Suggestions For My Custom Card Game

[ProtoAce]

Heya Dudes and Dudettes. Soooo....... I'm writing a fantasy book (Kiseki style), and in it, I'm thinking of creating a card game (Tetra Master FFIX style), and would like suggestions for both its name and its mechanics.

About the name: I would like a name that ends in "nigma", to look like the name "Terranigma"(just because it sounds like a cool name for a card game) or at least something that sounds similar.

About the system: My focus is that the protagonist of my book will be the most addicted to this card game (reflecting my experience with FFVIII and FFIX), and that at a certain point, she would have to use the most of her skills in a tense match to get the object that she needs. So I would like some suggestions on how my card game could be or how could work, you can suggest mechanics, rules, anything, all help is welcome.

You guys don't have to answer if you don't want to, I have full capacity to think of something by myself for my card system, I'm just asking for help here just to see what you have to say, that is, I'm taking it in sport. Not to mention that maybe this whole card game event won't even happen so planning it would be useless. But if I'm sure of something is that it will exist, even if only for hobbie of the protagonist, so the real mandatory suggestion is the name.

[Hrothgar777]

It might be helpful to hear a few more details.

Do the cards have magic power? Do they summon beings? Or is it just a normal person in the normal world who has an interest in a Yu-Gi-Oh style card game franchise?

[ProtoAce]

22 minutes ago, Hrothgar777 said:

It might be helpful to hear a few more details.

Do the cards have magic power? Do they summon beings? Or is it just a normal person in the normal world who has an interest in a Yu-Gi-Oh style card game franchise?

No, the cards don't have any power, but it is a Yu-Gi-Oh like game.

Edited September 30, 2022 by ProtoAce

[Hrothgar777]

1 hour ago, ProtoAce said:

No, the cards don't have any power. But it is a Yu-Gi-Oh like game.

Alrighty.

 

For a name, I could suggest "Synigma".

"Syn" in used in cool-sounding words like "synergy" and "synchronous". A very similar sounding word, "sine", is a mathematical and scientific term. For example, "sine wave". This, of course, does not mesh as well if the theme of the game is more fantasy-based.

 

For rules, I could suggest some kind of chess-like format where it's a large grid and cards are face-down until used on the board. Cards would be used to kill each other in various ways, of course, such as based on stats or abilities or where they're attacking/defending from relative to the position of the other card. This combines the dynamic gameplay of chess with the deception of Yu-Gi-Oh. If this prompt interests you, I could elaborate further.

And if all else fails, it might help to read up on the rules of real-world card games like Blackjack, Poker (for example, Texas Hold 'Em), Bridge, Old Maid, Gin Rummy, etc.

 

For plot, you could expand upon the "addiction" that you mentioned and write an allegory about gambling addiction. For example, make it a partially magic game where you can place wagers and whatever you bet magically changes owners depending on the outcome. Might be some kid who, say, got so engrossed in "winning big" but ended up digging himself deeper into a hole; eventually he gambles away an organ that he needs to live, and he'll be dead within a couple weeks without it. So now he's gambling furiously to win back a replacement organ and save his life before he runs out of time.

This fits better if the game's theme is decidedly "dark", such as related to tarot cards. Not so much if the cards are emblazoned with the images of orcs, goblins, and wood elves.

(Alternately, if the MC's obsession with card games is a quirky personality trait that's largely inconsequential to the main story, you may well just mention the game in passing without bothering to come up with rules. Heck, you could just give it a name like "You-Gee-Oh" and leave it at that.)

Edited September 30, 2022 by Hrothgar777

[SoulWeaver]

5 hours ago, ProtoAce said:

My focus is that the protagonist of my book will be the most addicted to this card game

This seems to me like you're looking at a game that would work off the player's emotions - perhaps winning creates a state of hyperawareness regarding one's own feelings and emotions, where the usual feeling of winning a game is, if not intensified, then felt more fully, maybe leading your protagonist to being constantly chasing the high of more and more important wins. By contrast, losing could dull one's senses, leaving the loser with a feeling of emptiness since their awareness of all feelings is being dulled.

