WDC #115: Don't Count On It
"+3 Cards"
"Choose one"
"Play a card from your hand twice."
Enough with all this mathematical nonsense! Please design a card or landscape that doesn't use numbers in its text.
Winner: Border Crossing by Scolapasta
Runner Up: Portcullis by Faust
Honorable Mentions: Alchemical Factory by JW, Courtyard of Miracles by Shael, Legate by anordinaryman, Overlook by gambit05, Socialite by NoMoreFun, and Strategem by xyz123
WDC #116: Make me *less* special
With each new release of a Dominion expansion come new mechanics. And often, the weekly design contests reflect that: "Create a card that gives Villagers"; "Create a new Way."
But there are some mechanics that have gotten less fanfare, in fact there is only 1 official card (or card shaped thing) that uses it:
Examples, though in no way comprehensive (also, please let me know if I'm mistaken and missing some other card that uses the same mechanic)
Masquerade - only official card to involve passing
Werewolf - only official Action-Night card
Prince - only official Action card that costs $8 (not including Peddler that is $8*)
Grand Market - only official card that restricts buying it based on cards in play
Mountain Pass - only official card that involves bidding
This weeks contest is to "de-uniquefy" a unique Dominion mechanics. Please mention the particular mechanic and the official card that uses it in your post.
Winner: Interests by naitchman
Runners-Up: Golden Fleece by gambit05, Viceroy by Aquila, Scientist by anordinaryman, Land of the People by MochaMoko
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Weekly Design Contest 117: In the wrong place at the wrong time
This week's challenge is to create a card or card shaped thing that allows players to play cards during non normal times. Any of the following will work:
•Playing non actions during the action phase (for these purposes, the start of your turn is considered your action phase)
•Playing non treasures during the buy phase
•Playing non night cards during the night phase
•Playing cards that normally can't be played at all (such as curses or victory cards)
•Playing cards during other players turns
•Something else that allows cards to be played at a unique time
Winner: Weaponsmith by MochaMoko
Runner-Up: Monarchy by X-tra
Honorable Mentions: Nightmare by grep, Umarell by spineflu, Misfit by NoMoreFun, Night Preacher by Xen3k, Respite/Nepenthe by emtzalex, Midas's Touch by anordinaryman
WDC #118: Short and Sweet!
Design a simple card that uses up to 1 official expansion-specific mechanic.
For this week, I'd like to see some short and simple cards! Here are the guidelines:
・No more than ~20 words, or 5 lines.
For this, I’ll count + amounts (+①, +2 Actions, +1 Coffers) as one word.
・Up to 1 official expansion-specific mechanic (you can also include 0)
I’m not going to list all the expansion-specific mechanics (there are a lot), but for example, we’ve got Debt, Coffers/Villagers, Looters, Night cards, Spirits, Boons, VP tokens… some of these (VP tokens, Coffers) are in multiple expansions, but they are specific to both expansions. Duration cards are not expansion-specific anymore. And as fun as making your own mechanics is, I’d rather not see those for this week.
・Cut the extra stuff!
Winner: Sentinel by AJL828
Runners-Up: Renovate by JW, Grand Workshop by kru5h, Way of the Eagle by segural, Bounty by Gubump, Damaged Smithy by exfret, Reforge by The Alchemist
Weekly Design Contest 119: Triple Threat
When it comes to Dominion, I love the flashy stuff. Take out all the non-Supply things, bring out all the mats, gather all the multi-type cards (this is probably a large part of why I love Nocturne so much 
)
With that being said, there aren't a ton of official cards with many types. Sure a lot of them have 2, but there are significantly less with 3. (only 30?) Let's fix that shall we?
Design a Kingdom Card that uses exactly three types.
Winner: Altruist by spineflu
Runners-Up: Warden by Aquila, Crown Prince by mxdata, Doppelgänger by emtzalex
Weekly Design Contest 120: The Turn After NextDesign a duration card that has more than a two-turn effect, but that doesn't just stay in play.
Canon examples are Crypt and Archive.
By two-turn effect, I mean avoid the typical duration "now and at the start of your next turn" - at the end of the second turn, it should still be in play and cued up to do a thing.
By "doesn't just stay in play", I mean the Hireling/Champion style "This stays in play." is no-go. If you want to have like a "pay to keep this around" type mechanic, that's fine, but please review how durations do things and word your card appropriately to avoid "bonfire my hireling for invisible hireling effect" situations.
