I find the Everdeck[0] to the the most elegant and interesting implementation of the super-deck concept. The sreator has explored and taken ideas from many other deck systems[1].
Remotely related to something I was wondering yesterday: outside of 'house rules'-type variations, are there major changes to common games that are viable, popular and catalogued somewhere? e.g., add a few pieces and turn Monopoly into a zombie horde game, or change Scrabble into a dungeon crawler or Uno into a space RPG.
I have read novels written by engineers. More often than not, they are unreadable. They fail to understand why people read (or write). They are an engineer's idea of what a novel should look like.
In the most loving way possible and as a software engineer myself, this is an engineer's idea of what a deck of cards should look like.
>
I have read novels written by engineers. More often than not, they are unreadable. They fail to understand why people read (or write). They are an engineer's idea of what a novel should look like.
On the other hand: Greg Egan ([1], [2]) is a mathematician and novelist. His novels are sometimes considered to be barely readable (if you are not part of his audience). On the other hand: he does seem to understand why people read his novels - he knows his audience. :-D Readers praise his novels for the worldbuilding (though commonly the story is considered to the weaker side of many of his novels).
So I do imagine that such engineers who write novels perfectly know why people read - they just write for a different audience. :-)
Having followed qntm's work since Fine Structure (2006), he's really improved since then. He got a lot better at character writing with Ra (2011).
I think it's largely a matter of intentional practice. I think that some sci-fi writers don't prioritize honing that skill, since they just want to build a cool world and the story is a way to demonstrate that.
I have never heard of that book, but a quick Google search reveals that the author is in the process of "releasing version 2". Refer to the previous comment for my opinion on that matter.
In addition to the content licensing, it was released as serial web fiction presented in a wiki. Serial fiction usually benefits from significant editing to fit the structure of a novel.
They aren't that uncommon outside of physical stores, where board game nerds gather - off the top of my head I can think of at least three similar multi-game decks: Everdeck [0], Badger Deck [1], and Singularity Deck [2], while a cursory search nets me another dozen or so [3].
There's also the Decktet [4], of course, even if it takes a very different approach than the rest (for one thing, it does away with traditional suits - it is a very interesting deck, and one I really like).
Just bought the decket and the book based on your recommendation. It looks neat. I've recently gotten into card games with my kid and it's a lot of fun. I'm hoping these games are half decent as well. Have you played many?
On another note, I've really enjoyed finding one-player games that use a standard 52-card deck as well. There's a ton of interesting games out there.
Right, but a card game with specific cards already chosen and designed for me that let the cognitive burden be on the game strategy itself is much more useful for the majority of people, and typically cost $5-10. This multi deck would be a nightmare with children too.
Parent referred to this as if it were a novel written by an engineer, that it then, as usual, wouldn't be a good one. The off-the-shelf card games are a standard novel. These cards are not your average novel; you'd expect people to be into this unusual or for some even unpleasant genre and style.
Nevil Shute was an engineer and he wrote some well respected novels like the nuclear war story On the Beach (made into a movie twice), A Town like Alice (made into a film and TV series), and No Highway (sometimes called No Highway in the Sky after the title of the film based on it), which actually deals with aircraft engineering and the problems involved in designing early jet airliners.
It seems though like these are kind of a tool for a “game engineer” to prototype a game though. Not just a deck to keep around the house for general play.
It baffles me that this isn't mentioned in the page, but a deck like this is extremely useful for testing while designing a new boardgame. They are very versatile and can likely emulate whatever wacky system you come up with for your game, which means you can iterate without having to print a new deck new each time.
I love it I really do. Great concept and nice site.
However. Its hilariously unrealistic. Just memorize these 500 simple glyph's and become a master of conceptual game design and you can play anything with this deck!
The hard part is not the deck. Its finding another person that will actually learn all this so you can use it,lol.
Yeah I think one of the funniest parts is that it doesn't even include the standard heart, diamond, club, spade suits. Picturing trying to explain to my grandma which suit is which as she begs for a normal deck of cards.
