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Anyone play card games? Anything from CCGs like Magic to board games with cards, like Dominion, to card-based video games like Culdcept.

I play Magic casually and Dominion, and I've been lurking around http://www.sirlin.net/ and http://boardgamegeek.com/ to follow what's going on because it's interesting. Oh, and http://magicthegathering.com/. There's something very appealing about cards and how designers create games around them.

I know some people on the forums have designed their own games, too (I think Dom2d was working on one that looked pretty cool?). Anyway, curious about people's experiences and about what's out there.

I love Dominion. I play about once every two weeks with my bro and friends. It's an awesome game. I used to play magic, but I haven't played in a long while.

I've always wanted to make a card game. I think it would be a nice challenge.

I like Pokemon.

 :-X If you play Magic or any cards game like that, or you play Zelda or any RPGs, you are henceforth shunned from responding negatively.

I like Magic and other such CCGs but can't afford to play them with any regularity and don't know anyone who just plays for fun.

I tried to make a simple card game for the Versus compo and as a computer game it wasn't so great, but I played a couple rounds with a hard copy at an indie meetup and got some great feedback and input. I'd like to revisit it sometime, as the game was simple but had a lot of potential.

I used to play quite a bit of Magic, and have often thought of getting back into it, but then I look at the recent cards which always look incredibly silly (colored artifacts?  Not in MY MtG!)

I've played Dominion a few times and enjoyed it.

Also, the game Bang! is fantastic.

I got pretty big into Dominion about two months ago because I found some coworkers playing it in the office. It was pretty fun to play, and the idea that one doesn't need to buy a bunch of booster packs to keep up was very appealing (although, the base set and each of the expansions were pretty pricey).

I don't go to the following site much anymore (I've consciously made myself stop because I was spending too much time there), but there's a free online version of Dominion available: http://dominion.isotropic.org/

It's got all of the cards, all from the base set and each of the expansions (including Cornucopia, Farming Village is awesome), it sets up the board for everyone and afaik, the rules are all followed correctly (I'm curious about the wording of Trusty Steed on isotropic, but maybe I read it wrong before).

Personally, I've always found it difficult to get into card games. The entry level to card games is generally quite high, and typically expensive.   :(
For me, it's also always been difficult finding people to play with.(keep in mind I live in a very sparsely populated area, inhabited mostly by retirees.)

But, I used to play YuGiOh, and Magic always interested me.

I've played a lot of Race for the Galaxy, and I highly recommend it.
(There was a card competition for one of the expansions, and a card I designed was chosen- image (http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic693303.jpg); this I'm quite proud of.)
Also a lot of Dominion and recently I've been getting into Magic (though avoiding the trap of buying lots of boosters).

I've tried designing a card game a few times, and I found it a lot harder than videogames!  The challenge of keeping the rules simple enough for people to remember and follow, while making it interesting to play and distinct from what's gone before is.. well, challenging.  I'll try again soon, I think.

I have played a lot of Citadels with friends. I think it is great card game and relatively easy to learn as well and has good base for all kinds of plotting against each other etc.  >:D
Dominion is quite fun but IMO not as great as people usually say.

From trading card games I have only played Pokemon with my little sister :P

Tyrant on kongregate is a nice card game. He's not very strategic but he's pretty good for a free game

I used to play a lot of traditional card games as a kid, like 3-5-8, Thousand, Mau Mau, etc. But I guess that was mostly because I often found myself in situations where there were a bunch of other bored kids and a deck.

As for the CCG style games, there's Kongai on Kongregate. It was designed by Sirlin, and is similar in art style (dunno about gameplay) to his other card games.
I was meaning to play it more than just the 10 minutes I did, just to see all the stuff he's always on about in his articles, like balance, elegant design, etc., but just couldn't get into it.
I guess the tactile element, as well as being able to gloat in your opponent's face or punch it should he gloat too much, is too important to me in a card game.

I play some Citadels from time to time, great party game (it has to be a relatively small and quiet party though).
I played a lot of Magic some 6-7 years ago, until I realised it's not cheaper than tabletop war games at all.