Winner: Exhibit by faust
Runner-Up: Brewery by X-tra
Placed: Acrobat by Freddy10, Mine Digger by majiponi, Refinery by AJL828
Weekly Design Contest 121: All Things Come to an EndThe challenge for the week is as follows:
Design a card-shaped object with the word "end" somewhere in its instructions.
I think this rule is fairly straightforward, but I'll offer some clarifications still:
- "End" can have any grammatical function you desire; noun or verb is both fine.
- "End" needs to be its own word in the text; "spend" does not qualify. That said, inflection is fine, so you may use "ends"
- "End" does not need to appear in the on-play ability, below the line would be fine as well.
- "End" needs to appear in the actual text body. Just designing a card that is called "Something end" is not enough.
- that said... if you want to get really nitpicky: It is technically allowed to design two cards, one using "end" in its name, and the other referring to that card. But your design better have a good reason to be called that way if you wish to get a high ranking.
Winner: Spelunker by X-Tra
Runners-Up: Meditate by Gubump, Helper Knight by majiponi, Second Chance by mxdata, Street Vendor by Shael
Weekly Design Contest 122: That Other Way of Drawing
Either design a draw-to-X card, or a card that helps activate a draw-to-X engine.
Some extra rules include:
- Please guys, just make one card, okay? I will not hesitate to say a particular entry does not qualify if I see more than one card in one post. So, no out-of-Supply shenanigans, no Travellers, no split piles...
- Uh, well, I guess that was the only rule.
Winner: Sheriff by AJL828
Runners-Up: Clock of the Time Dragon by emtzalex, Flywheel by mandioca15, and Town Square by Gubump
Honorable Mentions: Broker by Unjer, Refuge by xyz123, Corbita by grep, Geographer by faust, and Scribe by mxdata
First we had a contest on Durations that stayed in play forever. Then we had a contest on durations that stayed in play for more than 2 turns, but not forever. What's the logical follow-up to this?
Oh, I know...
Weekly Design Contest 123: Duration? Are You Sure?
Your task: Design a Kingdom Duration card that gives the player a choice of whether to keep it out an extra turn or not.
Official cards that do this include: Barge, Cargo Ship, Gear, and Secret Cave.
Other official cards (such as Haven) technically can stay out for only 1 turn, but this isn't really by choice when it happens. A card like Haven would not qualify for this week's contest.
Winner: Call to Arms by MochaMoko
Runners-Up: Capstan by mandioca15, Refit by xyz123
Honorable Mentions: Sentinel by 4est, Harbor by Gubump, Wagenburg by grep, Wood Sculptor by lompeluiten, Sovereign by spineflu, Revolutionist by mathdude
WDC #124: Yes… ha ha ha… YES!
Design a non-terminal Attack card.
For this week, ready your pitchforks and load your weapons, it’s Attack time!
Most Attacks in Dominion are terminal. That’s because many Attack effects may either take a long time to resolve or be extremely painful when stacked. Some just have other vanilla effects instead (think most Attacks that draw cards).
There are 10 non-terminal Attack piles if I’m counting correctly (Minion, Scrying Pool, Familiar, Urchin, Relic, Idol, Werewolf, Raider, Vampire, Coven), and a few asterisks in Cultist, Dame Molly, Sir Bailey, and Black Cat. I’ll just say that not all of these are cards you should look for for inspiration. I think Minion sucks (It even has a clause that prevents it from discarding too much, but I still think it’s too much). Scrying Pool doesn’t need the attack imo, Urchin is Urchin, and Familiar… well, I dunno. The later cards are a lot more of what I would like to see in a Dominion card. Donald X. is really good at making cards these days! Who woulda thunk it!
The nature of non-terminal cards is that you can play more of them much easier. Therefore, many non-terminal Attacks have a weaker effect or have an effect that doesn’t stack. Please take these considerations into account when making your card. Of course, you are free to do as you wish! Surprise me!
Clarifications:
・On non-terminality, if when it’s Attacking, it’s non-terminal, that’s a non-terminal Attack. So Werewolf for example counts, but if its options were switched (putting aside how horribly weak that would be), it would not.
・For what's non-terminal or not, we can argue on the specifics of what makes something non-terminal, but I don't feel like taking the time to describe the specifics. If it looks non-terminal to me, it's non-terminal. I'll tell you if your card doesn't fit, and if enough people disagree, I'll relent on it.
