Shuffling Through Chaos: Exploring Game Mechanics

I always think about my extended family in Sweden when I think about card games. Not, of course, trading or customisable card games like what I’m thinking about.

52 cards and endless variations. That was what I grew up on. Certain people in the family were less than gracious winners and/or losers, but it was generally always good fun. We stuck to variations on Gin/Rummy, hearts, casino and skitgubbe. I’m sure there were others. The point was and is that with 52 cards or maybe two packs of 52, you could play endless games.

Thinking about this in the context of game design made me think about what I really wanted to do:

• Could I design something like that? Something that was flexible, with multiple uses?
• Did I want to?
• Were there elements from these games that were already present in the mechanics of TCGs and CCGs?

I’m still not sure. That did not stop me surging ahead

So the background to the story of the game is that monkeys have learned the secrets to intergalactic travel before humans did and so now we’re beholden to their haphazard ways to travel through space.  The game sees you as taking on the running of a space travel corporation or mutual (for passengers and cargo) and trying to win against one or several competitors.

I don’t want it to be a card game where people have to buy tons and tons of booster packs and end up with tons of surplus cards.  Players can buy one of four starter decks to start and there will be additional sets of cards in the future but they just have to buy it once to get all of the cards in a set.

To start with I’m thinking of five playable corporations.  Some are flag carriers which come with restrictions in terms of deck building but also benefits.  Independents have more flexibility in building their decks but lose out on some heavy weight cards that only flag carriers can use.  Here are the factions: 

- Jord Starlines (flag carrier)
- Interlocus  (flag carrier)
- Super Icarian (independent)
- Binarius  (independent)
- Rymd Hansa  (independent) 

I want there to be 5 card types:
- Locations.  These will be the home base for your corporation to start and additional ones which you’ll deploy as routes.
- Space craft.  Different sizes and types which will be operated by employees.  You need to order and then deploy spacecraft.  When they’re in play you can send them on routes with passengers and cargo to earn money/points.  The more craft you have, the more points you can get.
- Actions/Upgrades.  These cards can either benefit you or hurt your opponents.  For example a “frequent flyer programme card” might boost the number of passengers you can take on a flight.  A “Sneaky marketing campaign” might allow you to take passengers from a competitor.
- Employees.  You need to choose one employee to be CEO.  They will give you certain benefits and hindrances across the whole game.
- Passengers/cargo.  These are set cards that I want played in the middle of the field.  One card is flipped at a time from which all players take passengers/cargo.

This is what I got back (I’m sure it was output in a more formatted manner, though all I have left is a copy paste that I put in Keep):

Gameplay Mechanics:The game could progress in turns, with each turn allowing players to perform a set number of actions: acquiring cards (spacecraft, employees, upgrades), deploying cards to establish routes or fulfill passenger/cargo demand, and executing special actions or upgrades.Points or money could be the primary victory condition, earned by successfully running operations and fulfilling the demands of passengers and cargo.A marketplace for passengers and cargo where supply and demand fluctuate could add a strategic layer. Players must decide whether to compete for high-value targets or exploit underserved niches.Inter-player Interaction:Introduce mechanics for players to interact more directly, such as bidding wars for certain routes, sabotage actions (like the "Sneaky marketing campaign"), or alliances for shared routes.

There was a bit more, but not tons. The bit that jumped out at me is highlighted in bold above – the marketplace. I’m not sure I thought about it the same way that ChatGPT did, with some sort of supply and demand mechanism. What it did make me do is reconsider how these central cards might work. Instead of acquiring passengers, I thought there would be central routes and contracts to fight over in the marketplace. Will it stay that way – probably not.

Up next

After thinking about some of the mechanics, I continued researching and adding different elements to the rules whilst diving into Adobe Illustrator to try and design some template cards.