Card Game: Loopholes and Balances

Before going into the reviews of my card game "Race To Mt. Pain," it is important to know the rules of the game. Firstly, my card game is meant to be played at your own pace. Meaning there are no turns. The overall purpose of the game is for each player to draw their stack of cards at a rapid pace in order to reach the maximum number of points to win. The higher the value of the card, the more points are granted. However, there are some custom cards that can either boost or slow down a player. Such cards include the Sherpa's Guidance which automatically causes a player to win, or the Rope Snap which causes the player to lose. There are much more specifics that tie into the game, but that should sum it up in the best way possible.

After play-testing my card game, there were mostly positive reviews rather than negative reviews. In fact, there was hardly any complaints whatsoever. This really exceeded my expectations. However, it is still important to recognize the flaws and shortcomings no matter the circumstance. That is what I will be discussing within this post.

Loopholes vs Features

To understand what loopholes are, loopholes can be defined as "a flaw in the system that users can exploit to gain an unfair or unintended advantage" (Fullerton 316). In addition, loopholes are ways players can cheat the system in ways they did not know were possible. In terms of features, features are, to an extent, the same as loopholes. However, features can actually be intentional flaws in the game. 

When it comes to my card game, there weren't any noticeable loopholes. While play-testing "Race To Mt. Pain," the most common criticism was that some of the custom cards are a bit too harsh. The Rope Snap being the most harsh, specifically. This flaw, in particular, is actually a feature that me and my other developers intended to have in the game. Since the card game is a very fast paced game, my team's goal was to have some boosts and declines to make the game last a decent amount of time. 

Symmetry vs Asymmetry

When discussing symmetry and asymmetry in terms of games, the key difference to understand is that symmetry is when players all have the same materials to start with while asymmetry results in players having differences in materials. In relation to "Race To Mt. Pain," I would argue that it consists of both symmetry and asymmetry. In terms of symmetry, each player is given the same number of cards to start with (68). In terms of asymmetry, each players' stack of cards consists of a different pile. Therefore, one luck player can have a Sherpa's Guidance in their pile of cards while an unlucky player can have a Rope Snap in their pile of cards. 

Source

Fullerton, T. (2019). Chapter 10: Functionality, Completeness, and Balance. In Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games (4th ed.). CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group.