As the name implies, the game would be a sort of hypnosis-themed card game that draws mechanical inspiration heavily from Magic, while drawing design inspiration from the works of the outstanding artists that can be found on this website.

The idea of the game is that you are a mastermind, seeking world domination through hypnosis, and you are battling against other masterminds looking to do the same thing.

There will be six factions involved in this sort of hypnotic free-for-all:

The Wilds, filled with ancient entities that seek to return humans to their true, primitive nature.

The Syndicate, an international criminal organization that seeks to use hypnosis for their own nefarious goals.

The Divine, creatures that hail from the Heavens and the Pits, fighting to mindlessly indoctrinate or corrupt the world before the other does.

The Coven, a group of magical creatures and magic users who make use of powerful spells and mystical artifacts to accomplish their goals.

The Visitors, aliens from other worlds that are looking to add this world to their collection.

and lastly...

The Populace, just a bunch of normal, everyday people who go about their lives. Most are unaware of the power struggle going on between the other factions, although some have begun to take notice and have started seeking answers.

Initial thoughts, ideas, questions, feel free to leave all of those in a comment below. Thanks!

So this idea has been posted about before. Its main problem is unique ideas, not to mention balance. Others have drawn their mechanics inspiration from Hearthstone, rather than MTG (which is heavily flawed, but they can't *just* change it now).

What's the point of factions? What purpose does it serve?
Does each faction give the player goals, or is it just loose lore?
How will you avoid the pitfalls of archetypal deck design that YuGiOh has?

Is this game 1v1, or chaotic free for all, or team based?

What's the main win condition, and what stands in the way? What's the main goal and how is it achieved?

What's the card template like? Is it clean, is it complex, is it clear what each part is for?

What's the game board look like? What zones and segments does each player have, and do they contribute meaningful impact to the gameplay and experience?

What's the deck like? Is there a size limit? Is there a limit on how many of each card you can have in it (playsets)?

Are there going to be cards that are just straight up better than others? Or will every card have at least niche application, so none get left unused?

I've been interested in helping work on this every time someone proposes it, but nobody ever follows through, lol. If you're serious, I'm not opposed to giving this a shot as well, but some details need to be ironed out and made clear first.

So I simply stated Magic as an inspiration because it is a game I felt would be easily recognized. There are certain mechanical ideas that numerous games draw from, which I have some knowledge on having worked on card games in the past. As far as energy generation goes, it will be closer to Hearthstone in that regard. As to your questions, in order:

1. The factions will serve a function similar to the classes from Hearthstone, they will have access to faction-specific cards, with the exception of the Populace. While yes, you could build a deck made up entirely of Populace cards, the idea is that Populace cards are like generic cards that all factions can make use of.

From a lore-perspective, there are rivalries within individual factions. The best example of this will be with the Divine faction, where there are angels and demons competing with one another, even though they belong to the same faction.

2. All of the above. The default type of game is 1v1, but I believe that rules for 2v2 or 4+ free-for-all are absolutely possible. I simple used the term free-for-all in my earlier statement to reflect the in-game world, with 6 (5 really, as the Populace are more like the helpless victims) battling it out for world domination.

3. Win condition is the standard battle-card game win condition: reduce the Will (life) of your opponent(s) to zero or force your opponent(s) to run out of cards in their deck.

4. Template will be in the realm of Magic and Hearthstone, as I have found the Hearthstone cards' simplicity to be nice and easy to read, but Magic makes better use of complex effects by working them into the card's design (like flip cards, or planeswalkers).

5. Game format will be an offshoot of Yu-gi-oh, with specific zones dedicated to specific types of cards, divided up into 2 rows, top and bottom. The 4 main types of cards are: Creature, Action, Item, and Story.

The top row will be reserved for creatures, with a small space of to the side for Story cards.

The bottom row will be reserved for long-lasting Action cards and Items.

I do have planned for certain cards having effects that are influenced by the location of creatures on the game board. Ex. An Action card that forces an enemy creature to attack an adjacent ally of your choice.

6. Deck size will be a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40. This gives players a healthy supply of cards while still keeping the possibility of decking out open.

7. There are some cards that are Epic cards. These cards will function like the legendary cards in Hearthstone, especially powerful, but limited to one.

Another thing will be cards that have the keyword LOYAL. In a game centered around hypnosis, have control of a particular creature change over the course of a game will be common. A LOYAL creature can't have its control changed, unless you SUPPRESS the creature, thus canceling all of its effects.

