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Author Topic: How thematic are card names?  (Read 16583 times)

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AJD

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #50 on: February 05, 2018, 11:57:03 am »
0

Pasture seems pretty underrated here. The more land you have, the bigger your Pasture is!

Yeah maybe. Why is it a Treasure though?

Quote
Trashing flavour is all over the place. Graverobber, Cemetery, Necromancer etc. tell us that trashed things are dead, so what exactly is that Bishop up to?

Yeah there seems to be a bunch of different flavor elements associated with trashing. "Trashed things are dead" is one, and it's intuitively sensible but seems like a relatively late addition to the theme? The earliest clear trashing flavor is "trashing is associated with religion and the church (for some reason)", which applies at least to Chapel, Bishop, Altar, Temple, and Monastery. And then there's "trashing is commerce"—Moneylender, Trading Post, Trade Route, Loan, Trader, Mercenary.
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Gazbag

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #51 on: February 05, 2018, 12:06:53 pm »
+1

Pasture seems pretty underrated here. The more land you have, the bigger your Pasture is!

Yeah maybe. Why is it a Treasure though?

You sell the wool I guess.

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markusin

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #52 on: February 05, 2018, 02:56:01 pm »
0

Pasture seems pretty underrated here. The more land you have, the bigger your Pasture is!

Trashing flavour is all over the place. Graverobber, Cemetery, Necromancer etc. tell us that trashed things are dead, so what exactly is that Bishop up to?

Or that Lurker?
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michaeljb

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #53 on: February 05, 2018, 04:19:17 pm »
+3

The earliest clear trashing flavor is "trashing is associated with religion and the church (for some reason)", which applies at least to Chapel, Bishop, Altar, Temple, and Monastery.

I think the reason for this is that you're giving away things to the church; Donate also fits that flavor.
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navical

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #54 on: February 05, 2018, 07:06:51 pm »
+8

I've always read the theme of Chapel as being "the things you most want to trash are Curses, and so you go to the chapel to receive a blessing and remove your Curse". Which doesn't make so much thematic sense for trashing Coppers, or Estates.

(I suspect this theme makes some newbies slower to learn the power of trashing starting cards...)
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Cave-o-sapien

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #55 on: February 06, 2018, 10:04:01 pm »
+1

Pasture seems pretty underrated here. The more land you have, the bigger your Pasture is!

Yeah maybe. Why is it a Treasure though?

Quote
Trashing flavour is all over the place. Graverobber, Cemetery, Necromancer etc. tell us that trashed things are dead, so what exactly is that Bishop up to?

Yeah there seems to be a bunch of different flavor elements associated with trashing. "Trashed things are dead" is one, and it's intuitively sensible but seems like a relatively late addition to the theme? The earliest clear trashing flavor is "trashing is associated with religion and the church (for some reason)", which applies at least to Chapel, Bishop, Altar, Temple, and Monastery. And then there's "trashing is commerce"—Moneylender, Trading Post, Trade Route, Loan, Trader, Mercenary.

I think the different "thematic skins" for trashing is an interesting thread on its own.

I always felt like Chapel evoked the desire to rid oneself of worldly possessions in an attempt to be more holy. With Bishop, Temple and Sacrifice, you have the option of trashing cards you own for points, which could be interpreted as some sort of divine reward. And of course Ritual puts a dark spin on this.
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AJD

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #56 on: February 07, 2018, 01:27:50 am »
+9

Pasture seems pretty underrated here. The more land you have, the bigger your Pasture is!

Yeah maybe. Why is it a Treasure though?

Quote
Trashing flavour is all over the place. Graverobber, Cemetery, Necromancer etc. tell us that trashed things are dead, so what exactly is that Bishop up to?

Yeah there seems to be a bunch of different flavor elements associated with trashing. "Trashed things are dead" is one, and it's intuitively sensible but seems like a relatively late addition to the theme? The earliest clear trashing flavor is "trashing is associated with religion and the church (for some reason)", which applies at least to Chapel, Bishop, Altar, Temple, and Monastery. And then there's "trashing is commerce"—Moneylender, Trading Post, Trade Route, Loan, Trader, Mercenary.

I think the different "thematic skins" for trashing is an interesting thread on its own.

I always felt like Chapel evoked the desire to rid oneself of worldly possessions in an attempt to be more holy. With Bishop, Temple and Sacrifice, you have the option of trashing cards you own for points, which could be interpreted as some sort of divine reward. And of course Ritual puts a dark spin on this.

