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I've seen them on amazon! That being said printing is probably the fastest way to prototype. Print on plain paper and then sleeve them with a throwaway mtg or yugioh card.
hey, thanks! I bought blank cards on amazon and hand drew them all with my wide collection of permanent markers that I need at work, hehe. You can totally draw with other things on them though!
here they are:
Blank Playing Cards (Poker Size & Matte Finish) 2.5" x 3.5", 180 Blank Cards, Flash Cards, Board Game Cards, Study Guide Cards, DIY Projects https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01H4CZQ14/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_A9MT48JV4737R6BX2Y10?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
For face up game, I do in pairs. right to left as the dealer deals the 2nd card. I think of it as a mechanical process, click, click, click, then the dealer's face up card click. If I count the individual cards, I make mistakes.
For pitch games, even easier, I don't even look at my 1st card. when I get the 2nd card the same mechanical process, my cards click then the dealer's up card click. I don't even peek at other players cards, or even when they turn them over for side bets. If I try to count ahead by peeking at other players cards: mistakes. mechanical process every time.
If I count cards the second I see them, I make mistakes. Hence the mechanical process. The only way to know is if you have someone else deal the cards while you watch. Somehow if you do it yourself you will subconsciously throttle it at think you are doing great.
I found the best way to learn to count pairs and single cards at the same time is to put blank cards in your deck. Then turn over 2 at a time, you will get either a pair or single card. you can get blank cards here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H4CZQ14?psc=1&ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_product\_details
I've printed a couple thousand cards at this point (deckbuilders man...) and agree entirely with /u/TrevorBradley that printing on regular paper and sleeving with an actual card as backing is the way to go
While tedious they are easy to swap out when you make changes, since the sleeves / cards are reusable you only need a home printer to change them as rapidly as you want
A rotary cutter is a must with larger numbers of cards
I prefer blank cards so there's no artwork visible through your paper in case the paper is on the thin side, e.g.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H4CZQ14
There are a few companies that sell blank cards
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H4CZQ14/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_H7QJW013C0T83P4NCW16
There is a video (I think it was from ispcc or how it's made) that shows card construction. The black core is actually the adhesive used to glue the cardstock together so that it's not light transparent.
Not sure what the actual question is here? It sounds more like a hopeful product pitch.
That said ... just print said cards with your printer? There is printer cardstock that will match the size of a playing card or business card and can be easily "punched out". Or ... use normal paper and/or cardstock and cut the cards out with scissors.
... or, just buy a selection of completely blank playing cards (for example, the first results in a Google search were these: https://www.amazon.com/Apostrophe-Games-Blank-Playing-Finish/dp/B01H4CZQ14 ) and write on them with pen or pencil.
So I bought a bunch of these packs of cards: Apostrophe Games Blank Playing Cards (Matte Finish & Poker Size) (180 Cards) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H4CZQ14/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_W3ydCbFRVTZBE
So I can make them on the fly with a sharpie. I would say make 10, I can't imagine you would need more then that.
The Game Crafter sells blank cards in bulk, same size as the ones used printed. Amazon also sells them.
I bought blank poker grade cards that were the perfect thickness and size. I drew on them with sharpie and made them kinda recognizable. I actually got a lot of compliments on them because of my effort.
I also bought some nice looking dual lands from Etsy and those I still play with in my 5-color and 4-color decks. The sizing wasnt quite as good as the poker cards above though. These are a little too big but work just fine for casual play.
Been in the same spot before! It can be quite rough. Hopefully the advice here from everyone will help!
For me, I like to find the central mechanic or idea that I want to build everything around. Usually I will try to find a simple game from here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_in_game_theory and then I'll find fun ways to iterate on the idea. There are some gems in there! The downside is that game theory games are not "fun" they are more like a distillation of game mechanics. But once you find one that you like, find a way to make it fun!
As for your card designing problem, I would suggest a different route. I prefer to get blank cards that I can write on. It takes longer to make them, but I can play test immediately and make changes just as fast. It really helps to go from prototype to tabletop super fast. And you don't need to focus on the art, just the rough placement of where things should be and how they should be laid out. If you want an example, try something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H4CZQ14/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apa_glt_fabc_PYMJHYZ6JE8C6ATWEAM1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I used the incredible Unmatched maker (of course) and export into as high resolution a PDF as possible. Put it into Photoshop and through some trial and error print them exactly onto Avery 8395 labels:
https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/754381/Avery-Flexible-Name-Badge-Labels-2/
Then I take those labels and fix them to blank playing cards like these:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H4CZQ14/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Then I just stick them into a standard card sleeve. There are no backs on the one's I've made (yet), but it would be pretty simple to just print out another run of labels with an image and stick it to the back of the cards.
It's not a super sophisticated process and it took some time to get the template lined up just right, but now I can basically print any deck from Unmatched Maker. There's probably a more simple way to get the images directly on to a card, but i looked at a handful of websites for card printing and this was definitely the cheapest and easiest I could find at that time.
I found these pretty good, though they have no frame so it’s all up to you.
It's tough, but I recommend that you find some way to create your first game alone.
That could involve learning programming. There are lots of beginner-friendly walk-throughs, and I've generally heard good things from beginners when I recommend this video series from Brackeys.
Nothing is more helpful for making video games than being able to program. So if you decide you don't want to learn to program, I still recommend you learn to program, again, even though you just said you won't.
If you STILL decide you REALLY don't want to learn to program, then I'm going to downgrade my estimate of your likelihood of success, but I'll still offer some advice.
You can instead learn an almost-equally-complex tool with a visual scripting tool, such as Playmaker. It may not look as complex, but ultimately logic is logic, and game logic gets complex.
If you can't learn a complex tool, then I still want you to make your first game solo. So you'll have to select a sort of game that you ARE capable of making, even if it's not the sort of game you'd normally play. I've heard people have some success with the simplicity of twine, a "game engine" for interactive storytelling, sort of like the old choose-your-own-adventure books.
If that's too complex, you're still not off the hook. Buy some blank playing cards on amazon, plus a few permanent markers, and make a card game.
Whatever it is that YOU bring to the table, bring it to the table within the technical constraints of your ability to execute. If you have great art skills, make a twine game with great art, or download a precanned game from the unity asset store and reskin it with novel graphics. If you are a game designer with great ideas, lets see those great ideas in action in a twine game, or card game, or apply one shockingly clever twist on top of Brackeys starter game.
If you insist that you don't need to be able to make games because you'll just find people who can, give them your great ideas, and they will make the game for you under your direction, then I can't really help you. I would guess your chance of shipping is close to zero under those conditions.
Learn to build, is my advice! Good luck on your adventure, I hope this wasn't too disheartening.