Q&A for How to Make a Trading Card Game

Get inspiration from other games. Don't take entire concepts, though.

Teach your friends and family members how to play, then ask them to share the game with two others. Soon, the game will spread if it is fun to play!

Show them some card samples and teach them how to play. If they like it, ask them to tell their friends about it. You may also make a YouTube video about your game and share it on social media.

The most popular theme for card games is a fantasy-style game where mythical creatures and magical spells are used.

You can always go to a print shop, and have them print your cards for you. You can also ask a friend to print them for you. Lastly, you can try illustrating your cards by hand, using colored pencils, pens, paint, etc.

Primarily, it should always be fun. If you want to try to make some money from it, then you would publish it, but you're certainly welcome to just play with friends.

Visit search.creativecommons.org and enter what you would like to find. Any images that appear are free for use.

You may use Microsoft Word or any other word processor or graphic editor.

You could use paint.net, GIMP, Photoshop, LibreOffice Draw, or even just Microsoft Word.

Yes, you could make that work.

Use a ruler for measurement and to create a clean edge before cutting. If you don't have a ruler, cut one card and then place that one over top of each subsequent card and cut around it.

If you have a lot of people and time, cut old cereal boxes and overlay paper backs and fronts onto the cardboard. If not, you can just use paper that is thick enough.

Go to your local print store. You can even have printing done at places like Walmart for cheap.

Just keep brainstorming. Once you have some rules that you think might work, play test it with friends and family, and tweak certain rules or elements.

Have friends come over and use light pencil strokes to create simple shapes, then make the edges later on.

Laminate means to fully cover paper or a card in plastic or another protectant to prevent it from ripping or getting wet.

Make sure that it's not breaking any laws, and that you are of legal age to patent it, then go ahead and patent it.

Print them separately and paste them together.

Think of some words or phrases that describe your game. Take into consideration the time period and background of your story.

Use a Ziploc bag and have the cards facing inward, then write the name of your game on one side.

You could set up a table in a park or street and make sign advertising your game. To establish a more formal business, contact the Chamber of Commerce in your community.

If you named your game after a copyrighted movie, book, video game, or other object subject to copyright and sold it without asking the creators for permission to use their name. You'd probably know if you did that.

Yes, you can use dinosaurs.

If you can afford it, go right ahead! Laminating cards help protect them, especially if you make them out of paper.

There isn't really a particular age you have to reach before publishing your game.

You don't even have to buy them. I went on Yahoo and found hundreds of templates under "images"!

You could take one, draw a template and then copy from the template onto the other cards.

It really depends on your game mechanics and how it works. If it's a game that doesn't require drawing many cards, 25 may be fine.

You can, but unless you're a phenomenal artist, they'll look more professional if you use Photoshop -- or even Word.

You could get a Yugioh or Pokemon card creator on your phone and this will help you make the characters. Then, you can print them out.