Do you want to design, create, and sell your own custom card game? We've been helping mainstream publishers and independent creatives to create unique custom card decks for over 25 years. Here, we share everything you need to know to get started.
As a global leader in the international offset printing industry, we've seen a significant rise in the requests we get for helping to design, print, and box a wide range of custom card decks. We get these orders—which we totally love working on, by the way!—from both mainstream publishing houses and games manufacturers and also lots of independent creative artists, game developers, tarot card enthusiasts, and more. It's definitely a growing market and there's plenty of room for new, unique, and creative takes on the traditional card deck. We'll leave the big corporations out of this post, because they already know the score, and focus our attention on helping you, the indie designer or self-publisher, to understand how to design and self-publish a custom card deck.
Why have custom card decks become so overwhelmingly popular of late? Well, they're colorful, portable, flexible, collectible, and—perhaps above all in these straightened times—affordable. The affordability factor applies not just to the consumer—who can pick up a fantastic, beautifully crafted card game for around 10 to 20 bucks and which offers at the very least hours of fun and at the most the beginning of a fascinating and rewarding lifetime hobby—but also to the creator as the production costs can be surprisingly low, especially if you use an offset printing service like ours rather than a digital POD, which may be slightly more convenient for some designers but loses out on economy and quality.
Whether you're a keen gamer who's decided it's about time that you got down to create a unique deck of your own to use with a small group of like-minded enthusiasts at your local club—or at the other end of the scale, you're an experienced board game and tabletop game designer getting interested in the idea of self-publishing a custom card game for profit; the possibilities are endless. We've put our heads together, drawing on almost three decades in the industry and asking our most successful indie designers to give you this helpful and easy-to-understand guide. We'll walk you through all the fundamentals of designing and self-publishing custom card games, providing valuable insights into the state and nature of the market, fundamental game design principles you need to know, and a range of proven effective marketing strategies to get you started on the road to success.
The market for custom card games
A key assumption that the rest of this post is based on is that you want not only to design and print a custom card game, but that you're also interested in self-publishing and selling it. That means—whether with a light touch or as a more serious enterprise—you will be operating, at some level, a retail business. And to give yourself the best chance of selling your decks for profit, you'll need to understand the market—who buys cards, where they sell, the price range, the competition, and more.
As we've noted ourselves through our own business activities, custom card decks have gained significant traction in recent years, thanks to the growing culture of independent creativity, whether in the world of books, games, comics, or other niches. In brief, the market is booming. Now, that's great if you want to self-publish and sell a custom game: there's never been a better time in history to go for it. But we must be honest with you. It's also a potential challenge, because it means that the marketplace is more competitive than ever. But whether it's a themed deck for a specific hobby, a deck designed for a niche interest, an original family game, or anything else, if you do your demographic research, you'll find there's a market waiting to be tapped into. You'll also put yourself ahead of the game—pun intended!—because too many other folks simply can't be bothered to do the “boring stuff”. So, what do they do? They invest in making a beautiful card game that they later struggle to sell. Don't be that person. We want you to succeed, and we know what it takes. So, assuming you are as wise as you are creative and talented, how do you go about doing the market research for a custom card game? That's what we'll look at now.
How to do card game market research
To start, you'll need to undertake thorough market research with specific purposes in mind. You must identify popular trends, niche interests, and potential target customers. This information won't necessarily dictate how and what you design—often, jumping on the bandwagon of what's popular right now leaves you already outdated by the time your game comes to market—but it should certainly inform your approach. So what does that mean? How do you go about getting access to this information? Well, in short, you can buy it if you have the resources, or you can put in the sweat and dig it up for yourself. If you have the funds, you may be able to find out a lot of useful market information by outsourcing to a market research company. Otherwise, if you have more time than money, we'll share next what we've seen to be the best strategies for indies to get the information they need without breaking the bank.
