Abstract
Problem: Are deckbuilder RPGs — where character abilities come from a shuffled deck of cards — a good design approach, and where do they sit on the RPG spectrum?
Approach: Tim Cain responds to a viewer question by examining deckbuilder RPGs from two angles: their mechanical strengths, and how they interact with his personal definition of what makes an RPG.
Findings: Deckbuilders excel at promoting replayability, getting players to try abilities they'd never voluntarily choose, and presenting randomness in a form players intuitively accept. However, they limit player agency in character creation — a core RPG pillar for Tim — placing them in a contested zone on the RPG continuum.
Key insight: Whether a deckbuilder mechanic belongs in your game depends entirely on whether it fits your already-established setting and story — not on abstract debates about genre purity.
Why Deckbuilder RPGs Work
Tim identifies several concrete strengths of the deckbuilder approach:
Replayability Through Randomness
The shuffled deck means no two playthroughs are identical. Part of the game is skill, part is the luck of the draw — just like poker. Even the best player can get a bad hand, and that tension creates replay value.
Forcing Players Out of Comfort Zones
This addresses a problem Tim has "dithered on" throughout his career: how do you get players to try classes, skills, or perks they'd never voluntarily pick? In Fallout, flaws were one attempt ("I know you don't want this, but I'll let you pick more perks"). Deckbuilders solve it elegantly — if an unusual ability lands in your hand, you at least have to consider using it.
Randomness Players Actually Accept
Tim references his earlier video on implementing randomness. Many players misunderstand randomness in computer games — they'll call the random number generator "horrible" if Fireball doesn't show up in three runs. But with a physical deck metaphor, the same outcome feels fair. You can't really call a deck of cards stupid (though Tim acknowledges people do put dice in "dice jail"). The card deck is a legible form of randomness that players intuitively grasp.
The RPG Continuum Problem
Tim's personal approach to RPGs: "I make the character, you make the setting, together we explore the world and a story comes out of it." This is, he argues, closer to the genesis of RPGs — tabletop games where you create a character and a GM provides the world.
Many players prefer the opposite end: a pre-made character, a predetermined story, a linear experience. Neither is wrong, but they sit at different points on what Tim calls the RPG continuum — a multi-axial spectrum of features (character creation, story linearity, skill systems, etc.) where everyone draws their own line for "this is still an RPG."
Where Deckbuilders Land
Deckbuilder RPGs occupy a middle zone on the character creation axis. You're not handed a pre-made character with a name and backstory, but you also don't get to fully build what you want. If you sit down wanting to play a fire wizard and never draw fire abilities, you didn't get to play your character.
For Tim personally, this crosses his line — he prefers full character creation agency. But he's clear this is subjective: "Don't listen to me on where it lies in the RPG continuum... that line is in a different place for you."
Advice for Developers
Tim closes with practical guidance for developers considering a deckbuilder mechanic. His recommendation follows his consistent design philosophy of setting → story → system:
If you're considering a deckbuilder system, you should already have your setting and story established. Then ask:
- Does the deck mechanic fit the tone of your setting?
- Does it support how you want the story to play out?
- Do your villains follow the same rules? A villain with a shuffled ability deck is never the same encounter twice — that might be exactly what you want, or it might not.
If it fits, go for it. If it doesn't, reconsider — regardless of how trendy the mechanic is.
References
- Tim Cain. YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ7GRXVEf_0