Other than those types of cards, I am of the mindset that every card has a place. One card may seem like a better fit for your particular play style over another, but the same may be true for that other card for someone else's play style.

I noticed some of the other posts and proposals, the reason I created by own thread rather than post on a preexisting thread is because this is my take on the idea, not theirs.

Making a new thread for a new idea is definitely the way to go. I wasn't implying you res an old thread, so glad we're on the same page there, haha.

Second, I like the concept. Seems relatively fleshed out and has some good ideas on paper. But balancing it seems like it'll be hard.

Third, another round of questions. Sorry, I work at a card shop on the side, so I have a lot of exposure to this kind of thing >.>

Will faction specific cards gain influence and bonuses by being used with their respective archetype and/or sharing a field with their friendly clan-mates? Will they have (dis)advantages when encountering a rival faction? Like type advantage in Pokemon.

How many keywords do you ultimately plan on having? Seems like you already have at least one, but adding too many may be a bit chaotic.

You definitely have enchantments and artifacts already (if we're going by MTG terminology), do you plan on adding more? Because that can be dangerous.

How will you make the lore and gameplay reflective of each other? It seems like you have both, but they don't seem intertwined, per se. At least not tightly so. In other words, how does the theme fit the game itself, and vice versa? They are definitely connected, but not strongly so. At least it seems that way so far.

How will you get artists to contribute work? I'm not making any assumptions here.

What would you like the pacing to be? Slow, fast, variable? Are combo decks going to really drag out their turn, despite swift response/action?

Lastly, how do you plan on making each card continually playable? Are you going to limit card pool so that you ONLY design cards that are useful? Be it universally, playstyle dependent, or by faction? That seems like something that might force you into a corner.

Oh, one more thing:
Do you plan on keeping this digital or make it physical? Because each one has their benefit and drawbacks, but either would be cool. I vastly prefer a tangible game for TCGs, but printing isn't always cheap.

Anyways! Things I like so far:
-Variable deck size. For a game like this, that seems like a good idea.
-Location/field influence.
-Singleton cards for the highest caliber slot(s). But will there be a rarity and pack system, or will players have access to everything at the start? More-so a concern if this is printed rather than digital.

Not a bad start.

Glad to see someone else is interested in this kind of thing, hope you go farther than I did

Wow, this is a lot of words in a thread this new.

I don't have an eye for card game design myself, so I don't have much to say, other than, yeah, it seems like there's bound to be a lot of effects that control creatures (or force or limit other players' actions), and that seems like it's going to lead to a lot of games that are either curbstomps or clown fiestas, or both. Maybe that's not inevitable, if you do a really good job at balancing things, but it seems even harder to avoid than in a non-hypno-themed game.

As a person who plays mtg competitvely and a deck brewer and budget deck brewer some advice id give is try not to have too many different mechanics as that can end up with some broken interactions like in mtg i can kill off my oponent at the end of turn 3 easily. But as for factions maybe since the hypnohub comunity is large maybe the people interested in playing could get choices for charecters in factions and then the cards can be designed for instance

The first part is true. definitely steer away from too mich variety. Find a good middle ground.

As for the second part, that's flavor, that can come later. Unless design philosophy requires they go side by side, which is only partially the case here.

Me anytime I find something that interests me.

I think it sounds incredibly fun to play. Maybe instead of having it be player vs player, have it be like you have to play cards to get objectives! Or compete for slaves. Or even do a Werewolf/Mafia type game with roles!

Wow, I leave for 12 hours for classes, and I come back to this fanfare. AWESOME!

(cough, cough)

Anyway, to run down the list:

- As far as the faction cards go, I see each of the 5 main factions having 2-3 particular themes relating to each of them, while the Populace faction has a number of good, generic synergy cards. Maybe later down the line I'll add additional themes, but I am not looking to overwhelm this system. That is a problem I have with MtG; so many keywords that sometimes I don't know what they do.

As far as interaction with one another, again I tend to think of these factions as being more like class cards from Hearthstone than the mana colors from MtG. Officially, you can't run a deck with more than 2 types of factions (Populace + your chosen faction), but I won't blame players from wanting to mess around with the match-ups in unofficial games. Restricting cards in this way makes for an easier time balancing things out, as I don't have to consider a card from the Visitors faction being an unstoppable combo when combined with a card from the Divine faction, because "officially" that wouldn't be possible.