Absolutely the first and possibly most important thing you can do is to join as many online forums, gaming communities, and social media platforms favored by gamers as you can. The chances are pretty good that you're already active in several of these communities, both online and offline. That's a great start. But we'll wager that there are several more out there that you could hunt down and sign up for. But it's no use just joining these groups. You need to become an active, proactive, helpful, resourceful, respected and well-known member. To do that, enjoy it and make time for it. Be helpful, generous, kind, and honest. Get involved as much as possible without being pushy or a pain in the butt! Chat with other gamers and game designers. This should be a lot of fun, but you need to approach it with a business perspective. Make notes and try to gather insights and feedback from potential players. For example, try to discover:
- What themes and styles of card games are most popular
- The age groups and range of players for different games
- Where people buy their card games and how much they pay
- What other interests, hobbies, and activities are they interested in?
- Where do they live?
- What is their educational level? (high school, college, higher degrees)
- Where do they play and with whom? (alone, a small group of friends, at a game night or club, at conventions and meetups)
- What card games are less well-known but have a hardcore dedicated following?
- What are the most popular mechanics for card games people enjoy?
- How long do the most popular games last?
- How many players can be involved in a single game at one time?
You may well come up with many more questions to which you'll be able to find the answer by doing thorough market research, but these should get you started. But why go to all this trouble? Well, this information will help you understand what people do and don't like, what kinds of themes have the strongest appeal, which mechanics run smoothest, and many other factors which you can use to create custom card decks that hold a strong appeal for your target market demographic and stand out in an already pretty crowded gaming landscape. It should really go without saying, but you should also play as many card games as you can – not just your favorites or the most popular; include games you don't necessarily like or to which you aren't naturally drawn – so that you get firsthand experience together with an insight into how certain games could be improved or if there's a gap in the market: a potential game that people would love but doesn't yet exist. Ideally, you'll come up with something golden that becomes an instant classic! Aim high!
Choosing the right game type for your custom deck
So, let's say that you've put in the time and smarts and you have completed your market research. You now have a bulging file full of important and insightful notes on dozens, if not hundreds, of games and the people who play them. Now it's important to get a clear idea of the game type that best suits your theme, style, and game objectives. There are various game types to consider, and each offers unique takes on mechanics, interactions, and more. Of course, you may have come up with something so utterly original that it doesn't fit in any of the following categories. That's a good thing, but in terms of marketing your finished game down the line, folks generally like to feel that they already have a sense of what genre or category a game falls into before they buy it. So, if you can restyle it, even just a little, to make it fit broadly into a known game type, that will help your potential customers make sense of it and enhance your prospects of sales.
That said, let's look at some of these genres. If you can think of me, please add them in the comments section at the end of this post or hit us up on social media and let us know. If we agree, we'll add it in and give you a shout out for your trouble. So, here are a few popular game types to explore:
1. Traditional playing card games
You needn't always innovate from scratch. Bringing your own special “twist” to traditional games can be a great way to get started with designing and self-publishing your own custom card set. Traditional playing card games like Poker, Rummy, and Bridge have stood the test of time and are also in the public domain. Designing a custom deck for these games allows you to infuse your own style and theme into classic gameplay.
2. Collectible card games (CCGs)
CCGs, such as Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon, have a dedicated fan base. Creating a custom CCG allows you to introduce new mechanics, characters, and strategies to the genre while building on the popularity of these successful predecessors. CCGs are also a smart business move as a self-publisher as they allow you to keep introducing – and selling – booster packs, special edition card sets, add-ons and more. But it's a lot more work. You'll never get away with producing something too similar to a preexisting game – and you could risk breaching copyright if you try – so you'll really need to get super creative if you choose this route and build everything up from scratch.
3. Deck-building games
Deck-building games like Dominion and Legendary offer players the opportunity to construct their own decks throughout gameplay. Designing a custom deck for this genre allows for endless possibilities and strategic depth. And again, you get plenty of opportunity to upsell on expansion packs and new editions if your original game proves popular.
4. Party and social deduction games
Party and social deduction games like Werewolf and Avalon are perfect for larger groups of players either gathered around the kitchen table or at a game night, meetup, or convention. Designing a custom deck for these games lets you create unique roles, abilities, and narratives tailored to your specific theme and targeted to your audience. You can also introduce elements of role-play into these games and they can appeal to a wide spectrum of ages depending on the specifics of your design.