I agree that the main pain point is teaching new users how to use the deck. I wrote such detailed documentation because this project is very niche, and I thought board game geeks would love all this knowledge. However, after completing it, I realized it’s overwhelming for a quick “Getting Started” guide. To address this, I’ve been thinking about creating a video tutorial on how to use the deck and writing a separate simplified manual, something more accessible for casual users.
My next challenge is that I’m not making any profit from the deck right now. I’d need to lower production costs, invest in branding/marketing, and figure out distribution. Basically, find a publisher or handle it myself (probably through crowdfunding). I feel like I’ve got a validated MVP because real people are buying it, and with some improvements, it could reach a broader audience. Any thoughts or advice on this?
I feel like you need to pre-populate some of the tiles with popular games. How you do this without running afoul of copyright is up to you. Maybe you use synonyms (good/evil/devil instead of liberal/fascist/hitler), have a variety of werewolf/mafia characters, etc.
Then this can be marketed as "20+ games in 1" in airport giftshops, the idea being that you expand the market well beyond board game enthusiasts and prototypers to casual gamers.
If this were a product from someplace that doesn't respect copyright at all, each card would likely just be a grid of miniaturized original cards from various games and some mapping/instruction cards, and maybe a crappy smartphone app.
Is gumroad or PayPal not available in Spain? Feels weird to WhatsApp someone to buy the cards. Anyhow, the design is deliciously complex. @Op, can you play briscas with these cards?
We do have PayPal, and that’s what I usually use (along with crypto). I chose WhatsApp because the volume of sales is so low. I print the deck in batches when I accumulate enough orders, and using WhatsApp/email allows me to text customers when their deck is ready. It’s pretty rudimentary, I know, haha.
I love these ideas, though feel I would prefer designs that (may) sacrifice some utility for aesthetics. That isn't a knock on the magnificent effort here, but just my own preference. It's likely the emojis that I'm not thrilled about, but I can also appreciate the reason for using them.
It is much easier with dice, you can roll a D20 then take the remainder dividing by Dn (plus one). But you must avoid modulo bias (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10984974) and re-roll for high rolls, which may be dissatisfying to players who roll a natural 20 on their D6 throw and need to roll again.
I find the Everdeck[0] to the the most elegant and interesting implementation of the super-deck concept. The sreator has explored and taken ideas from many other deck systems[1].
[0] https://thewrongtools.wordpress.com/2019/10/10/the-everdeck/ [1] https://thewrongtools.wordpress.com/2017/10/15/features-of-f...
ok, that is seriously cool. i already love some of those games listed on the landing page, thanks for the suggestion!
Remotely related to something I was wondering yesterday: outside of 'house rules'-type variations, are there major changes to common games that are viable, popular and catalogued somewhere? e.g., add a few pieces and turn Monopoly into a zombie horde game, or change Scrabble into a dungeon crawler or Uno into a space RPG.
There's some examples of games that you can repurpose to play other existing games on BGG, and they link to lists people have made: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1812755/list-of-games-you-c...
More like repurposing games to play other existing games rather than the overhaul you're talking about.
This is a fantastic essay and project, but the chances of getting anyone to play an actual game with it are basically zero.
I have read novels written by engineers. More often than not, they are unreadable. They fail to understand why people read (or write). They are an engineer's idea of what a novel should look like.
In the most loving way possible and as a software engineer myself, this is an engineer's idea of what a deck of cards should look like.
> I have read novels written by engineers. More often than not, they are unreadable. They fail to understand why people read (or write). They are an engineer's idea of what a novel should look like.
On the other hand: Greg Egan ([1], [2]) is a mathematician and novelist. His novels are sometimes considered to be barely readable (if you are not part of his audience). On the other hand: he does seem to understand why people read his novels - he knows his audience. :-D Readers praise his novels for the worldbuilding (though commonly the story is considered to the weaker side of many of his novels).
