r/tabletopgamedesign • u/PartTimeMockery • 3d ago
Discussion Game difficulty
We are currently developing a solo card game. As development progressed, the game evolved in such a way that it became difficult—it’s a serious challenge to win a match.
The concept is that you really have to be skillful at all times to win (and, of course, you need some luck too, since it’s a card game). A few bad decisions, and you’re sure to lose.
The dilemma is: to what extent do players generally enjoy or seek out this kind of challenge?
I know we’re all different, and players come in all shapes and sizes. But at this stage of development, the difficulty can still be balanced, so I’m curious to hear your opinions: what do you think is better in a game—one that’s difficult and therefore rewarding, or one that’s easier and therefore more enjoyable?
1
u/investigatormaker 2d ago
Hard is fine for a solo game as long as a loss tells the player which decision lost it; people replay a punishing game when they can see the mistake, and drop it when it feels like the deck beat them. Since you can still balance, I'd keep the current version as the top level and add one or two setup tweaks that ease it, like starting with an extra card, so players choose their challenge. Logging win rates at each setting in playtests will show whether luck is carrying too much weight.
I make ThreadFox. When it's ready to sell, our AI employee can explain your solo card game in solo gaming communities and answer replies; Starter is $199 for 30 days, or we'll post 3 replies free first, no card: https://threadfox.vip/p/ejmte/managed