Guide
To make your own trading card game, start with one idea for how cards interact, write short rules, design a few card types, test them on paper, then print a real test deck and play it until the game works. When it does, finish the art and print the copies you need. This guide walks through each step.
Write down in one sentence what players do in your game and why it is fun. Decide how many players it is for, how long a game lasts and how a player wins. Everything else follows from these answers.
Keep the first rules to one page. Define a few card types, such as characters, actions and resources, and what each one can do. Fewer types are easier to balance; you can add more later.
Write your first cards by hand on paper or index cards and play. Most problems show up in the first games, and paper cards cost nothing to change.
Choose a card size: Standard (63 × 88 mm) is the most common for trading card games, and Tarot (70 × 120 mm) gives room for more text. Place the name, cost, art and rules text in the same spot on every card, and keep text inside the safe area. Our free templates show the bleed and the safe area.
Real cards shuffle, feel and read differently from paper. Print a test deck from your files, play it with other people and note what they say. With no minimum order, you can print a new version whenever the cards change. Read about card game printing.
Commission or create the final art when the rules are stable, so no artwork is wasted on cards you cut. Prepare the files at 300 dpi; our guide to print-ready files explains the sizes and bleed. A holographic finish on rare cards makes them special.
Print the copies you need for a launch, a convention or a crowdfunding campaign. If you sell online, print on demand prints each order when it comes in. Our studio also designs complete games with their creators: see our projects.
A first test deck costs only its cards: there is no minimum order and no setup cost. The price per card falls as the deck grows; the designer shows it as you add cards.
63 × 88 mm is the standard trading card size, and most sleeves and accessories fit it. Use tarot size, 70 × 120 mm, if your cards need more room.
Start small: a test deck of 40 to 60 cards with a few card types is enough to see if the game works. Add cards once the core rules hold up.
Yes. Our Print & Design Studio designs card games with their creators, from the first idea to a finished set.
Upload your cards in Standard, Japanese or Tarot size, from one card.