Winner: Philanthropist/Benefaction by Timinou
Runners-Up: Forest Witch by JW, Sickos by X-tra, Kudzu by Xen3k, Inquisition by grep, Warlock by mathdude
WDC #125: What's the Draw?
Rules:
- Design a card-shaped thing that draws a variable number of cards that is not a draw-to-X (where X is is fixed rather than variable) card
- For the purposes of this week's contest, binary will not be considered to be "variable". What I mean by that is that cards like Shanty Town (that draws either 0 or 2 cards), Menagerie (that draws 1 or 3 cards), or Conspirator (that draws either 0 or 1 card) would not qualify.
- As mentioned above, draw-to-X cards like Library, Watchtower, and Cursed Village would not qualify because they draw up to a predetermined number of cards. The exception would be a draw-to-X card like faust's Geographer, where the "X" is variable.
- Your submission can be a non-supply card (in which case you should also submit a supply card or WELP which works with the non-supply card)
- If your submission is a split pile, only one of the cards needs to meet the contest criteria
- Your submission can be a WELP*
- Please do not submit any Traveller lines or mixed piles
- Official cards that would qualify include Crossroads, City Quarter, Madman, Shepherd, Storyteller, Seer, Scrying Pool, Apprentice, and Tribute
- Cards that let you draw a variable number of cards for a future turn will also be permitted. So Research, for example, would qualify.
Winner: Arcade by Gubump
Runners-Up: Repository by Aquila, Commander by X-tra
Honorable Mentions: Clock Tower by Gardoomalion, Rework by emtzalex, Flower Garden by Xen3k, Interest/Savings by DunnoItAll, Spiral Staircase by stechafle
Contest #126: Seeking an Heir
Design a card that uses the following Heirloom:
As in the last contest I hosted, please do not submit any cards you've previously posted on the forums. Also as before, my judging criteria will focus on balance, playability, fun, and creativity.
A couple of important notes: You'll notice that the Heirloom does not have a name; this is to avoid narrowing the namespace for submissions. Please give the Heirloom a name along with your submission. Lastly, feel free to give the Heirloom a different cost than the 
cost I chose; it's probably not super important for balance (depending on your submission, of course), but I'll assume it costs for all entries unless otherwise specified.
Without any further ado, good luck and have fun designing!
Winner: Spectacle/Fireworks by X-tra
Runners-Up: 2nd Place: Woodsman/Lumber by anordinaryman, 3rd Place: Jeweller/Emerald by AJL828
Honorable Mentions: Port Clerk/Quill by Xen3k, Lightning Rod/Lightning by mathdude, Souk/Lantern by Timinou, and Carnival/Beer by grep
Weekly Design Contest 127: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Design a card that matches the theme of one of the 3 pictures below.
In this contest, you will be tasked to come up with a card that will thematically match one of the 3 suggested pictures. The pictures all come from artist Tomasz Jedruszek. His material can be found on Artstation. A very talented fellow with inspiring art, I believe he has that magic touch that very-well fit within the legacy of Dominion. Here are the 3 pieces of art in question, with links below them toward ShardOfHonor’s card maker with the picture well-adjusted to the card frame:
You can do whatever with these pictures. Name your card as you wish, price it as your heart desires and give it the best effect you can think of. And hey, make it any type you want too. So long as everything is bundled as a cohesive card. Like, if you take the first picture and name it “Mountain”, I’ll probably give the win to someone else . So take that into account, because judging will look at that aspect, alongside the balance of the card. The usual, more or less.
Some extra rules include:
- The pictures are better formatted to fit a vertical, normal card (that’s debatable, but w/e). So exceptionally, to honour the challenge of this week, no landscapes please. Say no to Events, Landmarks, Projects and Ways.
- If you're not going to use the card generator and simply want to write what your card does, please specify which art it would use. In most cases, I know this'll be obvious given the name of your card, but let's make it extra clear just in case.
- I suppose if you’re feeling extra creative, you may use 2 or all 3 pictures to do something like a split pile or a mix pile. Or even use one of them as an out-of-Supply card à la Mercenary. If you do that, it will be up to you to find creative ways to thematically link the cards together. You may even do a mini 3-card Traveller line if you’re into that. Of course, just using one card is probably the simpler, safer bet here.