So I do imagine that such engineers who write novels perfectly know why people read - they just write for a different audience. :-)
[1] https://www.gregegan.net/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Egan
What, like There Is No Antimemetics Division?
I think you read novels by bad writers, who happened to be engineers.
Having followed qntm's work since Fine Structure (2006), he's really improved since then. He got a lot better at character writing with Ra (2011).
I think it's largely a matter of intentional practice. I think that some sci-fi writers don't prioritize honing that skill, since they just want to build a cool world and the story is a way to demonstrate that.
I have never heard of that book, but a quick Google search reveals that the author is in the process of "releasing version 2". Refer to the previous comment for my opinion on that matter.
In addition to the content licensing, it was released as serial web fiction presented in a wiki. Serial fiction usually benefits from significant editing to fit the structure of a novel.
Well, it's a fantastic book.
It's being rewritten for content licensing reasons.
All it needs is some artsy marketingy touch to sneak it past normies' defenses, and it'll shine :).
A configurable deck of cards. It's not like you see these in every store.
That being said, I love the page. The layout, use of colors and the content.
They aren't that uncommon outside of physical stores, where board game nerds gather - off the top of my head I can think of at least three similar multi-game decks: Everdeck [0], Badger Deck [1], and Singularity Deck [2], while a cursory search nets me another dozen or so [3].
There's also the Decktet [4], of course, even if it takes a very different approach than the rest (for one thing, it does away with traditional suits - it is a very interesting deck, and one I really like).
[0] https://www.drivethrucards.com/product/291492/The-Everdeck [1] https://www.drivethrucards.com/product/130446/The-Badger-Dec... [2] https://www.drivethrucards.com/product/189681/The-Singularit... [3] https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/252876/playing-card-game-... [4] https://www.decktet.com/
Just bought the decket and the book based on your recommendation. It looks neat. I've recently gotten into card games with my kid and it's a lot of fun. I'm hoping these games are half decent as well. Have you played many?
On another note, I've really enjoyed finding one-player games that use a standard 52-card deck as well. There's a ton of interesting games out there.
Right, but a card game with specific cards already chosen and designed for me that let the cognitive burden be on the game strategy itself is much more useful for the majority of people, and typically cost $5-10. This multi deck would be a nightmare with children too.
Parent referred to this as if it were a novel written by an engineer, that it then, as usual, wouldn't be a good one. The off-the-shelf card games are a standard novel. These cards are not your average novel; you'd expect people to be into this unusual or for some even unpleasant genre and style.
Nevil Shute was an engineer and he wrote some well respected novels like the nuclear war story On the Beach (made into a movie twice), A Town like Alice (made into a film and TV series), and No Highway (sometimes called No Highway in the Sky after the title of the film based on it), which actually deals with aircraft engineering and the problems involved in designing early jet airliners.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevil_Shute
It seems though like these are kind of a tool for a “game engineer” to prototype a game though. Not just a deck to keep around the house for general play.
It baffles me that this isn't mentioned in the page, but a deck like this is extremely useful for testing while designing a new boardgame. They are very versatile and can likely emulate whatever wacky system you come up with for your game, which means you can iterate without having to print a new deck new each time.
> It baffles me that this isn't mentioned in the page,
The first paragraph says: "The DIY multideck is ideal for traveling, prototyping new games, and trying games before buying." (emphasis mine)
I mean so’s a bunch of index cards and some pens.
Can't beat zettelkasten!
It is clearly aimed at enthusiasts and game designers.
I love it I really do. Great concept and nice site.
However. Its hilariously unrealistic. Just memorize these 500 simple glyph's and become a master of conceptual game design and you can play anything with this deck!
The hard part is not the deck. Its finding another person that will actually learn all this so you can use it,lol.
Yeah I think one of the funniest parts is that it doesn't even include the standard heart, diamond, club, spade suits. Picturing trying to explain to my grandma which suit is which as she begs for a normal deck of cards.
