Otherlands

Otherlands is a placement based, mobile-first, collectible card game - currently in development at Last Ditch Games.

Design Walkthrough

Gameplay Preview

Design Goals

Target Audience
- Ages 13+
- Competitive
- Players who enjoy Hearthstone, Magic: the Gathering, and Marvel Snap
Low randomness, fast paced, deeply strategic
Multiplayer (2, 3, 4+ players)
Short game time (10 min)
Customizable decks with clear player identity
Create deep strategy through heuristics and not memorization.

Challenges

Balance of Strategy and Variance

Solution: With 20 card decks the possibility space of unknown information is narrowed as the game progresses. While the simple resource system allows for turn by turn telegraphing of bits of information about your opponents next turn. This encourages players to develop deck specific heuristics and rewards deductive reasoning instead of memorization.

Deckbuilding

Solution: Decks are made up of 20 cards (at least 15 unit cards and up to 5 spells) and 1 Scion. This allows for customization while keeping the barrier of purchase to entry low.

Resource System

Players receive 3 resources each turn and can hold up to 5 by default. Some unit and spell cards can increase the resources a player has on a given turn. This system removes the issue of not drawing enough resource cards from your deck to play the game, while not giving players consistent access to high cost cards.

Player Identity

Solution: Choice of a scion that leads your units into battle gives players a character insert similar to a commander in MTG. While visual customization allows players to express themselves through their choice of artwork.

Design Highlights

Strategic Placement

Units are played on a 5x5 grid starting with a neutral center tile. Units must be deployed adjacent to an already deployed card. This makes players think turns ahead about their play and builds the battle space without the need for a gameboard.

Units

Unit cards are the foundation of Otherlands gameplay. Each player has a unit deck of exactly 20 cards. There are three types, Attackers, Defenders, and Diplomats - each with their own power level. Using units in combination with strategic placement will pave the way to victory. As players deploy their units to the board the unknown information space shrinks so that you may make more informed decisions about what your opponent might have.

Scions

Scions are a single powerful unit card chosen by the player during deck construction. They each have an additional effect and are always available to be deployed.