Unique Card Game, what do I classify it as?

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Discardation

Guest
I personally hated CCG and TCGs. I had Pokemon and found the rules overly complicated, and same goes to MTG. If anything I see most of them as money grabbing companies with a formula to pry player's addictions to collecting and feeling satisfied, and dueling others while needing to pay to play in order to get the best things to have an advantage over your opponent. Do not get me wrong I am sure both require thinking and strategy but I couldn't get into either to really care and find out, which for a company getting new players should be high on the list of things to do.

With that said here is the point to my inquiry. I got a game that a deck you buy contains enough cards to play with another so that you don't need to find a friend or enemy who has their own. It also is balanced as a trade off, since higher powerful cards as rare as they are, take more space on your field than weaker ones, meaning an executed strategy could take down a strong card so you don't have to rely on spending to find that one legendary that autowins. I know a company should focus on money but I am no company and I only want to provide a good player experience that is quick to learn, different almost every time, and not so overly complicated or riddled with extra things that change rules and make your brain explode, and hope to earn some side cash just for giggles along the way.

The game basically fixes all my problems. Its fun, it requires thought and can be as challenging as chess, simple to learn and simple in general but not bland nor generic, doesn't require a big investment of money or panhandling parents so you can get that one card to nerf your opponents, and any cards you do find that are stronger take up more space than lesser ones so having a big dude doesn't guarantee victory.

I seen many forums on here that hate on CCGs and TCGs, and on the game crafter website, it has a required section that helps potential customers find a game similar to what they like. Magic is about the closest thing to my game but only in the sense of a medieval fantasy, and even then I still tried to be unique in lore, and basically the game is a parallel universe where humanity never advanced past the medieval ages, and explains that instead of science they used magic, and that in your universe magic and monsters are considered to be fairy tales but in reality they were forgotten or hunted to extinction till they were only known as myths.

So what do I call this? You can technically trade cards, but calling it a CCG or TCG maybe be a turn off, especially since buying one deck (which I plan on pricing around 6-9 USD) is enough to play for fun with a friend since they could use your cards as well. And finally, is there a game similar with what limited info I gave you that I can say "is like". I realized trading or collecting games are unpopular on the sight, and saying its like MTG is uncompelling because why would a MTG fan want to buy my game when they have Magic, especially since it centers with hardcore players who already have hundreds of cards and understand its complexity? See the pickle I am in? Any help appreciated and if the game sounds interesting lemme know if it is something you would buy. (Not advertising I just want to see how good it sounds). I don't want to get to dirty in the details of my game to stop stealers, but if you feel you cannot make a good answer and need some extra info just ask ill probably spill some more information. Lastly thanks for reading this far.

TLDR: I have balanced, non-pay 2 play game. Cheap and can play with a friend with the deck you purchase so you don't need to find someone with their own deck. Can't rely on rare OP cards as it balances it out since they take up too much space compared to weaker cards. There are variable altering cards that don't over complicate the game. Its like a TCG or CCG but it isn't and I need to know if there are similar games and what to classify this as. Please read the long version as its pretty important if you have the time. Thanks.

Yes I am new btw this site seems pretty chill.
 
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dannyjenn

Guest
Welcome to the forum!

Are you planning on making physical cards, or is this going to be a computer game? (I ask this because, from your post, it sounds like you're talking about physical cards, whereas this forum is supposed to be for discussing games made in the Game Maker engine. But I'm not Forum Staff so I'll leave it to them to deal with this thread if it's a problem.)

Anyway, there are games out there sort of like what you've described (i.e. games which require only a single deck for two players to play, without any additional cards), but I'm not sure what you'd call them other than "card games". Two examples which come to my mind are Mario Party-e (no longer in print) and Coup. I'm sure there are many others as well (I'm not really into card games, so I'm not familiar with what's out there exactly). I don't know if there are any non-TCG / non-CCG card games out there focused on battling, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are.

But I'd think that these sorts of games probably can't be very successful in the long run. Because people play the game a few times and then get tired of it. Card games pretty much need the constant stream of new cards and new rules, in order to keep them fresh and interesting. Or they at least need a base set with enough variety to give different players more options in customizing their decks.
The only real exceptions to what I just said are traditional card games (poker, blackjack, rummy, etc.). But those games have the advantage of all sharing a standardized deck which everyone is familiar with, making them extremely convenient and accessible to pretty much everyone. I'd think that far less people would play these games if you needed to buy a specialized deck in order to play each one. (Not to mention that these games are much more fun when you add gambling into the equation. Even if it's just for monopoly money rather than real money, the gambling really helps.)
 
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FrostyCat

Redemption Seeker
I usually see these kinds of games being branded as "deck builder" games. In fact, now that you mentioned Magic the Gathering, its earliest days were part of a series called "Deck Master", the collectible and "buy-to-win" aspect came later.
 
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Discardation

Guest
Hey thanks for your replies. I don't know if it gives any credibility to say that I had a test version of this on index cards long ago and played it with many various friends. They thought it was quite fun and even a friend recently who hates CCG and TCGs with a huge passion thought my game would be a success.

I know they're all thoughts though and I hadn't engaged in a consumer world crowd yet. If the game does die out it was fun anyway, as I am not paying much expense to create this game.

Also I would like to note since the game is still a WIP I think maybe now that you said so, adding some rule altering variables might be okay, and I did plan on making packs and the like that would offer new strategies and fresh look to my game. I should have mentioned that.

Calling it a deck builder sounds about right. Again thank you for replying I appreciate the responses.
 
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Sazuru

Guest
Check out Fantasy Flight Games model, they call it a living card game or LCG. They sell everything you need in an 'expansion pack' every time they make additions to their games and sell them for $15 or thereabouts.
 
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