Formal Elements

The Basics

A lot of cards are banned because it’s too OP in some formats. I don’t enjoy the idea that some cards were printed with the thought of it being banned, or that something exists and I can’t play it.

Regarding prices, Magic cards can be VERY expensive. When a player makes a deck they want certain things in it, to have it perform the best it can. Prices are determined by how rare it is (supply), and how good it performs, and thus how many people want it (demand). card power and price somewhat go hand-in-hand, which is very disappointing, considering that my EDH deck is about $235 right now.

Players

In the end, however, the goal is to eliminate everyone and land the first place.

• Single Player – like Solitare.
• Head-to-head – 1 vs. 1, Chess.
• PvE – Player vs. Environment, or multiple players vs. the game. Common in MMOs like World of Warcraft.
• One against Many – Single-player vs. multiple (obvy).
• Free-for-all – Every man for himself (1 vs. 1 vs. 1 vs. 1..). Most common for multiplayer games, from Monopoly to Modern Warfare.
• Individuals Against the System – Like Blackjack, where the Dealer is playing against multiple players, but those players have no effect on each other.
• Team Competition – Multiple vs. multiple, i.e. sports.
• Predator-prey – Players form a circle and everyone’s goal is to attack the player on their left and defend themselves from the player on their right.
• Five-pointed Star – Eliminate both players who are not on either side of you.

Objectives/Goals

• Capture/Destroy – Eliminate all your opponents pieces (Chess).
• Territorial Acquisition – Control as much territory as you can, not necessarily harming other players (RISK).
• Collection – Collect a certain number of objects throughout the game (Pokemon).
• Solve – Solve a puzzle or crime (Clue).
• Chase/race/escape – Anything where you are running towards or away from something (playground game Tag).
• Spatial Alignment – Anything involving the positioning of elements (Tetris or Tic-Tac-Toe or that game at Cracker Barrel).
• Build – Advance your characters or build your resources to a certain point (The Sims).
• Negation of another goal – The game ends if you perform an act that is forbidden by the rules (Jenga or Twister).

Rules/Mechanics

• Setup – the things you do at the beginning of a game.
• Progression of Play – what happens during the game.
• Resolution – How an outcome is determined based on the game state.

Controls

Tutorials almost always rely on friends teaching one another, as it’s a TCG rather than a downloadable game.

Resources & Resource Management

• Territory in RISK The number of questions remaining in 20 Questions Objects picked up during videogames (guns, health packs, etc.)
• Time (game time, real-time, or both)
• Known information (like suspects in Clue)

Game State

cards in the player’s hand (the opponent can’t see this- same for their hand as well, but you can count the number of cards they have in their hand)

life total for both players

amount of cards in your/the opponent’s library (you can legally count them, nobody will stop you)

cards already used (graveyard and exile)

• Total Information – Nothing is hidden, like Chess.
• Info per player – Your hand of cards is only visible to you.
• One player has privileged info – Like a Dungeon Master.
• The game hides info from all players – Like Clue, where no one knows the victory condition.
• Fog of War – In video games, where certain sections of the map are concealed if you do not have a unit in sight range of that area. You also cannot see other players’ screens, so each player is unaware of the other’s information.

Sequencing

individual turns are organized in phases:

beginning (untap lands and creatures, draw a card)

main phase (play a land, cast creatures/sorceries)

combat phase (declare attackers, opponent declares blockers, the damage is dealt. This is skipped if you don’t declare attackers.)

2nd main phase (play a land if you haven’t already, cast creatures/sorceries)

end (creatures all regain full health, passes your turn to the opponent)

however, in the grand view of the whole game, one player will outpower the other in a snapshot, due to factors such as more game knowledge/better strategic gameplay, better deck, or plain better luck.

• Turn-based – Standard board game technique.
• Turn-based with simultaneous play – where everyone takes their turn at the same time (like writing something down or putting a card down in War).
• Real-time – Actions happen as fast as players can make them. Action-based video games.
• Turn-based and time limits – You have this long to take your turn.

Player Interaction

• Direct Conflict – I attack you.
• Negotiation – If you support me here, I’ll help you there.
• Trading – I’ll give you this for that.
• Information Sharing – If you go there, I’m warning you, a trap will go off.

Theme & Narrative

for example, the Dimir guild from Ravnica is blue-black, which is a set of colors to be knowledge(blue) and amorality(black) in the history of MtG. this is represented by the ability ‘Mill‘, which puts cards directly into the player’s library(knowledge base) to the graveyard(death and ruthlessness).

A social game with a 2+ player group is fun of itself, as it’s also enjoying the company of others while playing a fun card game.

The Elements in Motion

you and the opponent’s creature can deal damage to each other.

some cards erase target specific card types from the field.

sorceries/instants can grand temporary advantages, card draws, or other effects that alter the game’s state.

card effects on each other, though, can get very messy and uncoordinated.

Design Critique

Graphics & Sound

Various Stages of the Game

it’s expensive to play in person with physical cards, but it’s much cheaper to play online (it’s free for Untap.in!)

There aren’t multiple paths to victory unless you employ cards that has the text ‘__ you win the game’ (like this card).

the turn entirely depends on your deck’s functionality and who the opponent is, so it’s not repetitive.