I play Magic here (mostly online these days), and Munchkin in social group settings.  I used to play Lunch Money a lot during high school (had a library assistant class, so lots of free time).

Ho yes, card games are awesome! (As are all other board games. I have to admit, I like board games more than computer games.)

If you like Dominion and you are into fantasy, I suggest taking a look at Thunderstone (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/53953/thunderstone).
To quote from one of the reviews:
...yes :)


What I also really like is Hex Hex XL (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/79067/hex-hex-xl), a mean-spirited and fast stab-a-friend-in-the-back type pass-the-hot-potato game. The hot potato in question is the magical hex, and you and your friends are mages passing and deflecting it, so it explodes at somebody else. It's been an all-time-favourite in my collection, and I never had a group who didn't like it. A fantastic review for the first edition can be found here (http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/352624/perfect-for-misanthropes).

Space Hulk: Death Angel is a great co-op/solo card game. It's mechanically pretty different from its big boardgame cousin but shares some basic concepts like planning ahead and luck management. The production values are some of the highest I've seen in a card game. The art is great and atmospheric throughout (even if some of it is recycled) and there are like six different card types, each with a completely different design.

I used to play MTG quite a bit as a kid but stopped because it became too expensive a hobby to maintain alongside vidgams. I also play stuff like Uno and Texas Hold Em occasionally for social reasons.
 ;)

may not exactly count, but the snes game arcana was a card-themed rpg -- every character and enemy took the form of a card. it didn't have the mechanics card based games have, it was just a visual theme, but it still looked nice -- the cards were torn up when someone was defeated, etc.

(http://www.flyingomelette.com/reviews/snes/screens/arcanabintel.gif) (http://www.flyingomelette.com/reviews/snes/screens/arcanadraven.gif)

I used to love playing Magic as a kid and had a lot of fun with it. But there was a key event that made me stop playing. That was the day when both, my friend and me, realized that we'd been spending the last months armsracing cards for our weekly duels.
Magic kept on introducing gimmick cards which had very specific mechanics and counters which of course you'd only find in their latest themed expansion boosters. And we walked right into that trap.

:-X way to waste my life.

I play a lot of Euro-style games and I must say that the bean-trading card game called Bohnanza is my favorite  :-*

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11/bohnanza.  

A brilliant supply and demand mechanic drives the game.  It supports 7 players as well!  It's also cheap  :handthumbsupR: :handthumbsupR:  which is rare for these types of games.

Man, Bohnanza is awesome! Weird how they didn't change the name for the English version though. They could have easily renamed it to "Beananza" and kept the pun.


Speaking of Euro-style games, I really love the Catan Card Game. (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/278/catan-card-game) It's pretty slow and deliberate and only supports two players, so it doesn't have a lot "party appeal", but it's more complex and strategic than the boardgame and the myriad expansions give it a good deal of variety.

A surprisingly deep game I played (many moons ago) was Vampire: The Masquerade.  Yeah yeah, based on the roleplaying game with vampires etc, but you may be surprised.  The gameplay rules were pretty damn balanced and I gotta say, I've played dozens of CCGs (at least) but it's still the one that sticks in my mind most.  It was the kinda game that didn't confuse "depth" with "complexity", which is a common sad mistake in most games.

I dunno, it could totally suck nowadays, but way back then it was pretty cool.

I enjoy Knightmare Chess (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knightmare_Chess), which is a chess variant using cards to affect how the game plays. It's a nice entertaining leveller for when two players of varying ability want to play a more even game of chess with each other.

Oh wow, Knightmare Chess is really interesting. I've never heard of anything like that before!


I have heard of this. I definitely might pick this up, especially since it's got a singleplayer mode to dick around with. Plus, it's Warhammer.

I like one-time-buy card games.

Fluxx is a really cool game that involves meta-rules. Each card you play alters the rules of the game.

Mag-Blast is a really cool tower defense-like game where you build ships to protect yourself and destroy opponents in your sector.

In terms of TCG I suck awfully at Magic: The Gathering and I think I played Pokemon once when I was 6.