For mechanics, you mention it being a YGO-like game. Perhaps you could be a little more clear as to what you mean by that?

[ProtoAce]

16 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

For mechanics, you mention it being a YGO-like game. Perhaps you could be a little more clear as to what you mean by that?

Well, I didn't mean that the mechanics resemble Yu-Gi-Oh, but that it's a similar format, like a FFIX's Tetra-Master or FFXIII's Triple Triad. (Sorry if I'm messing things up, I don't know much about card games, but that's exactly why I'm making this post).

19 hours ago, Hrothgar777 said:

For a name, I could suggest "Synigma".

"Syn" in used in cool-sounding words like "synergy" and "synchronous". A very similar sounding word, "sine", is a mathematical and scientific term. For example, "sine wave". This, of course, does not mesh as well if the theme of the game is more fantasy-based.

Nice name suggestion! I'm all ears for more!

19 hours ago, Hrothgar777 said:

For rules, I could suggest some kind of chess-like format where it's a large grid and cards are face-down until used on the board. Cards would be used to kill each other in various ways, of course, such as based on stats or abilities or where they're attacking/defending from relative to the position of the other card. This combines the dynamic gameplay of chess with the deception of Yu-Gi-Oh. If this prompt interests you, I could elaborate further.

Oh Wow! I am certainly interested in this ideia! If you have ideas on how to elaborate it further, then i'm here to listen!

19 hours ago, Hrothgar777 said:

(Alternately, if the MC's obsession with card games is a quirky personality trait that's largely inconsequential to the main story, you may well just mention the game in passing without bothering to come up with rules. Heck, you could just give it a name like "You-Gee-Oh" and leave it at that.)

Yeah, that's why the only real mandatory is suggestions for the name, i'm still working my head out about this one subject, it will depend on the suggestions given to me and my criativy of course.

Edited September 30, 2022 by ProtoAce

[AnonymousSpeed]

18 hours ago, ProtoAce said:

About the name: I would like a name that ends in "nigma", to look like the name "Terranigma"(just because it sounds like a cool name for a card game) or at least something that sounds similar.

You should call it "Life Deck Enigma", or just "Ligma" for short.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofämterspiel

I don't know if this link it helpful at all, but hopefully it's at least kinda cool.

[SoulWeaver]

21 hours ago, Hrothgar777 said:

For rules, I could suggest some kind of chess-like format where it's a large grid and cards are face-down until used on the board. Cards would be used to kill each other in various ways, of course, such as based on stats or abilities or where they're attacking/defending from relative to the position of the other card. This combines the dynamic gameplay of chess with the deception of Yu-Gi-Oh. If this prompt interests you, I could elaborate further.

And if all else fails, it might help to read up on the rules of real-world card games like Blackjack, Poker (for example, Texas Hold 'Em), Bridge, Old Maid, Gin Rummy, etc.

This is giving me Stratego/Battleship vibes - like a Trading Card Game where you build the deck you play pseudo-Stratego with, then each player gets, say, three targeted attacks, where you can spend your turn to select a card and try to guess something specific about it(type, attribute, power level, etc., has to be a tricky thing to prevent just wild guessing). If you guess correctly, the card is wiped or takes damage, making careful and correct use of your targeted attacks potentially game-changing. Is that similar to what you had in mind?

7 hours ago, ProtoAce said:

Well, I didn't mean that the mechanics resemble Yu-Gi-Oh, but that it's a similar format, like a FFIX's Tetra-Master or FFXIII's Triple Triad. (Sorry if I'm messing things up, I don't know much about card games, but that's exactly why I'm making this post).

Ah, ok. I'm not familiar with either of those, not big into Final Fantasy, so the YGO aspect is probably where I would shine more. I did offer a take on Hrothgar's earlier idea, though, feel free to pick stuff from there.