Although business cards are rarely used now with so much networking done online or via phones, they are still a fun item to design and have on hand. I’m under no illusions that only a few of these may be handed out, so I’ve kept future proofing in mind so that they can be used at any time without the need to be updated.
Idea
After seeing some interesting designs which make business cards into games or a set of artwork, I chose to design mine like collectable cards. The front contains all the usual details, but the backs have the appearance of a collectible card.
Each card is one of two types. Characters have three stats which are Strength, Agility and Intelligence, while Souvenirs are able to modify these Characters. Each card is based on something from one of my game projects, similar to how Ludosity inserted objects from their games into Card City Nights.
Set Structure
The cards feature 11 unique designs, 3 Legendary, 4 Rare, and 4 Common. Each Legendary card has only 2 copies, Rares have 4 copies, and Commons have 7 copies. This nicely adds up to 50 which is the smallest increment of cards that can be printed.
Card Design
The card design is quite simple and borrows a lot of elements from other card games. Here is an example using the Miner, a character from a prototype I’m currently working on.
Cards each have a name and rarity, shown at the top with the card art beneath. If the card is a Character, their stats will be shown to the right. Below all of this is the card text, Souvenirs have some rules text to explain their effect, while all cards will have some flavour text. At the very bottom is card information such as the set name and card number within the set.
Game Design
As for the game, I’m sorry to say that there isn’t one. It’s a nice idea to have a game to play where I could teach someone the game, play it, and then give a card away, but realistically I couldn’t see this ever happening. The cards do have stats or rule text that could be used to quickly throw together a simple game, but at the end of the day I’d rather spend that time on one of my other game projects.
Final Result
The cards are very clear and readable, which I was a little worried about, so I’m relieved that they have turned out alright. The colour is darker than the digital designs, and the cut is a little inconsistent between cards, but both of these were expected so I’m very pleased with the final result and hope I get a chance to hand them out one day.