Arrows - details on my own card game

[S1x]

Part 1 - Intro

I always liked making different kinds of games. In middle school, I even tried designing my own card game, with lots of properties and rules. However, that game never really went anywhere. I made decisions that needed every single card to be remade at one point, there were way too many different things to memorize, far too many different types of cards, the balance was far off, and my inspiration for it ended abruptly in a bad event I don't really want to describe anymore.

I have played a lot of other card games, though, as well as tried out a few different kinds my stepbro created. However, everything was a little too similar. I wanted to try and make a better, simpler game that did not look like any of the other ones I had been doing. For example, in almost every card game (and in every invented one) there was always some form of reducing your opponent's life to 0. What if I got rid of that and made it so that there was some other way to win?

I sometimes sorted my cards in specific ways or put them down in certain orders or patterns... just because. It didn't really matter where they were as long as they were in play. That gave me another thought - what if a big part of a card game was where you put the card on a field? Suddenly, I thought about simplifying my previous card game and starting something fresh and original. It worked pretty well, and I've appropriately named it "Arrows".

Now I've finally decided to show you guys what other things I work on, starting with this card game. The only thing I wish is that you guys could actually play it, but sadly, that's not really possible unless I create some kind of computer game based on it in the future. However, I still want to share these ideas and concepts with you, and maybe it'll inspire one or more of you reading this. (Just don't blatantly copy mine. ) Put your ideas into action, and see where they go.


Part 2 - What things look like



This is what the grid looks like. On the right are the hands of each player. To the left are the decks of each other. There are 10 squares on your side - 5 in the front row, and 5 in the back row. Only Field cards in the front row can attack (more on those soon).



This is an example of a Field card. This one is Bob the Demo Guy. Say hi to him. Above him are three different attack values, which depend on which direction he is attacking in. The cost is how many points it costs to play that card (in Bob's case, he's free). Defense lets the card survive better. Effect cards look similar, but only have a cost and an explanation of their abilities.



These are on the backs of each kind of card, representing which one they are. Notice in the first image that you can see the symbols on some of the cards. This is done to reveal a slight bit of information to each player. You can see the symbol top card on the opponent's deck, and at least one symbol of a card in their hand, but you won't know exactly what it is. This can alter and deepen strategies depending on what you think they could have.


More soon...

[Heroine of the Dragon]

Sounds very interesting, S1x... keep up the good work!! *gives you marshmallows*

Oh... and Hi Bob!!!

[Swordmaster Link]

Bob is naked.

[Loot]

I use a trap card in defense mode.

[SephirothKirby]

Seems similar to the FFIX and FFXI card game.

Was it Tetra Master? I'm pretty sure it was Tetra Master.

[Marilink]

Huh. Sounds pretty awesome.

[The Willful Wanderer]

I'll be watching it.

[Swordmaster Link]

I remember a long time ago when I tried to turn Hotster's trading cards into an actual game...I had such high hopes.

[S1x]

Part 3 - How to win

In order to win, you need to earn all four of your Arrow Pieces by exchanging a certain amount of points for each one (usually 50, 75, or 100 each; it depends on how long you want the game to last). There is one complete set of Arrow Pieces for each player. To earn points, you have to use your other cards to attack and earn yourself points (covered in part 4). Arrow Pieces are unique cards that you place next to your deck until you're able to claim them. They look like this...

Click here

When you have enough points, during your turn you can choose to trade in those points, select one Arrow Piece, and place it somewhere on your grid. All of them boost certain stats slightly for the card they're pointing to. When somebody earns their fourth one, the game ends instantly.

I know this sort of sounds like the prizes from the Pokemon trading card game, but this is where the similarities end. When you place an Arrow Piece on your grid, it is stuck there. It cannot be removed from the field, and it can't be moved (unless you have certain cards that move others). Because it can't defend against attacks at all, it allows enemy attacks to go right through them, allowing them to score.



There's no room to protect the player from an attack that lets the opponent gain 11 points. The only choice is to destroy that field card quickly!



The opponent has used your own Arrow Piece to protect his own card. It is completely vulnerable from the front, but the Down Arrow Piece is stuck in that spot. You can't attack it from the front. This is why he placed the Field card in the center.

So, you can see that when you're winning, meaning you have more Arrow Pieces than your opponent, it gives them more chances to break through and catch up. However, why not just amass enough points to get all four Arrow Pieces at once, then? I caught this very early on and dealt with it pretty simply. You can only exchange for an Arrow Piece once per turn. Those extra turns in which you're trying to claim the other pieces can cost you in a close battle. Also, I purposely created quite a few cards that discourage getting tons of points; several cards steal a percentage of points or cut the opponent's score in half, or do similar effects. There's also one card whose attack power is the same as your opponent's current score, and can be extremely lethal if somebody tries storing a ton of points.

More soon...

Edit: I'm bored enough to respond to some posts.

Thanks, HotD, ML, and Selene for the compliments and interest.

