Traditionally, card games have been overcomplicated, nerdy, and for orc sympathisers. That’s changed in recent years, and some of the most addictive and immersive games have been card-based – without the card. Screenplay CCG is yet another one of those types, yet this one’s about the film industry.
Before you crack your knuckles and dust off the orange box to spurt out some fun facts about Kubrick, MacGuffins, and mise-en-scene, wind your neck in and pay attention to the rules. While Comico Games has made a dashingly handsome-looking card battler, there’s a 6ft wall made of rules you need to ascend before you can get your leg over. Phwoar!
That’s one of the three issues addressed at the start of this 10,000-word thesis: overcomplicated. In fairness, Screenplay CCG isn’t complex, though it is a bit overwhelming initially. It’s like laughing at the dick and fart jokes of Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back to deconstructing Dogme 95 in the same breath. It’s doable, but it’s a jump.
Initially set in the Golden Age of cinema, you play as a director who has to flesh out their movie pitch using a deck of cards. You’ll begin with a lead actor, and when you play that card, you have to wait your turn as they often take up all your moves in this turn-based arena. Some leads use fewer action points, but that’s the gist: play cards to balance out your plays, leaving enough for an offensive.
Besides your leads, you play support roles by placing other cards in line that will attack, defend, provoke and fetch coffee like a runner on a Hollywood set. Each lead that you play has an agenda, and there are so many scenes for you to complete a mission. You see, the fat cat producers will also have a counterpart, and if they fulfil their target before you, you lose.
In Screenplay CCG, your lead will gain star points to propel the narrative based on the cards you play and your actions. Once these stars are full, you win. However, with multiple leads (only one can be played at a time), there are different requirements, so in the meantime, you have to fend off attacks and create set pieces.
Once past the learning curve, it becomes clear that Screenplay CCG is a challenging game and, like a real Hollywood pitch, you’re up against it. Presentation-wise, this game is beautiful for a deck-building title. The illustrations are stunning, and the old-school voice acting throughout is all in good fun, though it still has a learning curve that may slightly deter those on the fence with the genre.
As a film lover, that’s enough to reel me in, and once under that spell, the sheer volume of characters, artwork, and setpieces (where you play a card that creates a special FX-inspired event, often wiping out a card or two) are brilliant. Because this is in Early Access, there’s scope for making it a bit more user-friendly, but for the slightly more experienced card player, Screenplay CCG might already be the game you’re looking for.
Ask for it by name, see.
