I need an outside perspective on Horizontal Cards
From an outside perspective I need thoughts on a horizontal card layout for my card game. Please and thank you.
Here’s the game mechanical context
- The max amount of cards you could have in this game ranges from 9-12. (1 Avatar, 1-2 Weapon Cards, 6-9 Skill & Item Cards)
- There is no deck system. Your Avatar and Weapons are on the Matt/Table and your Skills & Items are in your hand.
- Card Layout. All cards have the same layout with the bottom right displaying your Avatar HP, your weapons Damage and Durability, your Skills Gauge Point Cost, and your Item’s Quantity of Uses. While the left side in a larger box has the Skill and Item Cards activation effect text, Avatar Passive Text (3 per Avatar), and Weapon Ability Text.
- There is a “Graveyard” for cards.
- Skills and Items can be reusable.
- Attacking and Dodging Attacks is done by rolling a die.
In fantasy context; You're an armed and skilled fighter trying to defeat the other player(s) armed and skilled fighter.
The purpose of the horizontal layout is to give the Affect Text “white space” to breathe and so the font size can be bigger on print.
I tried many vertical layouts but I could never create one that I was completely satisfied with that also didn’t look cluttered/busy. Even despite condensing wordage and shrinking front.
The horizontal layout is the most flawless in my opinion, but I understand there’s a difference between a ‘clean-look’ and physical convenience in holding the cards. A considered solution was to modify the game so the Skill & Item Cards would also be on the Matt/Table.
This has been burning a hole in my mind for more than a few months now. If someone can tell me clean that I’m nutter-butters if I think Horizontal Cards are gonna be perceived as acceptable or if I just need to rebuild the game from the ground up.
(BTW, the choice to not include Class Icon's and just use words was a choice to make the cards easy to understand and to avoid icon clutter.)