I actually think it's more fun in singleplayer than multiplayer, one of those rare cases in the analog gaming world. Keep in mind that even in MP it's pure co-op, so the mechanics don't change.

One thing I was wondering about the co-op... does it actually feel like you're making your own moves? I imagine that players would want to plan out their actions together before slapping the cards down, but so much of the fun of card games comes from not knowing what the other players are going to do.

That's exactly the game's problem in co-op and why it's better in singleplayer. You can play with rules that forbid communication between players, but that makes for a pretty awkward and unfun playing experience, as you can probably imagine.
;)

Pro tips:


The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game (2011)
http://youtu.be/PYpAn4qZHB0

Yomi (2011)
http://youtu.be/L0NBmJTW_hM

Inanimate recently showed me LackeyCCG (http://www.lackeyccg.com), an engine made for card games. You can play Magic or many other CCGs online, and you can construct your deck with whatever cards you feel like, so it's a nice way to play CCGs even if you're completely broke.

Also, all nomics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomic) are 100% baller.

Paths of Glory (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/91/paths-of-glory) is a very good card driven wargame. I once tried a few turns of Here I Stand (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17392/here-i-stand) which was also fun, and much more than about just war (and quite complex) (guess I should mention Twilight Struggle (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12333/twilight-struggle) too, but I actually never played it; it is the current top-ranked game on bgg though, taking the card-driven wargame concept and doing something not quite about war, and it seems to have worked very well).

Fields of Fire (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22877/fields-of-fire) is a very good solitaire card-game, but a bit too time-consuming (more or less an entire weeknight to complete a scenario), so I haven't played much since playtesting.

Guardians (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2132/guardians) is a great (but long out of print) CCG that deviates pretty far from typical MTG-like mechanics. It's actually more of a "boardgame with cards" if that makes any sense. The cards contain lots of high-quality art and 90s nerd humor, if you're into that kinda thing.

I've heard Guardians is not fun, but the card art is indeed gorgeous. The 90's nerd humor... I could really do without, though.

I tried playing guardian with someone who had quite a collection and it was pretty boring. Style over substance imo.

Forgot to mention Munchkin. Pretty fun "dungeoncrawler" game with humoristic characters, items etc. Great fun.

I love bohnanza and also munchkin.

I really wish there was a place to play munchkin online as I never have groups to play with in real life.

Also has anyone here tried Wizard101. its a free to play MMO (the first little bit it free anyways) and you are a wizard who builds a spell deck to battle monsters. basically imagine a tone downed version of Magic the gathering played in an MMO. its pretty fun and actually very kid friendly. https://www.wizard101.com/start I have a level 10 ice wizard

There is a contest on Instructables about toys. I am debating whether to enter "Make your own card game" or "Make custom playing cards", and ideas?

do what your heart tells you.

I was just browsing around Boardgamegeek and discovered that there was a Sim City CCG in the 90s. The cards look absolutely amazing:
(http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic470175_md.jpg)

I've decided to develop a card game. It's about tower building... More deets later. I'll post pictures when I get the cards printed for sure!

@CAS

Those sim city cards look very neat.. Interesting. I like the pictures.

I'm willing to bet the guy on the top left card is one of the game's designers.

Munchkin is great.  The learning curve is quite low, although you will appreciate the game's humor the most if you have prior background in DnD/other RPGs.  Nothing like a game where the primary objective is to screw over your friends :) .

It's also a party game, so you'll also need to play it with at least four players (preferrably more) to get the most fun out of it. Getting as many of the myriad expansions as possible (and using them all together) is advised as well.

I wish more RPGs had that kind of silly humor that munchkin does. there is a game that's kind of similar called Those Pesky Humans (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHQNrt4FE3o) with dungeon crawling it looks pretty awesome, but its not a card game. I need to get in on some of these free online CCGs. what the best one though?

There's a Munchkin RPG, which is, very fittingly, based on the 3rd Ed D&D (or "d20") ruleset.

I haven't tried it but it might be funny idk. I kinda lost interest in RPGs because I don't have anyone to play with anymore.

yeah actually I meant like video game RPG. I also have no one to play with.

