MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT FOR A TRADING CARD GAME

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What would be the minimum viable product for any trading card game?

We can talk in terms of Heartstones if it makes the conversation easier. What would be the minimum viable product for Heartstones?
I have no idea what you're talking about. But maybe two and a half heartstones?
The fuck is product? Cards? Unique strategies? Print runs?

I mean, it really depends on the card game and what your players need for it, really.
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
Literally, the minimum viable product for a trading card game would be a sufficient number of unique cards to make at least two decks of cards. If you do not have a sufficient number unique cards to make at least two decks of cards, then you do not have a trading card game. You just have a card game. If you have more cards than are needed for a deck but not enough for a second deck, you may want to use a more pedestrian term, such as a customizable card game.

The first question I asked was, "How many cards do you need to publish before people would actually need to trade them to get them all?" The second question I asked was, "If there is not enough for two decks, then is there any point in distributing any of the cards separately?"
Like the man said:

author=Shinan
two and a half heartstones
InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
Do you mean Hearthstone?

I honestly don't understand the question either.
Thanks pianotm.

For everyone else. A minimum viable product as I understand it is a demo that is good enough and complete enough in itself to be sold.
author=pianotm
Literally, the minimum viable product for a trading card game would be a sufficient number of unique cards to make at least two decks of cards. If you do not have a sufficient number unique cards to make at least two decks of cards, then you do not have a trading card game. You just have a card game.

On the other hand two decks of cards is still a regular two-player card game isn't it? Just a game where people's decks are not identical.
(for example Fightball)
InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
author=SaitenHazard
Thanks pianotm.

For everyone else. A minimum viable product as I understand it is a demo that is good enough and complete enough in itself to be sold.
If you're doing a card game it can depend on a lot of things. But deck size seems to be a good place to start. So for example, Hearthstone is 30 card deck so I'd say you'd want at least 60 different cards because as piano said, you'd want to have two decks using different cards. That alone offers some mixing and matching for combos and such.

Another thing is if the card game uses a resource like MTG with lands or Pokemon with energy. Or if it's like Yugioh or Hearthstone which use non-card resources.

Really though, it's hard to give a good answer without knowing anything about it.
SunflowerGames
The most beautiful user on RMN!
13323

You mean the number of cards you would need to start a TGC? Your question is confusing as hell.

Looking at the best non-digital card game, Magic the Gathering. A cores set, like the 10th edition, has 383 cards in it. But MTG has a lot of expansions, as well. Vintage and Legacy formats have 1000s of cards to choose from at this point.

A digital card game, like Faeria on Steam, has 874 cards in its core set. It has 2 expansions now, but at the time of release they didn't know if they could viably release more product in the future.

I haven't made it yet. I have a few concepts that I am testing out. Its for a side content within a larger game I am working on. Hence wanted to use Heartstones as a an example so that we can all still talk about it and get the jist of what the bare minimum could be.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
I kinda think it might depend on what kind of actions players can perform with a given card. For instance, let's talk a little about 51st State. There, you can spend resources to "build" a card in your hand. This action places a card from your hand into your HQ (ie: player board), which you can use this turn, or future turns, depending.

A second option is to use a different resource to "make a deal" with that card. This card also goes to the player board, but in a different place/position. In this state, you gain a certain resource each turn, printed on the "deal" section of the card.

A third option is to use a different resource to "raze" a card, either from your hand, or on an opponent's HQ. If the card is from your hand, it is discarded. If it's in an opponent's HQ, it becomes a "ruin", and the opponent gains the resource listed in the "deal" section. Either way, the player who "razed" gains certain resources, listed in the "raze" section on the card.


If your aim is to make a mini-game, I imagine it doesn't have to be as complex as all that. Or even be on the same level as M:TG, YuGiOh, or what-have-you. However, how large you want decks to typically be (20 cards? 30?) is a consideration.


Another thing that comes to mind, since you mention that it's side content, is Acromage. This was a card game in Might and Magic 7 and Might and Magic 8 that had a small side-quest to compete (and win) in each tavern in those games. The MM7 version was a tad buggy (I swear, winning multiple times in a single tavern locked me out of getting the reward for the side-quest), but, it was fast, and fairly easy to understand.

*Edit: I am quickly becoming a fan of Mystic Vale. Which isn't as-so-much about having a deck of good/great cards to begin with, but taking essentially blank cards, and building them up with "card improvements".
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
Shinan
On the other hand two decks of cards is still a regular two-player card game isn't it? Just a game where people's decks are not identical.
(for example Fightball)


He's asking for the minimum requirements for a prototype. Asking for a prototype with 300 cards (which is actually what Magic: The Gathering: Limited Edition Alpha made its full release with) is pedantic to the point of absurdity.
Thank you all. I think I have enough feedback now to figure out the rest of it for the specific game I am prototyping.

Btw Marrend. Saw a how to play video of Mystic Vale. Its the most novel card game I have seen yet.
author=pianotm
He's asking for the minimum requirements for a prototype. Asking for a prototype with 300 cards (which is actually what Magic: The Gathering: Limited Edition Alpha made its full release with) is pedantic to the point of absurdity.

I don't know. SaitenHazard uses so few words and is so vague that it's hard to know exactly what is meant at any point. Example:
author=SaitenHazard
For everyone else. A minimum viable product as I understand it is a demo that is good enough and complete enough in itself to be sold.

Would contradict what you just said.
The original base set of Pokemon TCG had only 102 unique cards.

You do not need that many because many TCGs let you include multiples in a deck. Magic players are familiar with the "rule of 9" which means that, if your deck has 24 land, and four copies of each nonland card, then your deck has only 9 unique cards. A two player product would therefore need only a minimum of 18 cards, even less if the same card appears in both decks, but more for there to be a deck customization aspect. (though even 18 offers SOME customization since you're able to mix cards from the two decks, something you can totally expect a competitive player to do if you tried to hold a tournament where that was the only product)
This also depends on what the minimum amount of cards in a deck is and how often you have to draw cards.
If we look at "Triple Triad" you needed a minimum of 5 cards in your deck(which was also your starting hand and you never draw more cards)
In a card game like this 50 cards would be loads and might take you a while to collect all of them.
I know triple triad is technically not a real card game but it was fun and shows what can be done with very few cards.
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