The reason I like Temple so much is because "what do you call a chapel that's also a monument?"
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LastFootnote

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #57 on: February 07, 2018, 11:50:04 am »
+10

**:
Wedding

really?
wedding is hyper flavorful!

1) throw a party, going into debt
2) get gifts from the guests
3) get tired of your wife, and decide to have another wedding the next turn
4) marry a few more times because, why not?

see it's perfect!

Wedding was more flavorful when it got you a Boon rather than +1 VP. You get a gift! Who knows what it will be.
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AJD

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #58 on: February 07, 2018, 09:19:28 pm »
+4

I think Wedding's not that bad with the VP; at least, it makes it more similar to the thematically-similar Harem.

Also I just noticed that in the card art for Pooka, the pooka is handing the player cursed gold. "Here, you don't want to trash this, do you?"
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AJD

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #59 on: November 23, 2018, 11:11:33 pm »
0

*:
Pageant
Exploration
Piazza

*½:
Research
Silk Merchant
Citadel

**:
Ducat
Hideout
Patron
Scholar
Spices
Villain
Flag
Fleet
Road Network

**½:
Lackeys
Inventor
Priest
Key
Silos
Academy

***:
Border Guard
Acting Troupe
Cargo Ship
Experiment
Improve
Mountain Village
Recruiter
Scepter
Sculptor
Seer
Treasurer
Cathedral
Sewers
Star Chart
Sinister Plot
Guildhall
Crop Rotation
Canal

***½:
Old Witch
Swashbuckler
Horn
City Gate
Fair
Capitalism
Barracks
Innovation

****:
Flag Bearer
Lantern
Treasure Chest
« Last Edit: November 26, 2018, 11:15:57 am by AJD »
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Simon Jester

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #60 on: November 24, 2018, 03:03:44 pm »
0

May I ask why Exploration only got the lowest rating? I immediately thought of the interaction with Mission and maybe you don't count in-game associations but if so it make sense that something that rewards you for.. exploring.. the possibilities of the kingdom if you can't buy cards have that kind of name. I think it isworthy of a **-rating at least, more than that is a bit of a stretch for sure, but I still like the name of the card pretty much theme-wise.
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AJD

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #61 on: November 24, 2018, 05:14:42 pm »
+1

May I ask why Exploration only got the lowest rating? I immediately thought of the interaction with Mission and maybe you don't count in-game associations but if so it make sense that something that rewards you for.. exploring.. the possibilities of the kingdom if you can't buy cards have that kind of name. I think it isworthy of a **-rating at least, more than that is a bit of a stretch for sure, but I still like the name of the card pretty much theme-wise.

I do count in-game associations, and that counted against Exploration for me. The card whose name is most closely related to Exploration is Explorer, a Silver gainer, which has nothing to do with the effect of Exploration. Meanwhile, the existing effect that's most similar to Exploration, in my opinion, is Baths, which is highly thematic—take the day off, don't do anything, just sit around in the hot tub, you'll feel better. Thematically, Exploration is the opposite of Baths—heading out into the perilous unknown, versus sitting safe and sound in a comforting bath—so it seems odd to me that it should also be a "get tokens for not doing anything" effect.

I dunno, I guess Hermit is another potential comparison point—he goes mad if he doesn't buy anything, i.e., if he doesn't, like, engage in his daily routine and interact with other people? And so Exploration is, like, deliberately departing from your daily routine, and getting some resources out of it? I dunno, maybe it could be a *½, but it just doesn't really hang together for me.
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Simon Jester

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #62 on: November 24, 2018, 06:07:26 pm »
0

May I ask why Exploration only got the lowest rating? I immediately thought of the interaction with Mission and maybe you don't count in-game associations but if so it make sense that something that rewards you for.. exploring.. the possibilities of the kingdom if you can't buy cards have that kind of name. I think it isworthy of a **-rating at least, more than that is a bit of a stretch for sure, but I still like the name of the card pretty much theme-wise.

I do count in-game associations, and that counted against Exploration for me. The card whose name is most closely related to Exploration is Explorer, a Silver gainer, which has nothing to do with the effect of Exploration. Meanwhile, the existing effect that's most similar to Exploration, in my opinion, is Baths, which is highly thematic—take the day off, don't do anything, just sit around in the hot tub, you'll feel better. Thematically, Exploration is the opposite of Baths—heading out into the perilous unknown, versus sitting safe and sound in a comforting bath—so it seems odd to me that it should also be a "get tokens for not doing anything" effect.

