As mentioned in my first post, I love board and card games. I own a lot of them and play regularly. I even chose a game as my capstone project. As part of this project, users can create their own game decks and test them out against a computer opponent. Building a fun deck is challenging and I thought I would share a few tips.

Although game enjoyment is highly subjective, the top games on https://www.boardgamegeek.com share recognizable traits. The traits are essential in making a game both fun and repayable. I thought I should share examples of games (with all images coming from boardgamegeek.com) that embody these traits and how those rules might apply to a collectible card game.

Balance

Balancing games is arguable the most difficult part of the game creation process and is far more complicated than new designers think. A truly balanced game is not one where every player has an equal chance of winning. Instead, a balanced game is one where the game maintains a sense of tension during the entire session. A poorly designed game may start off fun but then turn into a slog halfway through. For example, Munckin is not a balanced game. In every game of Munckin I’ve played, there is one player who ends up leading the pack. At about the 3/4 mark, everyone knows who will win the game. But you still keep playing. unfortunately, for the losing players, the rest of the game can be quite boring, and many players easily get distracted by other forms of entertainment. The game goes on past its balance.

Power grid is a game with good balance during the game’s entire duration. Each player has similar opportunities at the start of the game. As the game progresses, players in the lead must spend more money on resources than trailing players. As a result, trailing players can often catch up to the leader and have a chance of winning. The game is won through good strategy. You often do not want to be the leader, but you also don’t want to be too far behind. This leads to an interesting game where players jockey for position right up to the last round.

For a collectible card games, balance is achieved by appropriately costing cards so that a single card cannot win every game. Good collectible card games give players counters to powerful combos, preventing a single strategy from winning every time. This translates to keeping card values, like cost, attack, and defense, in harmony with each other.

Randomness

Randomness, by itself, does not equate to a bad game. A lot of games rely on randomness to help with balance and to keep the game fresh. The outcome of a game with too much randomness is essentially determined by a die role. A game with too little randomness is a puzzle. Puzzles are fun but are not generally thought of as a game.

An example of too much randomness is Candy Land. In Candy Land, a random card determines how far you move. You do not control the deck or which card you drew. The game is determined by who can draw the best cards the most times in a row. This result is predetermined when you shuffle the deck. Even my three year old daughter finds Candy Land boring.

Castles of Burgundy is an example of good randomness. In Castles of Burgundy, players roll a lot of dice. Players then spend the die values to take a variety of actions. The die values determine which actions are available. None of the actions are, by default, worse than the other actions. The combination of actions over time determines the winner. The randomness of the dice makes the game replayable without hampering strategy. Players can even take actions to remediate a series of ‘bad’ rolls.

Collectible card games have randomness in which cards are drawn. Therefore, aligning the attributes across cards can help reduce the randomness. If the cards are relatively equal in power, then the initial draw is less important. Similarly, if there are cards built to counter a bad starting hand, like a card letting you search your deck, then a bad opening will not determine the game’s winner. When building a card game, make sure the decks are balanced in card power, and give players enough good cards that a player won’t quit on a bad first hand.

The ‘Fun’ Factor

The final pillar of a good game is that the game is fun! Some games are just a pleasure to play, while others are so mechanical that even good rules and balance don’t save them. Playing boring games feel like you are moving pieces for no reason or that you are playing a solo game with others watching. The worst ones have long turns where the non-active players get bored and wander off.

An example of a game missing the fun factor, for me, is Monopoly. Players take a long time to decide whether to buy a property and haggle over trades. Players also take a long time to take turns as their attention is usually elsewhere during the game. When you aren’t rolling the dice and moving your piece, your presence at the Monopoly table is mostly optional. For me, Monopoly is just not fun. It’s a chore.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Gloomhaven is the number one rated game on BoardGameGeek and is rated number one for a good reason. Players play simultaneously, and each player’s choices impact the outcome of the game. To win, players must interact with each other and devise strategies that harness their collective abilities. Many classes rely on another players magic generation to cast powerful spells. Turns are fast with each player knowing exactly how to execute the cards they play.

For a card game, the best advice I can give is to develop interesting cards. Mix up the effects, while keeping balance in mind, so all the cards feel different. Add interesting card interactions to drive additional unique combinations. Using clever card names and well-written descriptions help convey the atmosphere and immerse players in the game.

Conclusion

Good board game design is a lot of work. You need to balance solid gameplay with the entertainment factor. There is a very think line between too random and boring. The best advice I’ve seen is to playtest the game over and over again, making changes based on feedback. I hope you have fun using our project to make a great card game!