There have been many variants of this 'generic' card deck published on board game geek
* https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/39987/one-deck (my own attempt)
* https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59655/rainbow-deck
But for something different, I suggest looking at the Decktet, https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37301/decktet , which is an unusual multi suited deck, which people have ported games to use.
Have you used Decktet? If so, what's your experience?
Thanks for sharing, OP! :D I’m the creator of the DIY Multideck, and honestly, I didn’t expect this much interest, it’s super exciting to see!
I agree that the main pain point is teaching new users how to use the deck. I wrote such detailed documentation because this project is very niche, and I thought board game geeks would love all this knowledge. However, after completing it, I realized it’s overwhelming for a quick “Getting Started” guide. To address this, I’ve been thinking about creating a video tutorial on how to use the deck and writing a separate simplified manual, something more accessible for casual users.
My next challenge is that I’m not making any profit from the deck right now. I’d need to lower production costs, invest in branding/marketing, and figure out distribution. Basically, find a publisher or handle it myself (probably through crowdfunding). I feel like I’ve got a validated MVP because real people are buying it, and with some improvements, it could reach a broader audience. Any thoughts or advice on this?
I feel like you need to pre-populate some of the tiles with popular games. How you do this without running afoul of copyright is up to you. Maybe you use synonyms (good/evil/devil instead of liberal/fascist/hitler), have a variety of werewolf/mafia characters, etc.
Then this can be marketed as "20+ games in 1" in airport giftshops, the idea being that you expand the market well beyond board game enthusiasts and prototypers to casual gamers.
If this were a product from someplace that doesn't respect copyright at all, each card would likely just be a grid of miniaturized original cards from various games and some mapping/instruction cards, and maybe a crappy smartphone app.
btw, if you're interested on the deck's development, check/follow this thread on BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3128477/the-diy-multideck-a...
I like unusual playing cards.
Here's one I peek at from time to time: http://wiki.decktet.com/introduction-to-the-decktet
Is gumroad or PayPal not available in Spain? Feels weird to WhatsApp someone to buy the cards. Anyhow, the design is deliciously complex. @Op, can you play briscas with these cards?
We do have PayPal, and that’s what I usually use (along with crypto). I chose WhatsApp because the volume of sales is so low. I print the deck in batches when I accumulate enough orders, and using WhatsApp/email allows me to text customers when their deck is ready. It’s pretty rudimentary, I know, haha.
Yes, you can play briscas: https://diymultideck.mauri.app/games/spanish-deck/ (and also any other common deck)
I've never heard about gumroad in Europe. And many people do not trust PayPal (I don't).
Can you imagine how exciting 3D Bridge might be? The post game analyses would last the square of the normal time - yay!
In school, we played a lot of Skat [1] in the breaks.
Considering the emergence of 3D video games at that time, I indeed loved to imagine how a 3D version of Skat might look like. :-)
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skat_(card_game)
I love these ideas, though feel I would prefer designs that (may) sacrifice some utility for aesthetics. That isn't a knock on the magnificent effort here, but just my own preference. It's likely the emojis that I'm not thrilled about, but I can also appreciate the reason for using them.
You (and others in this thread) may be interested in my favorite set of cards to gift people, the ZSA Cards. https://zsa.fun/cards
This reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piecepack .
This reminds me of one of those dice I saw that can roll anything from a D4 through a D20, if not more. Technically usable, but ... complicated.
a lot of fun dice here https://www.mathartfun.com/dSpecial.html
I like the "go first" dice
It is much easier with dice, you can roll a D20 then take the remainder dividing by Dn (plus one). But you must avoid modulo bias (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10984974) and re-roll for high rolls, which may be dissatisfying to players who roll a natural 20 on their D6 throw and need to roll again.
I'm surprised they don't sell something like this in airport travel shops.
It feels intimidating at first sight, but this looks like a very cool idea.
I like these decks, if only it is not so expensive to get it printed