Winner: Castle Town by majiponi
Runners-Up: Bastion by emtzalex and Paladin by Timinou
Honorable Mentions: Centurion by AJL828, Longship by arowdok, Longship by The Alchemist, Northern Regiment by Xen3k, and Templar by grep
Weekly Design Contest 128: Look at the Trash!
Design a card or a landscape that refers to cards in the trash.
I do like Trash-for-Benefits like Graverobbers and Salvager. Let's enjoy trashing!
Your card has to look at the trash; gaining from it, counting Treasures in it, playing a card in it (leaving there), or a kind of thing is accepted.
Official cards that would qualify include:
Thief,
Forager,
Necromancer
Official cards that would not qualify include:
Swindler (it just cares the cost of the trashed card),
Treasure Map (it just cares what you trash),
Possession (it doesn't use the trash)
Winner: Shaman by xyz123
Runner-Up: Altruist by Mahowrath
Honorable Mention: Orchestra and Instruments by Boomyday
Weekly Design Contest 129: In PlayThis week it is all about being in play. Design a card or landscape that in someway cares about what you currently have in play.
I deliberately gave a loose definition "someway cares about what you currently have in play" as I want to give a lot of freedom. For example, it could be behavior dependent on how many cards you have in play, types of cards you have in play, look to see if a certain card is in play, etc. It could happen when you play the card, or it could be an on gain/buy/trash, etc, effect. You can interact with cards in play, for example trash them, replay them, gain a copy, etc. You could have a card whose properties are changed by what is in play, e.g. Peddler. Conditions on whether or not you can buy or gain a card could be dependent on what is in play, e.g. Grand Market
Below is a list of official cards that I would have deemed acceptable if they didn't already exist. Note the list is not necessarily complete, I might have overlooked something.
Winner: Haunted House by LibraryAdventurer
Runners-Up: Treetop Village by Mahowrath and Labormen by Xen3k
Honorable Mentions: Trophy by Faust, Visigoth by Mandioca15, Dorp by Spineflu, and Arsenal by Timinou
Weekly Design Contest 130: SidekicksGoons could use a sidekick. Create a split pile using an official card that costs $5 or more as the bottom card. (edited)
I think the game could use more $1 or $2 cost cards, but your submission just has to cost less than the official card it's on top of.
Hint: It helps if there's some mechanic (including spammableness) that makes the top card likely to get bought out and undercover the bottom card. (I know this from experience. I've made at least one split pile where the bottom card never gets uncovered.)
Winner: Stablehand/Livery by spineflu
Runners-Up: Art Colony/Artisan by emtzalex and Destitute Village/Raider by JW
Honorable Mention: Vanishing Coin/Adventurer by anordinaryman
Contest 131: Novel Ways to Overpay
this might be a weird/hard one
Overpay is one of the rarer mechanics in Dominion; only four canon cards have it, and three of them use it in the same way - do a thing for each extra $1 you spend. Only Stonemason does something different, where it can meaningfully use potions for overpay.
Your goal for this is to design a Kingdom pile that uses overpay in a way that none of the cards from guilds do (it's fine if you and another member end up using it the same way in your entry). The effect you get can be something we've seen before - sometimes you need something to pile out the silvers, right? - but the way in which the overpay is performed should be novel. For instance, maybe you make a card that has a downside if you don't overpay. Or a bonus if you do. Maybe you make a card that does a 2:1 overpay ratio (make sure to include how you're rounding). Or 1:2, if you're feeling bold. Or something entirely different from those.
Your entry must be a non-split pile / non-unique pile kingdom card. It can use non-supply piles, and should use types/mechanics from canon dominion - fan mechanics are fine as long as you're ok with including a short write up describing how they're used. Please no landscapes this contest.
Winner: Endowment by scolapasta
Runners-Up: Logs by X-tra, Suspension Bridge by LibraryAdventurer, and Token by NoMoreFun
Honorable Mentions: Developing Village by lompeluiten, Ritual Attendant by Xen3k, Séance by faust, and Town Square by anordinaryman
WDC #132: All Hallow's Eve
In honor of upcoming Halloween, this week's contest asks for Night cards... but not just any Night cards, they have to be "in costume".
This weeks contest is to design a Night card that has at least one other (non Duration) type. I'm excluding Night-Duration, as there are already several official cards. Your design can still be Night-Duration, as long as it has at least one other type.
