Cards

Cards are game elements used to distribute tokens, often with different characteristics, to players without necessarily revealing the distribution.

Cards are common game elements in traditional games. They provide an easy way to randomize distribution and keep that distribution secret from players. The information can either be secret to all players, as for example when the game uses a stack from which cards are drawn, or known only to one player, as is the case in card games where each player has a card hand. The use of Cards also allow game designers to choose the exact distribution, not only guaranteeing the overall chance for a value specified by a card to be drawn but also guaranteeing that certain values will appear during gameplay. Cards do not need to be physical game elements, they can also be simulated in computer games.

While some purchased games come with all Cards in a game design, others require players to combine their Cards to be able and play. Other games expand the gameplay by adding expansions with Cards.

Note: this pattern currents includes the pattern Chips.

Examples

Example: The common set of cards, used for example in Blackjack or Poker, consists of 52 cards split between four suits of 13 cards each, where the 13 cards are numbered from 2 to 10 and include a knight, queen, king and ace.

Example: alternative card designs include the "card sets" of collectable card games such as Magic: the Gathering or Illuminati: New World Order. In both of these several different categories of cards are mixed and are required to be used in order to win, some enabling actions, some acting as resources generators. Illuminati: New World Order also uses spatial relationships of the Cards as a meaningful element of the gameplay.

Example: the board game Talisman uses Cards to randomize the contents of areas on the game board, and the Card Hands players possess are public inventories of items found.

The latest edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay depict the skills, talents, and reputations of players' characters through Cards.

See The Penguin Encyclopedia of Card GamesCite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag ^[1] </references>