Card Hunter

Card Hunter
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Card Hunter is a browser-based flash game that combines elements of a digital collectible card game with a table-top board game.

Card Hunter
Card hunter logo.png
Developer(s) Blue Manchu
Publisher(s) Blue Manchu
Designer(s) Jon Chey
Joe McDonagh
Dorian Hart
Artist(s) Ben Lee
Writer(s) Joe McDonagh
Engine Adobe Flash
Platform(s) Web browser, Microsoft Windows, OS X
Release Web browser
September 12, 2013
Microsoft Windows, OS X
July 13, 2015
Genre(s) Tactical CCG and tabletop game hybrid
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer
The game is developed by Blue Manchu Games headed by Irrational Games co-founder, Jon Chey. The development team also consists of other former Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios employees, as well as consultants who previously worked on Magic: The Gathering. It was initially released as a web-browser based game in September 2013, with a standalone client released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in July 2015.

Gameplay Edit

Card Hunter is presented to the player as a gaming session with gamemaster Gary who is guiding the player through a tabletop role-playing game, using dungeon modules similar to those of Dungeons & Dragons which consist of 1 or more encounters.[1] Part of this fiction is Gary himself is still learning the ropes; at the start of the player's career, Gary is using his older brother Melvin's more powerful characters to demonstrate the core mechanics of the game, but later his brother takes these away, forcing Gary and the player to start anew.

The player generates a party of up to three characters; more characters can be recruited and swapped in and out between modules. Characters are selected by class, which determine equipment type they can use, and race, which grant special bonuses during combat. Each character has a deck of 36[citation needed] cards which are determined by class, race, and their current equipment. Initially, the amount of equipment each character carries is limited, but as the characters gain experience points, they gain more equipment slots, expanding the abilities through new cards that enter their deck, allowing players to customize their characters. Equipment can only be swapped out between battles, and various stores, with both normal stock and time-limited exclusives, can be used to buy and sell equipment and treasure at this time. Card Hunter has a microtransaction ability to spend real-world money as to gain access to better loot from the end of encounters or to open prize chests that contain random equipment. As such, the game is considered to combine the collectable card aspects of Magic the Gathering with the role-player concepts of Dungeons & Dragons.[2][3]

Once ready, the player selects one of the available modules in the campaign that they have access to, including revisiting completed modules. Modules are given difficulty levels, with more difficult modules featuring stronger enemies but also having more powerful randomly determined loot to be collected at the end of each encounter and more experience awarded at the end of the module.


Card Hunter uses a tabletop board metaphor to represent combat. The player's characters (on bottom) and Gary's characters (top) use cards to determine how to move about the board.
Each encounter is played out on a rectangular game board typical of a tabletop game, with the player's and Gary's characters represented as stand-up game pieces. At the start, each character is dealt four cards from their shuffled deck. The player and Gary take turns playing one card from any of their controlled characters, which allow the character to move, attack, or cast spells; these actions take into account the layout of the gameboard, such as line-of-sight and rough terrain that slows movement. Other cards are passive, such as cards that may block attacks. Cards may provide other effects, such as buffs or persistent effects. Once a card is played, it generally returns to a discard pile, though certain passive cards are retained. The player or Gary may pass instead of playing a card or may have run out of cards; the round continues until both the player and Gary have both passed. At this point a new round is started; if a character holds more than two cards, they must discard down to two, and then each character is dealt new cards (typically three) from their deck, reshuffled from the discard pile as needed. Combat continues until either side earns enough victory points to win. Victory points are awarded typically when an enemy character is defeated, but other victory conditions can exist.

In addition to the single-player campaign, there is a player-vs-player mode, where players take their current characters or preset characters sets into battle against each other. With the release of the standalone client in July 2015, the game added a new expansion which added science-fiction related adventures and items, and included co-operative play with either two or three players. In this mode, each player controls one character; if only two players, there is no third character but each player gets an extra card to draw to make up for this. The players can work through one complete adventure together.[4]

The game is supported by microtransactions provided by buying a separate in-game currency called "pizza" for real money.[1] The pizza can be used to purchase new cutouts which change the cosmetic look of one's character, chests which contain random items, or gold. A subscription model is also available, where players can spend pizza to join the "Card Hunters Club", membership to which grants an additional loot item after each battle

Cart Life is a simulation video game developed by Richard Hofmeier using Adventure Game Studio for Microsoft Windows released in May 2011. The game was added to Steam in March 2013 but later removed when Hofmeier released the full source code for free.[1] The game is designed on a pixel-grid in grayscale, with minimal detail, to better allow the player to deduce the mood of each of the three vendor characters.

Cart Life
Cart life screen 1.jpg
Designer(s) Richard Hofmeier
Engine Adventure Game Studio
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release May 2011
Genre(s) Simulation
Mode(s) Single-player
In Cart Life the player controls one of three street vendors, and attempts to run their shop whilst looking after their health, interests, and families.

The game was received well by critics, with particular praise for the relatable characters, though some critics criticised technical issues. In 2013 Cart Life won the Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Grand Prize, Nuovo Award, and Excellence in Narrative award.

Gameplay Edit

In Cart Life, players control one of three characters, each of whom has a different street vending job; Vinny sells bagels, Andrus runs a newspaper stand, and Melanie sells coffee from a cart.[2] While at their stalls players interact with customers by selling them items and can manage their stall by selecting stock, setting prices, and buying new equipment. Players must also look after the character's day-to-day lives, including having adequate food, drink, and sleep. Each character has unique situations to address; Melanie, for example, is a single mother of a daughter. When she's not working, she yearns to bond more with her daughter, in the midst of her difficult busy life. She struggles to have time to walk her daughter to and from school each day, as she seeks custody on limited wages.[3]