Official Cards that would qualify:
Werewolf
Vampire
Raider
Ghost*
* Ghost, of course, is a non supply card; if you do something similar, please include a supporting supply card
Judgement:
My general criteria continues to be: Is this a card I wish I had designed? So I will look towards it being interesting and fun, foremost, and at least somewhat thematic. While balance is also important, if it's a card that has some imbalance but potential to be fixed, it won't lose many points. I also do tend to lean towards "simpler is better", knowing that it is sometimes in conflict with "interesting and fun".
Bonus points / tiebreaker will be awarded to cards that have an appropriate, Halloween-y theme.
Winner: Trick or Treat by Timinou
Runners-Up: Sarcophagus by 4est, Haunted Basement by anordinaryman, Goblin by emtzalex, Black Knight by Gubump
WDC #133: A Time to Feast
As we're heading into the festive season with a number of celebrations just around the corner, let's take a moment to remember Feast from the first edition of Dominion.
Rules:
- Design a card-shaped thing that allows you to gain cards costing up to $5 (or more)
- It should not be restricted to gaining specific $5-cost cards (so a card that can only gain Duchies for example would not qualify)
- There should not be a restriction on the type of card gained (so for example, Advance, University, Haggler, and Jester would not qualify. Likewise, Pilgrimage and Changeling would not qualify since you are limited to gaining playable cards)
- It should be able to gain a $5-cost card without any cost reduction (the exception would be if the cost reduction is already provided by your submission)
- It should not be a pure Remodeler (although self-trash like with Feast would be allowed). So Remodel, Transmogrify, Expand,
and even Altar, would not qualify. - You can incorporate any fan mechanics (please just provide an explanation of how it works)
- Official cards other than Feast that would qualify include Artisan, Smugglers, Border Village, Artificer, Duplicate, Vampire, Horn of Plenty, Charm, Banquet, Bargain, Way of the Butterfly
- Stonemason would qualify due to its on-play ability rather than on-buy ability
- I'll try to be flexible with the rules.
Winner: Prized Hog by 4est
Runners-Up: Hostage Taker by Mahowrath and Staircase by X-tra
WDC #134: This is Worthless
Hello everybody! Here's this week's challenge:
Design a card or card shaped thing that costs $0.
Acceptable submissions include: - Non-Supply cards costing $0, such as Prizes, Madman, Mercenary, Spoils, Will-o-the-Wisps, or Wishes.
- Basic and Special Basic Supply cards costing $0, such as Copper, Curse, and Ruins.
- Starting cards costing $0, such as Heirlooms or Shelters.
- A Kingdom pile costing $0, though tread lightly here, as there is no official Kingdom card costing $0 (perhaps for good reason).
- An Event (or Project I suppose) costing $0, such as Advance, Alms, Borrow, Delay, Desperation, or Quest.
Other rules and suggestions:
- Your entry must cost exactly $0.
- Debt cost cards (or other alternative costs) do not cost $0 and will not be accepted.
- Cards with variable costs (which sometimes cost $0) such as Peddler will not be accepted.
- Overpay cards costing $0 are permitted.
- Many official $0 cost cards are only gained only via other cards. You may include the card that gains or distributes your $0 cost card (and that one need not cost $0).
- Your entry should have a compelling and non-arbitrary reason to cost $0 and not something else. Most official $0-costs exemplify this with one or more of the following: 1) being weak or undesirable, 2) meant to be played and not Remodeled, etc., 3) trying to dodge the common $3-$6 trashing attacks, or 4) designed to be always available, but with a drawback or restriction (especially in the case of Events).
- Don't make me squint. Eliminate unnecessary words and complexity where possible. This is not the challenge for a Traveller line or an eight-card Castles-style mixed pile.
Winner: Bequest by mandioca15
Runner-Up: Reposition by NoMoreFun
Honorable Mentions: Parade by JW, Reconfigure by AJL828, Purifying Spirit by Xen3k, and Rubble by LastFootnote
Weekly Design Contest 135: Go Big or Go Home!Design a card(-shaped thing) that costs $7 or more.
It can be a normal Kingdom card, an Event or a Project.
I will judge based on how well it merits its high price tag, its simplicity and how fun it looks to play.
For simplicity's sake, I will disallow split piles, or anything that requires an additional card in order to gain it.