I dunno, I guess Hermit is another potential comparison point—he goes mad if he doesn't buy anything, i.e., if he doesn't, like, engage in his daily routine and interact with other people? And so Exploration is, like, deliberately departing from your daily routine, and getting some resources out of it? I dunno, maybe it could be a *½, but it just doesn't really hang together for me.

True, but to be fair, isn't it Explorer that is a bit off as a Treasure gainer? It's mainly trading or war stuff that gets you those things via gaining. The explorer crew could of course be on their way to do a little bit of both, but yeah, you do have a point - it would be neat if it had a connotation with Baths somehow. Hm, what combines with both Baths and Mission? Halt as in resting while on a journey (not sure for a better term in English but sure there is one, simply "break" is too tame) maybe?
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AJD

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #63 on: November 24, 2018, 07:19:33 pm »
0

May I ask why Exploration only got the lowest rating? I immediately thought of the interaction with Mission and maybe you don't count in-game associations but if so it make sense that something that rewards you for.. exploring.. the possibilities of the kingdom if you can't buy cards have that kind of name. I think it isworthy of a **-rating at least, more than that is a bit of a stretch for sure, but I still like the name of the card pretty much theme-wise.

I do count in-game associations, and that counted against Exploration for me. The card whose name is most closely related to Exploration is Explorer, a Silver gainer, which has nothing to do with the effect of Exploration. Meanwhile, the existing effect that's most similar to Exploration, in my opinion, is Baths, which is highly thematic—take the day off, don't do anything, just sit around in the hot tub, you'll feel better. Thematically, Exploration is the opposite of Baths—heading out into the perilous unknown, versus sitting safe and sound in a comforting bath—so it seems odd to me that it should also be a "get tokens for not doing anything" effect.

I dunno, I guess Hermit is another potential comparison point—he goes mad if he doesn't buy anything, i.e., if he doesn't, like, engage in his daily routine and interact with other people? And so Exploration is, like, deliberately departing from your daily routine, and getting some resources out of it? I dunno, maybe it could be a *½, but it just doesn't really hang together for me.

True, but to be fair, isn't it Explorer that is a bit off as a Treasure gainer? It's mainly trading or war stuff that gets you those things via gaining. The explorer crew could of course be on their way to do a little bit of both, but yeah, you do have a point - it would be neat if it had a connotation with Baths somehow. Hm, what combines with both Baths and Mission? Halt as in resting while on a journey (not sure for a better term in English but sure there is one, simply "break" is too tame) maybe?

Explorer got a low rating from me too, but once an older card name is established I take it into account in evaluating later cards with related names. (That's why Woodcutter gets * but the Forest's Gift gets **—the latter gets a bonus for making a consistent theme with the former.)
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ackmondual

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #64 on: November 30, 2018, 01:48:12 am »
0

Hunting Party can find Gold in Tunnels!

Cellars lead to Gold in Tunnels as well!
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greybirdofprey

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #65 on: November 30, 2018, 05:42:38 am »
0

Hunting Party can find Gold in Tunnels!

Cellars lead to Gold in Tunnels as well!

Some attacks make you flee into a tunnel, and then you accidentally find Gold!
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AJD

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #66 on: March 26, 2020, 10:42:05 pm »
0

*
Way of the Otter


Supplies
Groom
Falconer
Reap
Way of the Monkey
Way of the Sheep

**
Sleigh
Sheepdog
Fisherman
Wayfarer
March
Way of the Mule
Way of the Ox
Way of the Seal
Way of the Worm

**½
Camel Train
Cardinal
Village Green
Displace
Hunting Lodge
Sanctuary
Commerce
Demand
Way of the Camel
Way of the Mouse
Way of the Owl
Way of the Pig
Way of the Rat

***
Horse
Black Cat
Goatherd
Scrap
Snowy Village
Stockpile
Bounty Hunter
Hostelry
Barge
Gatekeeper
Kiln
Livery
Paddock
Destrier
Animal Fair
Desperation
Pursue
Enhance
Transport
Enclave
Alliance
Populate
Way of the Frog
Way of the Horse
Way of the Mole
Way of the Squirrel
Way of the Turtle

***½
Cavalry
Coven
Mastermind
Gamble
Toil
Banish
Bargain
Seize the Day
Way of the Chameleon
Way of the Goat

****
Delay
Ride
Stampede
Way of the Butterfly
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Gubump

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #67 on: March 29, 2020, 03:49:27 pm »
+2

Ride really ought to have been called Wrangle, IMO. You ride a horse after you've already got it, not before.

