Hi,

so, I've been here on this forum for a while, and I just realized that there is no sections for table top non digital games.

I'm looking into creating a card game, and I'm wondering where to start?

I have the design, but not sure where to go from there?

if anyone has any experience with making table top or card games, any insights would be HELPFUL

GeneralJist said:
I'm looking into creating a card game, and I'm wondering where to start?

Try this: https://sloperama.com/advice/lesson38.html​ (card game prototyping)

GeneralJist said:
I have the design, but not sure where to go from there?

If “make a prototype” doesn't answer your question, maybe https://sloperama.com/advice/lesson20.html​ will help (it's about board games but maybe…)?

I would make sure using advanced search and sort algorithms.

This is important because it's a very important distinction between a good card game and a bad one. If you use basic algorithms your grand design of game just goes to waste, and then it's just done wrong. Card games require better side of engineering to stay above in itself.

tcemalpaydin said:
I would make sure using advanced search and sort algorithms.

@tcemalpaydin , did you read the OP? He's talking about making a game with physical cards. Not an app.

Tom Sloper said:

tcemalpaydin said:
I would make sure using advanced search and sort algorithms.

@tcemalpaydin , did you read the OP? He's talking about making a game with physical cards. Not an app.

uhh I'm sorry, apologies, I was out and skimmed that last part too hastily unintentionally.

A better answer is to have a test group at the ready and use spares to print placeholders to perform test games until the design is final and all your decisions are made. One disadvantage in tabletop games is that it costs to make mistakes, and you keep every faulty step you produce, so if you have a lot of those then it's a whole big mess with a very big headache, such mistakes do result in dismissal of the project and the game.

Personally I would have a word document accompanied with an excel document at hand. Basically put up every detail in design in word and use the excel sheet for the detailed card designs or game mechanics depending on your design. Make sure you number your versions, just like a video game build, be systematic and follow simple procedure. If you wish, test out with disposable paper, print them and play with your friend group etc. Maybe give points to the mechanics you enjoy and want to keep, sculpt your gameplay to your desire. After 4-5 rounds of this you should have a pretty solid card game both in design and mechanics, possibly fair rock-paper-scissors mechanics too, if that's the kind of card game you're making.

The first thing that I did with our card game was to make a rapid OpenGL prototype of it.

As an aside:

You've likely never heard of the card game Kaiser, but some asshole copyrighted it, and if you make a Kaiser video game, you're likely to get a copyright infringement notice shoved in your face. The game comes from the Ukrainian settlers here in Saskatchewan, not some asshole from Dumbfuck, Saskatchewan.

taby said:
You've likely never heard of the card game Kaiser... The game comes from the Ukrainian settlers here in Saskatchewan,

Interesting page on Kaiser at https://www.pagat.com/pointtrk/kaiser.html​ (probably the preeminent site for card game rules).

If you want to make an app for that, and somebody trademarked (which is entirely different from copyright, which does not protect names) the name Kaiser, you could call it Three-Spot or Troika or one of the other names on that web page. If somebody hasn't trademarked those. If you want to discuss trademark law, you can do that in the Business and Law forum. I fear we've already derailed the general's thread about physical card games.

it's ok…

I'd like to trademark the PRODUCT, name, not sure if that's possible….

either way, I do have another question:

Does hand drawing make significant difference THAN digital drawing?(in this context)

By that I mean, I know a fine analog artist. ,but he's never done or learned digital art creation. I'd suspect it would make a difference in the work flow, but overall are the end products comparable?

Do I need to ask him to learn digital art tools?

GeneralJist said:
Does hand drawing make significant difference THAN digital drawing?(in this context) By that I mean, I know a fine analog artist. ,but he's never done or learned digital art creation. I'd suspect it would make a difference in the work flow, but overall are the end products comparable? Do I need to ask him to learn digital art tools?

What are you trying to find out, I mean why are you asking this? Of course something drawn by hand will look different than something created digitally. Isn't that an aesthetic choice that YOU should make? And are you asking about the final art for the physically printed cards? Or the art for the prototype cards? Your entire line of questioning is unclear as to what phase you are in, and that information informs us to give you an answer that can help you. You have the design for the game, but have you prototyped and playtested it? Are you just producing playtest prototypes now, or are you planning actual printing and manufacture, have you figured out the distribution and retail side of it already? If your question is “what kind of art should I give a printing house,” then you should ask a printer, ideally someone you might actually use for your printing and manufacture.