Folding playing cards?
Wizards of the Coast released the Transformers TCG in 2018. It didn’t survive for as long as it deserved, partly because it struggled to reach critical mass during Covid, where in-store events were limited. However, it’s a really good, innovative game.
Transformers is an interesting challenge for a card game designer. To really capture the feel of Transformers, you want robots transforming into vehicles, and vice versa. It needs to be be an integral part of the gameplay.
The designers really nailed this with their design. Most of the cards were double sided - one side being a vehicle, and the other being a robot. You would flip between vehicle and robot form, and the card’s stats would change.
They went one step further though - and made folding cards. So you could use the card in three ways:
- As a a robot
- As a vehicle
- As part of a larged combiner transformer
Here is the robot form:
The vehicle form:
And as part of a larger combiner transformer:
Here are several such cards combined:
It was really cool!
Downsides
Manufacturing the folding cards must have been tricky. Somehow they did it though, and the ‘hinge’ was very robust.
One challenge for the players was how to sleeve cards like this. You can buy side loading card sleeves - you could use two of these, and leave the hinge exposed.
I bought some sleeves which were actually designed for storing photos, and trimmed them down. To fold the card, it had to be removed from the sleeve, but at least the card could be stored safely.
Overall
It was such a fun idea. I don’t think folding cards are necessary for most card games, but for Transformers it was perfect.
It’s great inspiration for getting creative with cardboard, especially when it enhances a game mechanic or theme.