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Is there an easy, web based, multi player board and card game prototype tester ? Som that has stack and shuffle for objects?

let's say I wanted to mock up some cards or playing pieces as a jpg and upload them to this virtual tabletop. I would like to be able to turn, shuffle and stack pieces. maybe have some built in custom dice? no rules enforcement, just objects to manipulate.

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  • Could you add more details to what you mean? What's a use case you have in mind? – dwjohnston Nov 15 '15 at 4:32
  • let's say I wanted to mock up some cards or playing pieces as a jpg and upload them to this virtual tabletop. I would like to be able to turn, shuffle and stack pieces. maybe have some built in custom dice? no rules enforcement, just objects to manipulate. – Shane Maness Nov 15 '15 at 4:35
  • Seems straight forward. I think it's a good question. Edit that comment into your question. – dwjohnston Nov 15 '15 at 4:43
  • you might also get some good advice on SE Software Recomendations – chicks Nov 15 '15 at 20:38
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An open-source boardgame engine, could be what you are looking for:

Vassal Engine
http://www.vassalengine.org/

It provides counters, cards, board and does not enforce any rules, it provides solely "component handling". You need to create your own module (a container which holds all components as images and text) and then you should be able to send that module to other players or designers to test your prototype.

You can even play together if the game is multiplayer and not solely solitaire. Play by Forum (PBF), Play by Email (PBEM), Peer-to-Peer (P2P) playing is supported.

Here is a direct link to the user guide to evaluate the features:
http://www.vassalengine.org/mediawiki/images/8/8c/Userguide.pdf

If you want to get started, you follow these tutorials:
http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Tutorials

Especially:
http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Card_Game_Tutorial
http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Board_Game_Tutorial

While VASSAL certainly is powerful, the initial steps for simple games are quite simple. Yet after a while, the options like automated game setup will be a blessing for you and your playtesters. The game logs will be important to evaluate the game, i.e. find too weak or too powerful strategies.

FAQ for module creation:
http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Creating_Modules

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  • This looks like a powerful tool, but it is much more complicated than i'm looking for. I used to use a web based application called TAEBL where you could just import graphics as generic objects and then manipulate them. You could select some objects and right click to "stack" them they didn't have to be cards. you could "stack" a container with the cards and shuffle the whole thing. – Shane Maness Nov 21 '15 at 15:42
  • I would always go the extra mile to ensure, that I am later not hurt by any limitation coming from the software I use. I've edited the answer to include the link to the module creation wiki page. – Victor van Santen Nov 23 '15 at 2:03
  • The tutorials should help with creating a simple initial module (e.g. a card game). This approach should not differ too much from your fast prototyping software, however it will be more powerful later when you are more familiar with VASSAL. – Victor van Santen Nov 23 '15 at 2:10
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Roll20 is a website primarily designed for digital RPG games, but I know that it includes dice, tokens, a playing field, uploadable images, and a variety of other open ended tools for DMs and players. However, it sounds like it may be usable for your purposes.

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I've been using Tabletop Simulator for a couple of weeks now, and it's really easy to create components and play a game. Has physics simulation and nice rendering to make it feel more realistic. Just another option to consider.

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