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Innomination is a resource-based, competitive, customizable card game set in an original, high-fantasy setting about nations and their people. Players control a Nation and a Leader. Defeat your opponents by reducing the health of opposing Leaders to zero. Innomination is designed as one-versus-one, but we have done our best to use language in the game that allows you to play with more players if you want to.
What makes Innomination different from other card games is the core mechanic we call the Named Mechanic. Every card in your Main Deck is a nameless card. You don't know who the people are or the name of the place you're at. Use the Named Deck to give them a name, and upgrade them into named cards.
At a glance, Innomination plays like Magic: The Gathering with an element or two taken from the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, Force of Will TCG, and the Pokemon TCG. Digital card games like Hearthstone and Shadowverse were also in mind. If you've played any of these, Innomination may feel familiar to you.
Prototype 4 is available to play right now on TableTopSimulator.
(I hate this video that's currently up. I will make a new one soon!)
NO! Innomination is not a trading card game (TCG). It is a customizable card game, not to be confused with a collectable card game.
Innomination's main intent is to be sold as a complete game right out of the box, like a board game.
When you buy a box of Innomination, you are buying a full playset of every card in the game, plus token cards and standard-use counters.
You will NEVER have to buy booster packs to stay competitive. You will already have everything to make these types of decks.
I intend to always sell future sets of Innomination as complete, boxed products with a full playset of every card. If I get that far,
On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being a game with one simple mechanic that's easy to play (like Tic-Tac-Toe), and 5 being the most complex tabletop games available where you may need multiple tables to play (like Gloomhaven), we think Innomination sits at a 4. Innomination asks for you to learn several things:
Learn Problem Solving Card Text. Innomination has a certain language that needs to be interpreted correctly.
Learn phases of the turn. We have a quick reference card you can use to remind you how to begin your turn, what you can do during your turn, and how to end your turn.
Learn named cards. These are your most powerful cards! Always try to use them if you can.
Board states can get large. There is a mental load that may take some getting used to.
We encourage everyone to play. We need to know how difficult or complex Innomination is from many different points of view. For some, Innomination might be their first venture into a resource based, competitive card game.
We also need your help to make Innomination a better game. Fairness and balance is hard to get right. Most of the basic game rules are set in stone, but archetypes need to be playtested, tedious mechanics need a second look, card effects and synergies need to be weighted, and the dreaded rulings need to be discussed.
This is the dream! Unfortunately, Innomination will not become a real product unless our Kickstarter campaign is fully funded.
I CANNOT afford this on my own. There are about 320 unique cards in the game. Each one needs its own art. Innomination isn't aiming for a realistic, dark/gothic fantasy style, but good art that properly conveys the world and message this game has is expensive. A large amount of the money we raise will be put to getting art assets.
We expect to pay about $150 per card illustration (301) and $300 per leader (12). Just for art assets, that's already $48,750. I understand this is already more than what most games ask for on Kickstarter.
Innomination is a big game. The Full Game box has about 1,160 cards inside. I intend to sell it in a 10x10x3 inch box and it's estimated to be about 4.5 lbs. or a little more than 2 kg. This sounds great, but this means a standard box of Innomination at retail has been estimated at around $100-120 USD.
Our Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign starts on June 3rd, 2022. It is 28 days long.
There are two product tiers. We will be asking backers for pledges of:
$95 USD - The Full Game Box.
$40 USD - A pair of Starter Deck Boxes, with enough cards included to play with no deckbuilding element included.
According to my cost estimates, I need to sell at least 1,000 copies of the Full Game box, that means the funding goal is $95,000.
I know, it's a lot. I really need every single person's help to do this. Please pledge!
The more people who pledge, the more funding we get, the more product we can make, the less it costs per unit.
Tabletop Simulator Mod: Available!
All 6 Nations available to play with decks already made. These are the same decks offered through the $40 tier on our Kickstarter.
All cards currently in the first set. Check behind Player 2 (Blue) and you'll see three big tables holding a copy of each card currently in the prototype.
PDF of Instruction Manual and Keyword List included
Bonuses:
Each Nation's 3rd Leader is playable. This is the first stretch goal for Innomination's Kickstarter campaign. They will not be in the completed game unless the first stretch goal is met.
My name is John. Online I'm known as Ignitedstar or Iggy for short.
I am the creator, founder, and one-person team behind Innomination. Innomination is my first, serious venture as a game designer. I want people to enjoy playing this as a competitive card game. Currently I am aiming for a different kind of playing experience for Innomination. I have no idea if any opportunities await this game, but I would like to see Innomination through.
If you have feedback to help make Innomination a better card game, I'm open for feedback. Creating a game isn't the same as playing a game, I need help seeing the game from a player's perspective.
If you'd like to know more about me personally: I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Social Science. I spent my entire teen years doing text-based roleplaying, then moved on to writing my own stories (haven't published anything). I went to culinary school before going to community college (I regret it). In my day job, I am a custodian.
What does any of that have to do with game design? Probably nothing. It didn't stop me.
If you wish the contact me regarding Innomination, there is contact information on the final page of the Instruction Manual. You can find it in the Downloads section of this website.