Winner: Colosseum by AJL828
Runners-up: Pirate Island by segura, King's Isle by 4est, and Coronation Site by Xen3k
Weekly Design Contest 136: ‘Tis the Season
December has just begun, which means the holidays are soon around the corner. Therefore to help everybody get into the holiday spirit, here’s the contest for this week (I checked and the same idea was done 2 years ago, so I’m not repeating the idea too soon)
Design a card that provides some sort of benefit to all other players either when played (exs. Council Room, Bishop, Vault) or gained (Lost City, Embassy). Events are also allowed (like Bargain) and I suppose if you really thought about it you could make a Project or Way as well, so I’ll allow those.
Remember that a “benefit” doesn’t always have to help your opponent (sometimes they don’t want that free Silver). Happy Holidays and happy designing! 
Winner: Looking Glass by Timinou
Runners-Up: Santa's Workshop by Erick648
Honorable Mentions: Yule Festival by Xen3k and Way of the Reindeer by NoMoreFun
WDC #137: From Whence It Came
Rules:
- Design a card that contains the text "return this"
- If your card is a non-supply card, State, or Artifact, please also submit a Supply card that interacts with it
- Examples of official cards that qualify include Experiment, Horse Traders, Madman, Wish, Horse, Way of the Butterfly, Way of the Horse, Deluded, Envious
- I can bend the first rule if you want the card to say "return it" rather than "return this" as long as it would have the same meaning if the phrases were substituted (see Spoils and Encampment)
- This is similar to Contest #93, but your submission doesn't need to return itself to its pile (see Horse Trader)
Winner: Student by mxdata
Runners-up: Corridor by 4est and Travelling Merchant by The Alchemist
WDC #138: A Revealing Contest
Currently Patron is the only official card with "when you reveal this ..." "when something causes you to reveal this ..."
Your challenge is to create a new Reaction card that reacts to being revealed. It does not have to be an Action - Reaction, it could be any other type such as a Treasure - Reaction. The reaction can be anything you like, the only requirement is that the trigger be revealing it
Your entry does not have to be a single card. It can be, for example, a split pile or an Heirloom and a paired card or a non-Supply card and a card that gains it, as long as at least one of the cards has this reaction. No Traveller lines or piles like Knights or Castles with multiple different cards. Maximum of two cards or card-like things please
Winner: Pioneer by Spineflu
Runner-Up: NoMoreFun's Speakeasy (Torch)
Honorable Mentions: Ritzy Town by JW, Caravel by AJL828, Caravel and Carrack by spheremonk, and Pilgrim and Path by 4est
WDC 139 is:
Design a card that is not an Action, Treasure, or Night card, yet can still be brought into play.
For this contest, we'll work with the de facto rule of the following:
When something instructs you to play a card that's not an action, treasure, or night card, follow the instructions on the card like you would an action, treasure or night card, including when it would be cleaned up (for duration cards).
This may be an on-buy triggered card (like a self-contained innovation+hireling combo), maybe a pure reserve type, maybe a only via reaction does it get played, but it should have a way to get into play, and not be an Action, Treasure, or Night card. If it's solely an on-buy card, it should have some reason for not being an event.
If you need a "null type", or type that the card is when it has no real types, please either use Confusion or make up your own "dead" type; cards like Courtier aren't expecting zero types.
Winner: A Far Better Thing by emtzalex
Runner-up: Ark by 4est
Honorable Mentions: Wizard's Tower by Timinou and Futures by arowdok
Weekly Design Contest #140 is:
Design a card/landscape that has the player "choose three" from a list things it can do.
A common mechanic among official cards allows the player to "choose" from a list of different things that can be done. Most of these tell you to "choose one" from a list of options (see Steward, Catacombs). Two cards, Pawn and Trusty Steed ask you to "choose two" things, while two more cards, Courtier and Scrap allow you to choose a variable number, depending on a card each interacts with.
For this challenge, you need to design a card (or landscape) which allows a player to "choose three" from a list of things that can be done:
- The design should use the "choose" mechanic from the cards previously listed.
- Just because an entry contains the phrase "choose three" will not make it qualify.
- For example, a card that said "Choose 3 cards from your hand and put them onto your deck" would not qualify.
- However, shortcuts in language are fine. If you said "Choose 3 of the following to gain:" followed by a list of cards, that would be okay; you don't have to say "gain a" each time.
- I don't care if you use "3" or "three" (as long as it is exactly three, and not a variable number).