Also, I'm surprised Way of the Otter wasn't called Way of the Dog, since it has now been established that Dogs = +2 Cards.
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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #68 on: March 29, 2020, 04:00:33 pm »
+4

Ride really ought to have been called Wrangle, IMO.

I think DXV's saving that event name for the one that lets you gain jeans.
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AJD

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #69 on: May 05, 2022, 02:47:55 am »
+1

*
Specialist
Hill Fort
Forest Dwellers


Town Crier
Tent
Miller
Emissary
Band of Nomads
Crafters' Guild
Island Folk
Mountain Folk
Order of Masons
Plateau Shepherds

**
Bauble
Sycophant
Merchant Camp
Student
Acolyte
Garrison
Sunken Treasure
Warlord
Marquis
Stronghold
City-state
Fellowship of Scribes
League of Shopkeepers
Market Towns
Woodworkers' Guild

**½
Underling
Herb Gatherer
Blacksmith
Battle Plan
Innkeeper
Town
Capital City
Guildmaster
Elder
Distant Shore
Territory
Family of Inventors
Peaceful Cult
Trappers' Lodge

***
Importer
Sentinel
Old Map
Broker
Carpenter
Courier
Royal Galley
Voyage
Conjurer
Archer
Barbarian
Contract
Galleria
Hunter
Modify
Skirmisher
Sorceress
Sorcerer
Sibyl
Architects' Guild
Cave Dwellers
Coastal Haven

***½
Highwayman
Lich
Desert Guildes
Gang of Pickpockets
Order of Astrologers

****
Swap
Circle of Witches
League of Bankers
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Commodore Chuckles

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #70 on: May 05, 2022, 06:25:17 pm »
+4

The problem with Capital City is that you usually want more than one of them.
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Squidd

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #71 on: May 06, 2022, 03:53:10 pm »
+3

The problem with Capital City is that you usually want more than one of them.
Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Malaysia, and Eswatini each have two capital cities. South Africa has three.
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Freddy10

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #72 on: May 08, 2022, 08:26:48 pm »
+1

Seaside! At this point, the theme of the expansion can be taken into account a bit as well. Sea Hag becomes a bit more thematic if you just accept that "from the sea" means "affects the next turn".
[...]
**½:
Caravan
Caravan is a ***** to me: Send them this turn to bring you things on the next turns. I think also that they seems to go one after the other at the beginning of the turn (if there is no other duration), like the camels on the art.
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Who trashes the trashers?

AJD

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #73 on: July 05, 2022, 07:08:37 pm »
0

*½:
Astrolabe
Sailor
Trail

**:
Sea Chart
Clerk
Collection
War Chest
Weaver
Souk
Wheelwright

**½:
Monkey
Anvil
Cauldron

***:
Blockade
Tide Pools
Pirate
Tiara
Charlatan
Crystal Ball
Magnate
Guard Dog
Witch's Hut

***½:
Corsair
Sea Witch
Berserker
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AJD

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Re: How thematic are card names?
« Reply #74 on: April 22, 2023, 02:20:34 am »
0

*:
Figurine
Puzzle Box

*½:
Taskmaster
Gondola
Rope
Swamp Shacks
First Mate
Pendant
Trickster
Amphora
Hammer
Foray

**:
Stowaway
Abundance
Flagship
Harbor Village
Tools
Crew
Longship
Mining Road
Figurehead
Orb
Peril

**½:
Shaman
Secluded Shrine
Landing Party
Pilgrim
King's Cache
Insignia
Jewels
Journey
Friendly
Nearby
Pious

***:
Cage
Grotto
Siren
Cabin Boy
Crucible
Mapmaker
Cutthroat
Frigate
Pickaxe
Wealthy Village
Doubloons
Sextant
Spell Scroll
Staff
Deliver
Launch
Scrounge
Maelstrom
Invasion
Cursed
Fated
Fawning
Reckless
Rich
Shy

***½:
Jewelled Egg
Search
Fortune Hunter
Maroon
Enlarge
Quartermaster
Silver Mine
Endless Chalice
Prize Goat
Sword
Mirror
Prepare
Prosper
Inherited
Inspiring
Patient
Tireless

****:
Buried Treasure
Sack of Loot
Shield
Bury
Avoid
Rush
Looting
Cheap
Hasty
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