor do I have a rulesheet, etc. The biggest problem is getting everything to work together...

Anyway I too understand as a "graphic designer" you would want to design the layout of your cards. But that too takes time - and your primary focus should be on the game. No game, no need to design layouts...

But I think like myself, you have pieces (collection of ideas) and you can picture it working all together ... minus a few blank areas here and there...

Cheers!

jedite1000
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I think i might have to scrap

I think i might have to scrap the link mechanic, i just cant seem to make it work right for this type of game, i still want it to be cards that move around on a grid but its too plain now, i have no idea how to make it more unique since the link mechanic did that

I have another idea for my grid movement card game without the link mechanic, ill create another post now with info on new type of game. stay tuned

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