- Not too many keywords, again the main reason I get bogged down with MtG for that very reason. Especially since I plan on this being a physical card game, at least in the beginning. This means I won't have the saving grace that Hearthstone has where all you have to do is mouse over a card and the effect will be explained to you.

- I don't plan on a complete translation of MtG to this game. I grew up on Yugioh, and have played several different card games since, and I have noticed that there are certain kinds of cards that are common across card games. These cards include persisting card effects, reactionary cards, and weapon/equip cards. Those are the primary card types I am working with at the moment.

- For the lore + gameplay side of things, I see it more as certain cards, from a card art perspective, sort of connect with one another.

For example: There is a generic card I have typed up called "Ambitious Reporter". Her effect allows you to draw 1 card when she is played. She also has a bit of lore text that reads "Don't worry boss, I'll get the scoop on this Syndicate group."

The Syndicate faction has a Trap-type Action card called Hypnoscreen Cage, which will include the Ambitious Reporter in its card art. The card will also have some lore text that reads "Soon you'll be a nice, obedient little helper."

Finally, the Syndicate will also have a Creature card called Media Informant that will show a more formally-dressed Ambitious Reporter with the lore text being "Sorry boss, couldn't find anything about these Syndicate guys."

These cards don't have any mechanical connections between eachother, but a story is still being told through the lore text and the card art.

- With regard to the artwork situation, I do plan on paying artists for commissions, but if an artist likes this idea and the possibility of one of their original characters being included in a card game and is looking to work with me I have no problems with that.

- The game will be somewhat variable in pacing. The reason I am favoring a Hearthstone-style energy generation is so a player doesn't necessarily get left behind as a result of a bum hand, like what can happen in MtG or Yugioh. It is still possible to play a fast, aggressive style, it just won't be such a one-sided massacre.

- I do plan on making it so First Edition cards can continue to see usage in later editions. That is something that I find slightly annoying with Hearthstone and Yugioh. With Hearthstone, cards are dropped from Official usage with the start of a new season, while Yugioh has a Ban List that players are expected to keep up with and adjust their decks accordingly, which can be frustrating.

- As far as physical vs. digital, I plan on starting this in the physical space of things, then maybe including an online version for sites that are willing to support it.

As for packs and rarity, I don't plan on using those. You want a particular card for your deck, you message me, I'll add it to the list for the next print out, then you'll pay whatever it is you feel is an appropriate cost for the card. I don't want it to be a case where certain cards are hard to find, and those players who do have those cards are reselling them for 2 or 3 times the original cost.

Zermelane: As to your comment, the entire game won't revolve around switching control of a player's creature. The attack of creatures is called Ego, while their health is called Will. So when you destroy an opponent's creature with one of your own creatures, you are reducing the target creature's Will through the strength of your creature's Ego. I think that can help capture the overall theme of the game.

foffyoul5: I do plan on each faction representing a different area of hypno-erotica, but these areas will be broad for the purpose of appealing to the major groups. The Coven for magic, the Divine for conversion and temptation, etc etc. Depending on which artists I decide to approach, we may see some characters from Hypnohub making guest appearances.

Jade: As for alternate gamemodes, I do think the idea of 4v1 boss battles or games with special rulings is entirely possible. The reason though that I have gone with a battle-centric style of card game is because that is what the majority of card games I play revolve around.





...my fingers hurt...

One problem with a mind control themed card game in the vein of MtG or Yugioh to consider is that you're going to end up with a game that is, mechanically, not about mind control at all but just has a mind control window dressing; with all references to damage being replaced with "weakening willpower".

I believe a less straight-forward approach would be necessary, personally. For example, treating willpower like it's HP would lead to situations where a player with 1 WP left out of 20 is entirely free to do whatever they want, and a player with 0 WP left out of 20 is completely subjugated. It doesn't really fit the theme to well. Not to mention, dealing with "minions" would be equally jarring. Like, if you reduce a minion to 0 wp they wouldn't die, but transferring control of the defeated card would lead to one side sweeping the game in a couple turns no matter what.

So what I'm thinking for a concept is that the game would be 2-6 players. each player selects a color at the start which is their "team color". They would represent this with a token of that color. The primary game mechanic would be putting control tokens onto other players, which represent how much influence you've gained over the player's mind.

At first, hands would be hidden, but at any time, someone who has control tokens played on you can ask to see the cards in your hand at a rate of 1 card for every 2 control tokens of yours on them.