5. Educational and Trivia Games
Custom card decks can also be used effectively for educational purposes. But don't fall into the trap of thinking that an “educational” game needs to be dull! Many of the most successful sports or general-knowledge-based card games are educational and informative as much as they are fun to play. You have a great opportunity to share knowledge and encourage learning in any field through your custom card game. Designing trivia or educational games allows you to impart that knowledge while engaging players in a fun and interactive way.
Undoubtedly, there are more card game types than these and we hope you'll point them out to us so we can add them to the list! But this gives you an idea to get you started. The next thing to look at is game design. What does a game need to work?
Principles of card game design
So, let's say you've had fun doing lots of market research and playing a ton of games and you've got a good idea of the game type that would best match your ideas. All that experience has inspired a plethora of great ideas for your own custom card deck. But designing a successful card game requires a solid understanding of the fundamental principles that make a game engaging and enjoyable. Here are the key considerations to keep in mind when designing your custom card game:
1. Define the aim and mechanics
Every card game needs a clear aim and well-defined mechanics. You need to figure out the exact goal players need to achieve in your game—also known in the industry as “the win condition”—and the actions they can and can't take to progress towards that goal. Think with care about the balance between luck and strategy, as well as the level of complexity you want to incorporate into your game. You'll need to think about the number of players, the order of play and how it's determined, how many actions each player can take in a single turn, and so on. Timing is another vital factor that's often overlooked but really important. So, how long will your game take to play on average? If you look at published games, you'll see there's always an estimate of play time on the box along with an age range and the number of players. Something like: “Suitable for 2 to 6 players age 10+. 30 minutes.” These are essential aspects of your game that help get it to the right people as well as define the more detailed aspects of how your mechanics work.
2. Create unique gameplay mechanics
When you're designing a board game, the possibilities for mechanical innovation are quite limited and you need to differentiate your game from others more by a unique theme, style, and story and the way that you put the mechanics together. Kinda like lego. You only have so many kinds of bricks. That said, a creative person can reconfigure those same simple blocks in almost infinite varieties of ways.
But with card games, you have more opportunities to introduce novel ideas into how the game is played. Don't force it just for the sake of it, of course. If there's a pre-existing mechanic that will do the job perfectly, use it! But give yourself time to experiment with innovative ideas and options for gameplay mechanics. Try out new ways players can interact with the cards and each other. Whether it's a drafting mechanic, deck-building, unique card abilities, the option to form alliances, cooperate toward a common goal, or an element of randomization, strive to create a memorable and engaging game that's both understandable, functional, and logical, but also surprising and has a unique twist. You can also think about introducing non-card components into your game, such as dice, counters, or even a placement board and miniature figures, for example. Obviously, if you go too far in that direction, you've created a board game that has cards rather than a card game with extras. But hey, if that's where your creativity leads you, why not?
3. Test, iterate, and refine
As with any other board game or tabletop game, the importance of iterative playtesting for the purpose of refining your custom card decks and making sure that everything works with a range of players and that the experience is challenging but enjoyable for everyone involved, can't be over stated. Gather a group of playtesters and observe their experiences and feedback. Use this feedback to make iterative improvements to your game, making sure that you are creating a balanced and enjoyable experience for your players. Again, we can't over-emphasize the importance of this step. No professional (i.e. saleable) game was ever brought to market without months or even years of rigorous playtesting. Read that line again. If you forget everything else in this post, remember that.
To playtest, you should use substitute D.I.Y cards. Just make them out of cheap cards from the stationery store or cut up an empty breakfast cereal box or two, add the designs by gluing on images cut from old magazines or print them off on your home printer, and add information with a pencil or markers or whatever works. Why? Because inevitably, you'll need to make changes and adjustments—possibly on everything from the number of cards in the deck to the characters or types, values, powers and so on. You may also need to adjust the size of the cards or add an element that was missing. Better to get through this stage with stuff that didn't cost good money to produce!
Start with friends and family, sure, but also look for opportunities to test play with people you don't know. Try your local game store, club, and meetup, for example; go to conventions and put your game up for testing there; you can also advertise for game testers on your social media or through your crowdfunding platform if you're using, say, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or Gamesfound to finance the production of your custom card game.