- The three choices must come from a single list. A card that lets a player "choose one" from 3 different lists will not qualify. (Under this rule, Count would be different from a "choose two" card).
- Players should choose exactly three items from the list (not up to 3, or a multiple of three).
- However, while all of the official "choose" cards with more than one option require choosing all different items, you don't have to follow that restriction. If you want the player to be able to choose an option more than once, that is fine.
Those are the only requirements, but another very important aspect is that the choice should be meaningful. This is somewhat subjective, so I am not going to disqualify any entries, but if players would pick the same 3 things in the vast majority of cases, you probably won't win. Other than that, my main judging criteria is whether I would be excited to see the design in a Kingdom. Important factors for me are:
- balance -- is the card useful, but not overpowering (both in general and in a variety of Kingdoms)
- playability -- the card is fun to play and works in more than one type of deck
- simplicity -- this doesn't always mean fewer words; a card with lots of text that, once you understand it, can be easily and intuitively be played is better than one with four lines of text that is hard to understand
- topicality -- the card(s)/landscape(s) use(s) the mechanic in an interesting way
Your submission can be a Kingdom card, a non-supply card, or a landscape. If it is a non-Supply card or a landscape like an Artifact or State, make sure to include the card or landscape that gives players access to it. Feel free to use any official or fan mechanics (but if you use the latter, please explain how they work, or provide a link). This includes split piles or other ways to have multiple cards, but if you have too many you will lose points in the simplicity category.
Winner: Will by 4est
Runner-Up: Informant by scolapasta
Honorable Mentions: Weaver by AJL828, Monastic Village by JW, and Foreman by Xen3k
WDC #141: Seaside Revisited
Hello everybody! In light of the recent news of a 2nd Edition for Dominion: Seaside, here's this week's challenge:
Design a new card that fits the theme of Seaside (and optionally, replaces a current card from Seaside)
Other rules and suggestions:
- You may NOT use unique mechanics from other official expansions. Your card should be one that could reasonably fit in an actual Seaside Second Edition without requiring additional mechanic explanation in the Seaside expansion rulebook. So no landscapes, reserves, travellers, split piles, VP tokens, Coffers/Villagers, Debt, Exile, Horses, Night cards, etc.
- Your card does not have to be a direct replacement for another official Seaside card, but you are welcome to design one that is (and maybe let us know what card yours is intended to replace).
- Try to think about how your card would fit in Seaside as a whole. Does Seaside need another village or trasher or non-attack player interaction card, etc. How will replacing an old card with yours affect the expansion generally?
- If you want to be extra fancy, consider component decisions too. Seaside already comes with some tokens and mats (each of which are utilized by only one card). Do you want to design a card that creatively eliminates the need for a certain component, or perhaps makes another use for one?
- To that end, I will allow a unique new mechanic that creatively reuses some of the current Seaside components (such as the coin tokens for Pirate Ship), so long as your card is not introducing a "later" mechanic from another official expansion (e.g. Coffers from Guilds and Renaissance).
- As always with my contests: Don't make me squint. Eliminate unnecessary words and complexity where possible.
Winner: Bounty by xyz123
Runner-Up: Harbor by AJL828
Honorable Mentions: Buccaneer by X-tra, Skipper by Joxeft, Treasure Ship by Xen3k, Architeuthis by LibraryAdventurer, Layaway by arowdok
WDC #142: High SpiritsFor the next contest the brief is to design a new spirit card together with another card or horizontal that provides a method of gaining it.
The rules/restrictions for this are:
- The spirit card you design must not be in the supply and must include the type Spirit.
- Remember that your spirit card can also be gained by Exorcist. Consider that when deciding on the card's nominal cost. It should always be possible for Exorcist to be able to gain your spirit card regardless of what else is in the kingdom.
Winner: Runestone and Essence by faust
Runners-Up: Devoted Thrall and Lost Soul by Xen3k and Gemstone Mine and Sprite Dragon by silverspawn
Honorable Mentions: Invoke by ahyangyi, Gnome and Fairy by jakav, Fairy Ring and Mischievious Fairies by emtzalex, and Dryad and Forest Spirit by AJL828
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WDC #143: Can I see your ID first?This week, your task is to design a card(-shaped object) with a buying or gaining restriction.
The inspiration for this contest is Grand Market. However, once-per-turn or once-per-game Events like Alms or Seize the Day would also be valid.
