Feud

I really enjoy the mechanics of collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering and Disney Lorcana, but I don't like how expensive it can be to build a good deck. It feels pay-to-win to me. So I'm creating a new card game that is super cheap for everyone to play and focuses on the fun of battling with friends.

Some years ago, my son would find ripped pieces of Pokémon cards in his schoolyard and ask me to stick them back together.

The game is called Feud. Each of the 2–6 players at the table uses the same standard deck of 52 playing cards. No one has an advantage from the get-go because they had more money to pour into booster packs. Standard decks mean equal odds. From there, it's up to strategy and chance.

Here's a summary of how to play. First, you draw a hand of cards and select a face card to be your Ruler. You must protect your Ruler while trying to attack your opponent's Ruler. Whoever's Ruler falls first, loses.

The remaining cards in the deck can be used as supply or military units like soldiers and archers. The higher the number on a card, the more powerful it is in battle, but also the more supply it costs to deploy. Determining which cards to use as supply, which to use as units, and how to allocate your supply is the game's main trade-off and source of fun.

Do you deploy low-level units early to rush your opponent? Or is it better to absorb damage while you stock up for powerful units? Do you prefer archers, even though their ranged attacks cost a lot of supply? Or do you like soldiers best, who have limited range but no attack cost?

Testplaying Feud with my friends for the first time. March 26, 2026.

It's still early days for Feud. I started working on the game about a month ago, and last night I had a chance to testplay it for the first time with a group of friends. They gave me great feedback to improve the game, and I'm excited to keep working on it.