Whatever way you find your playtesters, give them ample opportunity to give the game a fair trial, ask them questions, and listen to their feedback. Then take plenty of time to reflect on what went well for them and what they didn't enjoy. Use that vital information to improve your game until it's as close to perfect as it will ever be. Only once you're confident that you have a great game that works seamlessly and is great fun to play should you move on to designing the actual printed cards – the artwork, layout, paper, style, size, finishing, and boxing options that will bring your custom card deck design from an idea in your head to a beautiful professional product ready to hit the stores. Time to get your graphic design head on.
4. Art and graphic design
The visual appearance and aesthetic appeal of your custom card deck will play a significant role in attracting players and also in the functionality of the game. Your cards have to look freakin' awesome. But they also need to be easy to read and understand. So overcrowded cards with too many fancy bits and frills can make the game harder to play. Getting the balance right between superb artwork and ease of play is an art and science in its own right.
While if you have the skills, you can create the artwork and layouts yourself, otherwise it's always worthwhile to engage the services of a professional artist and graphic designer to produce high-quality artwork and graphic design that makes a good fit with the theme and tone of your game. Remember that, depending on your game, each card in your custom deck will probably need several components:
- The background artwork
- The key illustration (character, treasure, power, skill, action, etc.)
- Title and text (naming the card, describing actions or penalties related to it, etc.)
- Numbers and codes
- Possibly rules and instructions for that card
- Special effects such as holograms or metallic stamps
We recommend using Adobe Illustrator and InDesign to create your card designs and prepare the files for offset printing. You'll need to know about bleeds, trim lines, safety zones, and layers, for example, to get your files ready for printing. If you're employing a professional designer, they'll take care of all of that. If you're doing it yourself, talk to us. Our expert in-house designers will be delighted to advise, support, and assist you at every step. We also have a growing store of free educational and instructional resources to help you do all the design work yourself, which you can find here: Printing & Artwork Guides
5. Simplicity and accessibility
While unique mechanics and complex gameplay can be exciting and will surely help you to create a custom card deck, that's original and surprising, it's important to strike a balance and make sure your game remains accessible to your players and intuitive to understand and play. No-one wants to spend hours trying to get their head round the rulebook when they could be having fun—unless it's a complex, multiplayer campaign-based roleplaying game, for example. But that's a different story. Here, we're talking about a card game. Aim for simplicity in rules and mechanics, allowing players to grasp how the game works and start having fun almost straight away. No game should be so complicated that it takes longer to read the rulebook than it does to play the game itself! Several of our clients have produced rule booklets that slip into the card box and have two versions printed in them, the “Quick-Start Guide” with simplified rules so you get straight into a game and get a good feel for it, and a longer version including all the possible levels and complexities the game can support once you're familiar with the basic version. It's a good idea!
This isn't the place to go into all the nitty-gritty details of the technical side of printing a custom card deck and the costs involved. This post will already be long enough as it is. But you can find out all about that side of things here: Card Game Printing
Self-publishing your custom card game
Now that you have a solid understanding of game design principles, the game type you want to pursue, and how to design and layout your custom card deck ready for printing, it's time for us to explore what's involved in the process of self-publishing your card game. We'll be honest with you, if you don't already have a “platform”—meaning a website, maybe a blog, a strong social media presence and a responsive email list—it'll take longer, as you'll need to build your platform first. What the bricks-and-mortar high street store is to the traditional retailer, the “online platform” is to the indie creative and self-publisher. But thousands have done it from scratch, and there's no reason you shouldn't as well. Self-publishing is hard work and there's always a learning curve if it's the first time, but the upside is that self-publishing offers game designers like you the freedom and control to bring your game to the table without compromise and to net all the profits yourself, rather than the lion's share going to the Faceless Corporation LLC., while you're meant to slink home happy with your 5% royalty. Okay, so now we've got that off our chest, here are the key steps involved in self-publishing a card game:
1. Create a Prototype
Start by creating a functional prototype of your custom card deck. In the early stages, as we said before, you can hand make these with cuts of card and felt-tip pens. Seriously, before you've done any playtesting at all, there's no point investing time and money in superior design when you'll almost certainly need to change things out. Once you're getting closer to having everything in place, you can create a next-level prototype using card design software like Adobe InDesign or Illustrator and just printing out a single, full-color deck on paper using your home printer. Playtest the prototypes extensively to refine gameplay mechanics and adjust any imbalances. Only once everything is in place, you should complete the designs and prepare your printing files for your professional copy.