Play would largely involve playing cards to either give you control tokens on other players, or spend a certain number of control tokens to activate an affect.

Cards which add control tokens would have two halfs to them. One half explains that card's rules for adding tokens; maybe one is more effective the more cards the player has, or is mitigated by the number of cards the player has in their hand. Perhaps one is more or less effective based on how many magic-themed cards the player has in play.

The other half explains how this card can take control of a player, and force them to join your team. All control cards would have a certain requirement for the number of control tokens are needed to activate the control effect, but the number required would vary, depending on the card it's self. For example, a cheap and weak control card would require a very large number of control tokens for it to be used as a way to convert someone to your team, while a more expensive and powerful control card would require fewer.

Once a player is controlled, they cover their original token with the card controlling them, and place a token of that player's color on top of it. When a player has been converted to a new team, their play style changes a bit. Obviously they still want to win, so they would ultimately have the goal of freeing themselves from being controlled and taking back control.

However, players who have been converted to another team can not play cards against members of their own team, and must show their entire hand to the team leader at any time that they ask. The team leader may also spend one control token to play one of their slave's turns for them. The team leader must declare before the draw phase that they intend to control a player's turn.

At this point, a player may either decide to embrace their new team and help their new Master or Mistress win, or they may attempt to resist if their owner has not decided to take their turn for them. If you resist, you skip the rest of your turn following your draw phase and discard a card to remove one control token of your choice from your board. If this causes the number of tokens on you to fall below the threshold of the card controlling you, you are immediately freed and return to your original team.

Usurping control of a player who is already converted would require you to first gain more control tokens than the capturing team, then play a new control card which would then destroy the old one due to the new source of control being greater.

In the case that a team leader is controlled, because their tokens would convert to the color of their new owner, their entire team would convert at once with them.

the winner is whoever ends up being in charge of the entire group at the end. If you run out of cards, you shuffle your discard pile and continue drawing, but there would be a minimum number of cards you are required to use. Maybe 30?

Things I don't quite have thought out yet would be, what kind of cost each card would have, whether you would have a playable energy source or if you would collect a resource as energy every turn.

One problem I see with this idea though is that tokens may be a hassle to manage. So, it may need a game mat to help organize the tokens.

I might workshop this idea more in my free time.

- As far as the health point situation goes, I did have the idea of certain cards have an effect that changed depending on your opponent's remaining Will.

A card may have allow you to discard 1 card from your opponent's hand while they have 15 or less Will left, allows you to look at their hand and discard 1 card while they have 10 or less Will left, and allows you to look at their hand and discard 2 cards while they have 5 or less Will left.

- My goal at the moment is to develop the game such that 2 players can sit down and start playing. What you are suggestion sounds like a really interesting idea, but it would fall under the more than 2 players game design, which is not currently the focus.

I'll sleep on what you have suggested, and get back to you when I can.

I think I agree with Changer strongly, here. I feel they put into less words what I was trying to imply with many. The game should fit the theme of MC in both form and function. It's not a perfect concept, and I still see abusable mechanics, but it's less traditional TCG/CCG, and much more appropriate for the setting. The exact mechanics of the game are of course, up for debate, so long as they fit the theme better than a hearthstone re-skin. However, I very much so enjoy the ideas being thrown around by all, in this thread and the previous forum threads.

I think a boxed deck-building game would be more effective for this, including all the cards necessary for play, with expansions being released later on. Each player could select one faction, build their deck, and go. There could be a 2 player scenario, which would be shorter and quicker. Or there could be a 5 player scenario, more drawn out and strategic. Or anything in-between. Leaving the option up to players makes the game more popular, as well as pulls a lot of restrictions off you as the designer.
Releasing set by set, and printing on-demand will get MUCH more costly over time, however. Maybe do structured printings (for those who want higher quality stock) or let players print their own cards at home if they don't care as much. I'd sure as hell do that and play with my GF. Otherwise, people can convert the game to play online themselves, with platforms such as OCTGN or LackeyCCG.

Having the lore woven into art and flavor text is great, but the gameplay needs to come first. I love how every TCG out there does something like this, but what's important is gameplay. The lore will come naturally as the cards are designed, I believe, and in time, the bigger picture will develop.
Don't worry about naming cards, having art, or text. Just focus on effects and behavior of the game and cards, then apply nomenclature later.

I could totally see this becoming a thing using a similar structure to a game like 'Bang!' Something with a lot of social deduction, and, of course, manipulation, because that's always fun.