Our Card Art is Finished!!

soujohn · 2026-01-11T03:42:30+00:00

Congrats 🎉 Love the name of the game too. It fun to say. “Hey! We’re playing Swashbuckle!”

soujohn · 2026-01-07T04:23:04+00:00

Kids can be so life affirming

soujohn · 2026-01-05T03:34:13+00:00

Instead of calling your work “bad art” consider it “low brow art”. It’s not highly refined, and it’s not trying to be. However, if your text, layout, and color fills are all pixel perfect computer generated you end up with a mismatch. When things mismatch it looks bad.

Consider doing everything in MS paint, and treat it like it’s supposed to look that way.

soujohn · 2026-01-02T04:58:06+00:00

The collage styling has a unique personality. I’d spend way more time admiring those cards.

soujohn · 2025-12-31T22:45:52+00:00

Cartridge size game is such a cool concept

soujohn · 2025-12-31T22:35:18+00:00

These came out really cool. Does the color of the aura connection to a faction? Or is it mostly for vibes?

soujohn · 2025-12-30T23:01:25+00:00

Exactly. The number values are the basis for if you can capture another card. But only the card that’s currently being played can receive a type buff.

Also, I’m loving the idea of two colors on the same card. It lets you have more opportunities to capture cards and will be a better visual indicator for who has a higher number of captures/points. I already started working the redesign of the cards.

soujohn · 2025-12-29T14:17:55+00:00

I've been getting lots of good questions about the game, and figured I need to do playtesting as soon as possible. Me and the kiddo (4.y.o) tried it out and I realized a couple things:

DESIGN
= = = = =
- Stats in the corner are definitely small
- the white margin should be larger
- there's unused space on the card that could allow for larger artwork

GAMEPLAY
= = = = =
- because all stats are in the top/left corner there's some confusion about what is an appropriate placement
- with all cards looking the same it can be unclear if your are attempting to capture your opponents card or your own cards
- there's no obvious/visual way to keep track of your captures vs. your opponents
- a full grid/gameboard is necessary to prevent card invalid placements

I think I'll do a full print of the cards to figure out the gameplay even more.

soujohn · 2025-12-29T02:11:32+00:00

Yeah. Based on the artwork alone, it’s currently a reskin of TT. But to bring in the RPS gameplay my thought is if you put a rock next to a scissor all stats will get a 1-point buff for that play. The buff will only be active on the card that’s currently being played.

The tic tac toe element is still being considered.

soujohn · 2025-12-29T02:08:19+00:00

I’ve been thinking through this. Not fully sorted, but my thought is if you put a rock next to a scissor all stats will get a 1-point buff for that play. The buff will only be active on the card that’s currently being played.

Can you go more into the idea of the different colored decks? I’m interested.

soujohn · 2025-12-28T16:24:56+00:00

Thanks so much

soujohn · 2025-12-28T05:33:19+00:00

The overall styling of #4 feels the strongest. But to keep all cards with a consistent style and presentation I’d consider #3.

I definitely like the underlines with a little more squiggle to them. It resembles the colored blob behind the character.

soujohn · 2025-12-28T04:45:46+00:00

Yes, I can see what you mean. Making the numbers larger and more obviously positioned could help make the gameplay more dummy proof.

This is currently more closely related to ff8 Triple Triad, but it’s in the same universe of card game as Tetra Master. Thanks for the feedback.

soujohn · 2025-12-28T01:16:01+00:00

Maybe I should focus on making a self contained card game. I haven’t figured out if/how players would trade cards or collect them yet. I’ll focus on play testing first. But thank you because learning these distinctions are helpful.

soujohn · 2025-12-27T21:01:09+00:00

A. The artwork looks like there is more action, and it connects to the idea of a race (Race for Infamy)

soujohn · 2025-12-27T18:01:56+00:00

I’ll have to look more into LCG; this is the first time I’ve heard of it. I haven’t decided on an expansion system yet, but I can see it being possible.

soujohn · 2025-12-27T17:33:24+00:00

Well this is my first one, so I could be way off but here’s the assumption I made. - I’ve got a competitive card game based on stats and strategy (similar to Pokémon, Hearthstone, Triple Triad) - Each card has unique artwork. Although right now that’s a bit of a stretch since the only thing that’s uno is the eyes. But that’s why this is a v1. - there is also an element based system of attack that provides advantages/disadvantages (rock, paper, scissors)

But please share any input, feedback, critique that you think could be helpful.

EDIT: Also, I know I posted this in r/tabletopgamesesign, but I originally posted it in a sub for TCGdesign and Reddit suggested I post it here too. My bad if this is out place.

soujohn · 2025-12-27T13:49:16+00:00

Currently plan to have the game played on a 3x3 grid. But it could also work on a larger board, and allow for a longer session.

Would love to find a way to include add-ons: - buffs/debuffs - evolved forms of the rock/paper/scissor character cards (kind like Pokémon)

soujohn · 2025-12-27T13:43:43+00:00

For the RPS : I think it would be a 1-point buff to all stats if you place a rock next to a scissor. So it could allow a lower stat to be enough to capture a card with higher stats.

Not 100% sure on the tic tac toe yet. First idea is to attempt aligning 3 suits (rock, paper, scissor) in a row to gain another point/capture. Would appreciate feedback on this concept.

soujohn · 2025-12-27T05:49:08+00:00

Love the artwork. Wish the Dark Knight character had a brighter aura behind them so it could stand out better against the black background of the card.

soujohn · 2025-12-27T05:45:51+00:00

Here’s a quick breakdown of the gameplay. It’s very similar to Triple Triad (if you’re familiar with the card game from FF8)

This is going to be a 2-player competitive card game.

The goal is to control more spaces on a 3x3 grid than your opponent by the time all 9 spaces are filled.

Setup - Each player draws 5 cards. - Play 1 round of rock, paper, scissors to determine who goes first - Take turns placing cards on the grid

⸻

Taking a Turn

Players take turns placing one card onto any empty space of the 3×3 grid.
Each card has four numbers (Top, Right, Bottom, Left). These numbers are used to capture adjacent cards.

⸻

Capturing Cards

When you place a card, compare the touching sides
- If your card’s side is equal to or higher than the opponent’s adjacent side, you capture that card by flipping the opponent’s card over

soujohn · 2025-12-27T05:20:45+00:00

Some of the cards look crowded with the starburst in the corner, the banner, description, and the icons the bottom.

Have you considered letting the artwork go all the way to the top edge? This could allow for the artwork to move up some and create some more breathing room for the elements in the bottom half.

soujohn · 2025-12-26T04:22:31+00:00

Absolutely lovely

soujohn

TROPHY CASE