2. Find a Manufacturer
When you're thinking about whom to get to print your custom card decks, you need to make a careful decision. For example, if you just go with your local digital print store it's gonna be really hard to get a result that lives up to your expectations and, if you need more than 200 copies to sell (which you will, as a minimum) it's going to cost you so much to produce them that you'll be hard pushed to turn a sensible profit on sales. Why? Nothing against your local digital print store; they're probably not only lovely people but also your go-to choice for short runs of leaflets, flyers, promotional handouts, show posters, and booklets. But they won't have the range of card and paper stocks, not to mention the detailed reproduction capacity of an offset printer, or the beautiful varnishes, spot UV coatings, metal foil stamping, or holographic card printing that you'll need to elevate your product to the professional level. And they won't be able to make you a custom printed box, either.
So, what's the solution? Choose a traditional offset printer with specialized experience in card, game, and packaging printing and manufacturing. Of course, we must mention ourselves: QinPrinting. Why not? We've spent the last 25 years and more building a solid worldwide reputation for excellence in the field, working with major publishers and independent creatives alike. We offer an end-to-end service with unbeatable, personalized customer support, unrivaled pricing, the latest technology, an environmental commitment, and worldwide delivery. We honestly don't think you'll find better. But check out other options. We'll still be here for you when you come back!
3. Work out your production plan
While creating a brand new custom card deck for your game is a lot of fun and exciting to do, if you're going to take the next step and self-publish your deck to make a profit, then you'll need to get serious about how you'll fund your initial research, build your prototype, find playtesters, develop your product, design and print the final version and box, and then move on to distribution, sales, and promotion. That's a lot of stuff for one person to handle. We know creatives who do everything (other than printing and manufacture) themselves. You'll need to know the number of decks you want to produce, the printing specifications (size, card and paper types, printing techniques, special effects and finishes, and box structural design and printing, for example) and any additional components like rulebooks, counters, dice, or game boards that your specific game may need. If you work with us, your dedicated named consultant will work with you – if you wish – to work out an effective and realistic production plan.
If you're running a crowdfunder on a platform like Kickstarter, you'll need to factor in your supporter updates – blogs, social media posts, video releases – and define when you'll have reached each of your goals and stretch goals. While this can seem complex, once you break it down into step-by-step units, it's all doable. If you want to be successful, it's vital that you don't skip this step. Once you have a calendar and production schedule mapped out, everything else that follows is based on that and it will take away a lot of the stress from the production process itself.
4. Design eye-catching packaging
You need a box for your custom card deck, right? You can't just bung it in a bag or tie it with a rubber band! Well, you could, but… Packaging plays a super-important role in attracting potential buyers, communicating the theme and style of your game, and showcasing your beautiful artwork. This is another reason it's unlikely your local digital print store won't cut the mustard for this kind of project. You'll need to work with an offset printer to design visually appealing and informative packaging that showcases the uniqueness of your custom card decks. We have a dedicated team of specialist paper engineers and offer a complete, tailored service from designing the perfect structure for your box, to helping you choose the optimal materials for your needs, and building, printing, loading, and wrapping your finished boxed card decks for you. It's a one-stop solution we've refined to perfection of the decades and all you need to do is take advantage of it. You won't find better at the price.
5. Develop a marketing strategy
Remember all your hard work doing market research at the outset? It paid off to help you design a great game, but its value doesn't end there. It can help you to sell it, too. We're mentioning this as the last-but-one item in this section, but really you need to plan and set up the infrastructure for your marketing strategy in advance. The earlier, the better. Marketing is essential for creating awareness and generating sales for your custom card decks. Establish an online presence through a website, blog and/or social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or whichever your market research has shown you that your target player prefers. There's no point building a huge Facebook following if all the card gamers are hanging out on Instagram, Reddit, or Threads. You can also make use of targeted advertising, influencer partnerships, and engaging content marketing on a blog to reach your potential buyers. Always make sure to attend gaming conventions and events to showcase your game and connect with enthusiasts.