Sorry, my bad. My mind was kinda set on non-digital games because of the topic. :p

I used to take on the challenges of Nintendo Power's collector cards.

My first CCG, and one I got REALLY into was Marvel OverPower. By the time I got out of that, I had easily 3000 custom cards, ranging from Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers to Street Fighter and MegaMan.

I also got into PokeMon CCG for awhile (and it's GBC/digital iteration), and if it counts, SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash. Strangely enough, I'd always wanted a non-digitized version of that game to play with people, or at least an online indie remake thereof. Starting to get into Munchkin a bit, although it makes me miss Dork Tower, too.

Also, for the first time in 10 years or so, I finally DO have people to play with and a place to play. Now, if I only didn't have a gazillion things to be doing in the meantime.

Andy sent me this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHT2mO6hqsE

Crazy ass new card game with cards made out of plastic and holograms. Seems gimmicky! But I wanna get some cards anyway, just to check 'em out.

It's also apparently a cartoon tie-in. Not getting my hopes up for this one.

The card game Wizard (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1465/wizard) is the all time favorite in my family. 7 Wonders (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/68448/7-wonders) (!!), Warhammer Invasion (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/47185/warhammer-invasion), Dixit (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39856/dixit), Starhip Catan (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2338/starship-catan) (similar to  Catan Card Game), Bang! (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3955/bang) and Citadels (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/478/citadels) are nice. Treasures and Traps (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24410/treasures-and-traps) is a nice game to introduce people to Munchkin.

A friend of mine made a card game and showed it to me last night.  He showed me the software+tools he used to put it together;  I gotta say it's pretty neat!  Man, I should give it a try myself instead of languishing away in the Flixel pits.  :laughter:

I didn't realize it was so... accessible a hobby. (making, not playing CCGs)

uh... pretty sure making a ccg is not an accessible hobby, in fact i heavily doubt it's possible to do as a hobby at all. or are we using different terminology? (ccg = collectible card game)

Well, no I just use CCG to distinguish between games like what you guys are talking about and a regular deck of cards (as I play Bridge.)

No, he got some special paper and made/print/cut the cards himself.  It was pretty cheaply done and he made a whole lot of them so four people could play a game he invented.  To me, accessible = < $100 and that's how he made it happen.

Anyway, I thought it was neat.

I used to play quite a few CCGs, including MtF, and Netrunner. Then I stopped playing for many years, and this year I finally started playing some MtG.

I have an idea for a card/CCG game that I want to make some day, a kind of adventure-y game like talisman, but where you create the playing board with special 'land' tiles, and slowly create a world as the game progresses.

I actually designed a set of playing cards and games for a comic my friend is making (or release; volume 1 is out now). While I do love CCGs, I think confining myself into a playing card (a limited set with not much variance) mentality really challenged me as a designer. I made what could be considered poker and blackjack analogs. Maybe I'll post them up later.

My problem with CCGs (aside from the cost) is that they tend to be pretty samey in terms of mechanics. At least 90% of the ones I've played/tried are variations on the basic formula of MTG. The ones that deviate from it are pretty rare and for the most part not very popular, which the collectability/deckbuilding aspect suffers from.

You know this already, but I play a lot of Magic the Gathering.  It's a really well designed game, and it's kind of fascinating to think about all of the crazy things designers need to think about when balancing a set.  George has made a bunch of different cubes (Lorwyn, Eldrazi, Alara, Onslaught and RGD) which we use for all sorts of things... cube drafts with large groups of people, 1-on-1 Winston drafts, Infinite Mana Magic, etc. 

This weekend is actually the M12 pre-release... I'm not as into core sets as I used to be, but I'm actually kind of excited about it, hehe^^

I enjoy playing Magic with my elf deck if I can find someone to play against, but I rarely do. I don't think I've played it in at least a year, now. I've recently started to carry the deck around with me in my shoulder bag, at least, since it's so small and light, just in case, since there have been a few times that I've actually had the opportunity to play during that year, but haven't had my deck with me.

For regular card games, my favourite is Canasta.