The Crusaders© Card Game

The development process has highs and lows. Some days the launch day seems close, other times it’s like trying to climb a ladder to the moon. It’s somewhere in between with Crusaders. The cards are nearly completed for set 1 and don’t appear to need much refining as development continues. The character overhaul is going to be another matter. With many characters and choices and tests to go, the process seems long but there has been a recent observation in testing. The characters were made some years ago and show they were intended for the way game played in the past. They now lack the punch to end games in a reasonable amount of time. This is good news as it grants us some insight into how to balance the play time of games compared to the aggression and damage output potentials of characters going forward.

After much play testing and pondering balancing the game, it may be necessary to reevaluate the current number of cards in set one. The intention is to give players as many play options as possible without delving into niches of play styles meant for later sets. By the time all necessary cards are play tested and balance is achieved, Crusaders set one will be somewhere between 150 and 200 cards.

This particular card is used to slow an opponent’s strategy by limiting card draw. Since cards are very powerful in Crusaders, losing out on a draw may mean creating an opening to land crucial damage on an opponent.

A major hurdle in the process of refining the Crusaders card game has been accomplished. All of the existing cards for the first set have been overhauled to become more effective and clearer for players. The focus now shifts to creating the cards to reach the 150 mark to complete set one.

Crusaders is seeing updates to all aspects of the game including how the games stats are tracked. To address issues with previous Dials, a horizontal design is being considered.

Many major card games have followings of tech savvy players. Many of them like to share their hobby with the world via videos of matches online. In the very near future, Crusaders play testing will be recorded and posted here. This will both serve as an introduction for newer players and an important tool for the developers to continue to refine the game.

Creating cards in order to fill the needs of the first set of Crusaders has an unexpected hurdle that should surprise no one, creating new artwork.

There are now cards in the process of play testing that do not have any artwork created as yet. This will change with time but it is a new opportunity to involve artists to include more variety in the images.

Today marks a milestone with the development process of Crusaders CCG. The significant overhaul of the previous version’s cards was completed very recently. The 4th version of the cards was printed today and put into full play testing. Play was fast and much more decisive than the previous version. New cards made a splash and older cards proved again their usefulness. Though a great deal of work lies ahead, launch is finally on the horizon.

The newest of the cards to fill the open spaces, Broad Shield. It’s function is to help balance the game in terms of creating a defense against powerful equipped weapons, forcing the flow of battle to slow for fear of getting a hard to come by weapon destroyed.

Filling empty spaces does have a pleasant side. Crusaders was at one time missing cards types common to other trading card games. Cards that draw cards don’t always fit the mold of Crusaders’ flow of battle. A card that makes it easier to draw cards in a hard spot was a welcomed addition however. Extra Pocket has been a hit among play testers and stands to be a string step towards completing set one.