6. Launch and distribute your game
Once your custom card decks are ready for production, launch your game through online marketplaces such as Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and more, crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Gamesfound, and by establishing relationships with local game stores. Just go in and talk to them. Developing a distribution strategy to make sure your game reaches the hands of eager players is one of the greatest challenges you'll face in the entire process. But with patience, perseverance, a willingness to make a few mistakes and learn from them, you'll get where you want to go.
Of course, if you have the funds, you can also opt to buy the services of a local, national, or international distribution service. Most charge an upfront fee to get things set up and then a percentage of your sales going forward –much like a book agent. The right distribution deal can boost your chances of making it and if the distributor with whom you work is good at what they do, they should pay for themselves in the long run.
Still, you can do a lot all by yourself with hard work and determination. Several self-published game designers have done very well using an exclusively DIY approach to networking and marketing their games. Which path you choose is a personal decision that only you can make.
How to max out the success of your custom card decks
Unless you have the luck of the gods – and most of us don't! – then you'll need to keep working to market and promote your custom card game long after your launch date. Very few games indeed “take off” and sell themselves. To maximize the potential success of your custom card decks, you can use several ongoing strategies.
• Keep engaged with your community
During your research and development phase, you should have built a powerful community around your game and gathered supporters via your crowdfunding and social media platforms. Post-launch, it's vital that you don't just “take the money and run”. Continue to interact with your community by engaging with players, encouraging feedback, hosting contests, soliciting reviews, and doing Q&As, live streams, and other events on and offline.
• Offer expansion packs and updates
Keep your game fresh and exciting by offering expansion packs or updates. This allows players to expand their custom card decks and helps make sure they have continued interest in your game. Add-ons, expansion packs, stickers, and more are standard parts of modern card game design and provide endless opportunities to extend the life of your game.
• Organize tournaments and events
You needn't have a huge budget or a national outreach to organize tournaments or events centered on your custom card decks. You can run events in your local independent gaming stores, libraries, even public spaces like parks and gardens. This not only creates buzz but also provides an opportunity for players to showcase their skills and connect with other enthusiasts, which in turn further builds your community and the profile of your game.
• Collaborate with influencers and reviewers
Reach out to influencers and reviewers in the gaming community to showcase your custom card decks. Their endorsement and reviews can significantly boost awareness and generate interest in your game. But remember to be polite and professional when you approach them and don't expect to get something for nothing. They're business people and expect you to offer them something valuable in return for the exposure and support they offer you. So, offer them a free guest post on your blog, for example, or a shout out on your YouTube channel. If you have a large email list, you can send out a booster ad for them to all your subscribers. Working with influencers in your field is a great way to get the word out, but it's almost always a “You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours” arrangement.
• Listen to feedback and get better
Continuously listen to player feedback and evolve your game to meet their expectations. Note suggestions for improvements, expansion ideas, and potential collaborations. You can do this through monitoring conversations online, by running quizzes and surveys, and just by keeping your ear to the ground. But being open to upgrading and developing your game in response to how players react to it is always a smart move.
Designing and self-publishing custom card decks offers a thrilling opportunity to bring your creative vision to the table and have the pleasure of seeing others enjoying your work. By understanding the market, adhering to game design principles, and effectively marketing your game, you can create a successful and engaging gaming experience. So embrace your creativity, dive into the world of custom card game design, and let your imagination run wild. Start designing your own custom card decks today and let the games begin!
Keen to get started? Let's talk!
If you want to create custom card decks for a game to self-publish and sell and you need 100+ decks, a smart rulebook, and a custom printed box to package it all in, then our world-class offset printing services provide a cheaper option than digital printing along with superior quality paper stocks, print, and finishes.
At QinPrinting we've been making custom card decks, rulebooks, and stunning printed boxes for over 25 years. We work with businesses and independent creatives alike. Chat to us today to discuss your ideas. One of our expert printers with experience in card design and manufacture will be happy to help and advise you. Or if you're further along in the process and you have files ready to go to press, we'll be delighted to give you an unbeatable, no-obligation quote. Let's talk! Just give us a call on +86 21 6538 1716 (bearing in mind potential time zone differences) or shoot us an email to [email protected]. We can't wait to help you make your custom card deck into a huge success!
