Hey!

I’ve been working on a digital card game called SoulCaller, and I’d love to get some thoughts from people here.

The main idea is to shift part of the gameplay from just playing cards to actually creating them within a structured system.

🧩 Core Concept

Instead of a fixed card pool:

• Players create their own cards using a point-based system
• You balance stats, effects, and costs yourself
• Then build decks using those custom cards

So the game becomes a mix of:

• Deckbuilding
• System design
• Strategy in matches

⚙️ Gameplay (Current Direction)

• Turn-based digital card game
• Board with lanes/positions (not just abstract combat)
• Units persist on the board and interact over time
• Damage carries over (no full resets each turn)
• Players generate Energy each turn by converting cards

We’re aiming for something that sits somewhere between:

• Magic (depth & control)
• Hearthstone (clarity & accessibility)

🧠 What I’m Trying to Solve

One of the main questions is:

👉 Can players handle both playing AND designing cards without it becoming overwhelming or breaking the game?

That’s where most of the design effort is going:

• Keeping the system predictable
• Avoiding degenerate designs
• Making creation feel intuitive, not like a spreadsheet

🧪 Playtest (starting tomorrow)

We’re running our first playtest starting May 4th at 18:00 (CEST) to explore this in practice.

If you’re interested in trying it:
👉 https://forms.brinelinegames.com/signup

Or if you just want to follow development / discuss:
👉 https://discord.gg/r2GBJXJuJx

Would love to hear your thoughts, especially from people who’ve played a lot of TCGs or designed their own systems.

Hey!

We’re opening up our first playtest for SoulCaller, a digital card game we’ve been working on.

The core idea:
👉 Players can create and customize their own cards, then build decks and play with them.

We’re looking for players who:

• Enjoy card games (MTG, Hearthstone, Runeterra, etc.)
• Like experimenting with systems
• Are willing to give feedback

How to join:
👉 Sign up here: https://forms.brinelinegames.com/signup

On May 4th at 18:00 (CEST), you’ll get access to a short pre-test form, and after that receive a game key + download link.

If you want more info or to follow development, you can also join our Discord:
👉 https://discord.gg/efC85aWBT

This is an early version, so we’re mainly testing:

• Core gameplay
• Card creation system
• Overall feel

Would really appreciate any feedback

Following up on the previous posts about card anatomy and card types — here’s how cards behave once they’re on the board in SoulCaller.

All cards exist in one of three states:

🟡 Pending

• The card has been played, but is still counting down its Delay
• Cannot act yet

🟣 Prepared

• The card is placed face-down on the board
• Allows it to be played during the opponent’s turn
• Uses a board slot
• Can be targeted by opponent effects

🟢 Active

• The card is fully in play
• Can attack and defend

The idea is to handle timing and interaction through card states, rather than relying on more traditional stack-heavy systems.

Prepared cards require committing resources in advance, but allow for reactive play and hidden information.

We’re also running an alpha playtest from May 4 – May 18 if anyone wants to try it out. If you’re interested in joining the playtest, feel free to DM me and I can get you access.

Following up on the card anatomy post from earlier — here’s a quick overview of the different card types in SoulCaller and how they use the core stat system.

One of the goals with the design is that all cards share the same foundation, but each type only uses the parts it needs.

🧍 Entity

• Uses all core stats (Cost, Delay, Mobility, Power, Defense, Health)
• Can Move and participate in combat
• Up to 1 ability

⚙️ Object

• No Power or Mobility
• Cannot attack, but can block (has Defense and Health)
• More static presence on the board
• Up to 1 ability

🌍 Location

• Only uses Cost + Delay
• Designed for persistent effects on the battlefield
• Up to 2 abilities

✨ Effect

• Only uses Cost + Delay
• Non-permanent — resolves and is then discarded
• Up to 3 effects

⚡ Energy

• Created during matches
• Used to pay for card costs

I’m currently putting together a short alpha rules summary, and will also share how cards behave on the board next (Pending / Prepared / Active).

And if you’re interested in trying it out, feel free to DM me — we’re starting an alpha playtest soon.

Hey! I’m currently preparing for an upcoming alpha playtest of my game SoulCaller, and I’ve started putting together some short rule summaries to make onboarding easier.

This is the current card anatomy:

Core Stats (shared across cards):

• Cost – How much Energy it takes to play
• Delay – How long before the card becomes Active
• Mobility – How often a card can Move to another position on the board
• Power – Damage dealt when attacking
• Defense – Reduces incoming damage
• Health – How much damage it can take (damage is persistent)

After a card Moves, its Mobility resets to its default value and ticks down again before it can Move again.

Other card elements:

• Type – Defines how the card behaves
• Abilities / Effects – What makes the card unique
• Name – Flavor + identity
• Serial Number – All created cards share a global sequence (only one card can ever be #100, #1000, etc.)

The goal with this structure is to keep things:

• Easy to read
• Consistent across all cards
• Flexible for player-created designs

I’m compiling all of this into a short alpha rules summary, and I’ll be sharing more breakdowns (card types, board states, etc.) over the next few days.

Also, if you’re interested in trying the game, feel free to DM me and I can get you into the playtest.