I've been playing around with an idea for a card game for some time, and I think I've finally got the idea fairly well in place. How can I best start testing it out to refine it?
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There are different stages to testing. You need to make sure the core idea and gameplay is workable. You can do some of this by playing through a few games with just you playing for each other player. Then you need to start creating the game. This will be an iterative process. You get the game together, and draft some instructions, and get some friends round to play it. Take many notes! See how they understand the instructions; make notes of any oddities during play; see if they understand the game in the way you intend. Make changes, and do this again. Do this a few times. Eventually you'll get a game that's ready for beta testing with people who don't know you; maybe as a print and play download. Make sure people know it's a beta test, and make sure they have some good method for reporting problems they have and getting help. You'll also want to think about asking people to try to break the game; trying to use weird strategies to win or "king making" or rushing or such. |
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Buy normal playing cards (maybe more than one deck if you have a lot of cards in your game), print your special cards on normal paper (or write something on pieces of paper) and simply tape/glue them on the cards you bought. They will all look the same from the back and won't require you to make them on expensive paper. Note: when you finally make the game, thing about cuttong the corners of the cards in rounded shape to avoid them to be destroyed too easely. |
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If you think you'll have to frequently change cards you could use card sleeves instead of glue/tape. Simply print out a new version and swap. You'll probably have to add some kind of real card to the sleeve to give it stability. As for the actual testing, just ask people to try it out with you and tell you what they think. You'll probably want to have a core group of testers that play more frequently so they can examine advanced strategies. Once you're confident in your game you should have some blind playtesting: See how people handle the game with nothing more than the cards and the rulebook. |
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You can purchase blank faced playing cards that are perfect for prototyping. Just write whatever text you need on the face of the card and start playing. It's a good idea to keep extras on hand for use as you need to add/remove/change the cards in your deck. I could list a few sources, but your best bet is to check out Google Products to see what fits your needs the best. |
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