Capstone Journey Part 1: What Makes a Trading Card Game Great?

This is the first blog post in a series of posts that I will dedicate to documenting my journey during the development of a Trading Cards Game Maker project, a capstone group project, the final project we will be working on, marking the end of our bachelor of science in CS journey at OSU.

When I was 15, I was introduced to the world of trading card games (TCGs) through a friend who told me about a new game being sold near our high school. The game was based on a cartoon we used to watch called Yu-Gi-Oh! and it was a complete novelty to our hometown of Khartoum-Sudan. We were immediately hooked and spent our high school recesses gathering at the nearest shop to buy new batches of cards and challenge our friends to battles.

It was an exciting time for us, as we were the first in our hometown to discover the thrill of TCGs. We would play before and after school, and the rush of collecting all five parts of the Exodia The Forbidden One deck was unbeatable. However, as we moved on to college, the craze slowly died out and I hadn’t played a TCG game since.

Years later, I learned about more popular and complex TCGs like Magic the Gathering, but unfortunately, western game products rarely made it to North African markets at the time, so a few of us at the time heard of them, But now, as I’m studying for my bachelors in Computer Science at OSU, and as part of my final Capstone project, my team and I are developing a web application that allows users to create their own custom TCG games, complete with their own designs and rules. It’s a cool project that we’re all excited to work on and brings back fond memories of my high school TCG days.

But first, what makes a trading card game great?

Let’s take Magic the Gathering as a case study. One of the most important factors in a TCG’s success is its balance. A game that is too easy to win or too difficult to play quickly becomes uninteresting. Magic: The Gathering has been praised for its ability to maintain a balance between powerful cards and weaker ones, allowing for a wide range of strategies and play styles.

Another crucial aspect of a great TCG is its depth of gameplay. A game that only has a few strategies or playstyles will quickly become repetitive and boring. Magic: The Gathering has a vast pool of cards and an ever-evolving metagame, providing players with a constantly changing and challenging experience.

The theme and setting of a TCG is also important. A game that is set in a rich and detailed world, with a compelling narrative, will be more engaging for players. Magic: The Gathering’s setting of the multiverse, with its diverse planes and unique characters, has captured the imagination of players for over 25 years.

More importantly, TCG should have a strong community of players. A game with a dedicated player base will continue to thrive and grow, as players share strategies, compete in tournaments, and create content. Magic: The Gathering has one of the largest and most passionate player communities in the world.