Game Ideas: Battle for Hildgaard the Collectible Card Game (CCG)

Battle For Hildgaard

Hello everyone.

I want to introduce you all to Battle for Hildgaard, a collectible card game I’m currently thinking about, alot. It would be a regular CCG in that you collect cards and build decks of them. Put there are two points that would make the game a more enticing experience. Firstly how players would build decks and secondly it’s how the game is played.

Building Decks
In a regular CCG you have about 60 cards in your deck, and with these cards you interact with a playing field that is in many cases alike, with changes only to how the cards interact with one another (Example, Pokémon and magic both use “creature” cards but they both fill different purposes). These cards then allow for the player to fulfill the “dream” the designer invented for them (I want to be a Pokémon trainer or I’m a powerful planeswalker, using my magic to summon powerful creatures to aid me in combat). One of the main thing about regular CCGs are that

To build a deck in battle of Hildgaard you use 40 standard cards and a General card, the general card acts both as a standard creature, but also as you, the player. The general cards represent powerful lords, kings and prestigous knights. If your general card runs out of health you lose the game. Outside of health, the general got a type, a faction, a leadership and a gold value. The Type determines what of the three types a general is, Faction decides which cards he is allowed to play in his deck, Leadership determines how many troops he can control at the same time and Gold determines the maximum amount of gold he can spend per turn.

The standard decks in Battle for Hilgaard consists of 40 cards of different card types but cannot contain more then 3 of any one card. The card types in the game at the moment is Banners, Troops and Fortification cards.

Banners are buff cards that are attached to your General card, a General can only carry one banner at a time. These will for example increase gold and/or leadership but also do extra effects such as giving nearby Troop cards increased attack values or make Fortification cards cheaper to play. Banners are not bound by faction as of now.

Troop cards are the mainstay of your deck, these cards are split into two types, got a faction, a cost, a health and a attack value. The troop cards can also have keywords such as ranged, meaning they got ranged attacks or siege, meaning they ignore fortification and defense bonuses.

Fortifications are structures that are built to fortify specific locations or hinder movement. They can be symbolize things such as towers, walls, castles or trenches. They got a faction and a health value. They always block enemy movement but can also gain specific keywords such as Fortifiable, meaning friendly units can occupy the same square and only lose health to attacks when the fortification is destroyed aslong as they stay on the square occupied by the fortification.

Playing Battle of Hildgaard
Battle of Hildgaard will be played out as by two players facing of in a battle for territory in a larger war. The battle is conducted between two generals on a grid net, conducted of 7×7 tiles (the battleground). These tiles represent areas which troops and fortifications occupy. Both players also got a hand, a discard pile and a deck area. Both players draw 2 cards from their deck at the start and end of their turn. A player can only have 7 cards on hand and if they at any time have more than that they need to discard down to it. When a players deck runs out it is reshuffled (This is very important because it changes how you construct your deck alot especially with the small deck size)

Both players then place their general in the fourth column infront of them, on the tile closest to them and both players may play cards up to their generals gold value on this first round before the game begins inside their controlled area (2 rows unto the board). The game is played in turns. This is called the start turn. After this the player with the general card with the lowest leadership value starts playing.

During the turn, one buys new units, move units and attack with units. A player can only move 1 troop + the general every round, but can attack with all units in range, giving ranged units a huge advantage in both defense and offense. After this the turn is passed and the next player plays his/her turn. This keeps going until one players general has 0 health.

Wrapping up
The game would be an adventure through several genres, including the deckbuilding and preperation parts of both a strategy game and a Trading Card Game, but also the tactical overview of a turn based strategy game. This would make many player types interested in the game as it would attract Achievers, Socials and Explorers. Achievers would like the game for tournament play and winning over other players. Socials would play to game with friends and hang out. Explorers would love the possibilities in the deckbuilding.

Have a Good one from a Van and a Game Designer!