Yeah, SK, I see the connection, although I completely forgot about that for a while. I only played the FFIX version. But a lot of things I've made are a lot deeper and require more strategies.

NOT SO FAST, L007! You've activated my confusion on whether or not you were implying something!

[Kargath]

Totally not a good idea placing YOUR idea on free-view on the 'net...

[S1x]

I've worried about that for a while... but it's a risk I've taken with all my ideas, including comics and stories on my web site. Oh well. I don't want to stop explaining this, but maybe it would be safer... I don't really know.

Any comments, questions advice, or even good criticism is highly appreciated.

[Kargath]

PATENT IT FIRST.

[S1x]

......What does everyone else think about this situation?

[Mikhail Gorbachev]

I'd give advice, having made some card games myself, but it probably wouldn't help much. It would be something like 'give the game a communist theme' or 'make all the monsters different types of mushrooms.'
I dunno, I've done those, and people seem to like my card games...
Well, all I have to say is make at least one of the field cards a mushroom, and add some communism somewhere along the line.

[S1x]

No, my main question right now is whether I should keep going with this or if it is too dangerous and I should ask for this topic to be deleted.

[Mikhail Gorbachev]

There are roughly five people who visit VGF. I highly doubt anyone will steal it, but if you feel it's that dangerous, get the thread deleat'd and go patent this.

[KirbyBoy2000]

Yeah... hardly anyone visits VGF. *Hides 250+ guests that are at the forum at any given time*

I would hope that most people on VGF would be decent enough not to steal from another person, but with the internet you can't always be too sure I suppose. Its up to you if you want to Patent it or not honestly. I don't know much about them, but if you're planning on selling the idea later, or are just really opposed to it being stolen it couldn't hurt much to have it. (Hopefully it wouldn't cost a lot or be too difficult to make one either...)

Oh, and one more thing. If you do decide to have this deleted and all that. Can you come back and tell us about it again once you have the patent? 'Cause really, it seems like an interesting game.

[SephirothKirby]

I'd steal it.

But I don't feel like doing that to you, so it's really a matter of conflicting morales.

Nah, I have enough unfinished ideas for card games.

[S1x]

Argh, well, I've still got the important stuff in my hands. It's not like I want to defend this to the death anyways - it's just to entertain the people that I show it to, like all my other games. I'll continue on with this.

And remember, responses are still highly appreciated.

Part 4 - How to earn points; Field cards

The start of the game and the process of each turn are things I'm covering very quickly because I want to show off the unique parts more. If you have other questions, though, I'll answer them.

To begin, each player takes a deck with a certain amount of cards, and both players draw 5 cards from the top. If a player doesn't have a card that costs 0 in their hand, s/he must reshuffle and then draw 4 cards. The game then begins no matter what was drawn.

During one player's turn, they start by drawing one card for free. (They can draw a second one at the cost of 10 points, and a third one for another 20 points.) Next, they place cards on their side of the grid, spending points if the cards have a cost. While doing this, they can also attack with their Field cards to gain points, or claim an Arrow Piece. When the player is done, it's the other player's turn to do the same thing.

As far as attacks and battling goes, this area is more interesting. Once per turn, any of your Field cards that are able to attack can do that. If they can attack in more than one direction, you have to choose which way you want them to attack. If the attack goes through blank spaces, or cards that don't affect the attack at all, you simply gain the number of points on that arrow.



These are the squares that Bob's attacks will go through if he's placed on the front row, on the space second to the left.



However, in a case where you're also facing an enemy's attack, you'll only earn points equal to how much greater your attack is - in this example, 10 points is reduced to 2. Also, the opponent's Field card may be knocked out and discarded, depending on its Defense.



Points can be further reduced if there is a Field card in the back row with Defense. The attack above is worth 4 points until it crosses the other card, which reduces the rest of the points. Also, if there's a card in the front row blocking the attack as well, the card in the back row cannot be discarded. However, you can just attack with the card on the right, where it's not protected.

The other use of Defense, and probably the most important one, is survival. If you go for an enemy card and have a higher attack than it from that direction, the enemy is only knocked out if it has less Defense than the amount you won by. If not, you still earn the points, but the card stays where it is. Sound weird? Look at the first image again. You won by 2, so if the enemy has 2 or more Defense, it still survives.



As you can see here, you have just made the enemy Field card useless... but you also can't actually get rid of it. You better find some other way to destroy it before one of your cards stopping it gets knocked out.

Weak Field cards don't cost anything; you can play as many as you want in one turn. The stronger ones cost points, though, so you need to earn some using the weaker ones first. Also, keep in mind that these are the same points you use to trade for those Arrow Pieces. Do you strike quickly with lots of weaker cards and try and get the Arrow Pieces fast, or is it too risky since the enemy can stop you with stronger cards? Do you set up an unbreakable wall of cards, even though it'll require a lot more total points to win? Hmmm...

More soon...

[SephirothKirby]

Really sounds awesome.

I'd totally waste $3.99 a pack.