Here are some more precise rules:
- your submission should have some additional requirement to being bought/gained other than cost.
- if your submission is a card, it should be in the supply; a gaining restriction due to not being in the supply will not be valid. You may still involve non-supply cards.
- the restriction does not need to be explicitly stated as it is on Grand Market, so long as it has an analogous effect.
Obviously there is some room for interpretation, and I will try to be generous if it is in the spirit of the contest. Please be mindful of potential rules issues with a condition like "You may not gain this unless...".
Winner: Foundry by NoMoreFun
Runners-Up: Beckoner by arowdok, Capital City by Commodore Chuckles, Weaver by D782802859, and Foreign Exchange by pubby
WDC #144: A one time thingDesign a card (shaped thing) with an effect that can only be used once per game
I'm looking for more effects like Seize the Day. Where you think about the whole game and when to deploy the "once per game" effect. These kinds of decisions are in every dominion game (e.g. when to start greening), but a good "once per game" effect will provide even more opportunities.
Most Projects aren't what I really have in mind as they're largely positive and don't feel all that different from buying a card. However I'm not going to make hard and fast "rules" about it as for example something like Inheritance has "once per game" in its text but it functions more like a Project.
The only rule is something technically that means the effect once per game, per player at most. So all Projects would "qualify". Something like Mountain Pass that's once per game across all players is also acceptable. Supply piles of one card are acceptable, but try keep it within the spirit of the contest - it shouldn't be bought many times in most games due to a "return to the supply" effect.
Once per game was an option for last week but it wasn't explored that often. Additionally, this week it need not relate to buying/gaining. A Village, no buy restrictions, with a once per game additional effect would be a great entrant.
Edit: Oneshot Heirlooms do qualify, as long as they can't be gained back most of the time (e.g. if the card the Heirloom is paired with can gain from the trash). If you want to submit an heirloom you must also pair it with a card (shaped thing), which may or may not also have a "once per game" effect.
Winner: Opportunity by X-tra
Runners-Up: Central Bank by infangtheif, Supernova by AJL828, and Strategize by Gubump
Weekly Design Contest 145: Down the hatch!
Design a card that thematically lends itself to alcohol
Allies is around the corner! Previews have dropped! Dominion now has 14 expansions in its catalogue. 14!
This calls for a celebration! Bring out the Champaign, because this contest is all about alcohol. And, well, nothing much more beyond that, actually. It’s pretty simple really: just make a card that invokes alcohol thematically.
It doesn’t need to be as straightforward as a mug o’ beer. A keg is as acceptable of a card as would be a bar or a brew master. Or how about a nice branch of hops? Anyway, these are just quick ideas to get you going. Go nuts beyond that. But remember: t’has to do with alcohol!
Some extra rules include:
- Actually, not many extra rules. You can do a Landscape card if you want. Or send multiple cards at once, such as with split piles or Travelers. I will say though that I prefer when only one card is submitted. Makes it easier to judge, lol.
Winner: Bartender by LibraryAdventurer
Runners-Up: Celebration by Carline and Pint
Honorable Mentions: Bacchanal by emztalex, Barrel by 4est, Intoxicate by UltimateGeek, Round of Shots by faust, Tavern (Tipsy) by Augie279, and Tavern by Gubump
Weekly Design Contest 146: Contacts
I get to do the obligatory new expansion mechanic contest!
I'll make it simple.
Who's going to be the contact between you and your allies?
Design a liaison (a card the gives favor tokens or otherwise causes players to have favor tokens... (like Importer)).
It doesn't have to necessarily be a card that would fit in the Allies expansion. Feel free to use mechanics from other expansions as well. But no travellers. Those are tough on judging.
Winner: Nursery by spineflu
Runners-Up: Noblewoman by Gubump and Peacemaking by UltimateGeek
WDC #147: Target DemographicWell, we designed a liaison. Let's do the other one, design an Ally.
No kingdom/non-supply piles, please, and do try to limit the number of Other Components I'd need to drag out - I'm already getting coin tokens and mats, I don't want to be getting Other Mats.
If you need to include other types, in the interest of keeping your card readable without me getting my reading glasses out, consider using the "Heirloom" portion of the card generator to add additional types.
Winner: Order of Cryptkeepers by Commodore Chuckles
Runners-Up: Veteran Trainers by emtzalex, Shepherd Clan by Timinou
