ZSA Cards Challenge

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A traditional deck of cards is the original game system — the most common and ubiquitous one out there, in fact. What if we could celebrate this timeless format while updating it and making it even more versatile and powerful?

In other words, imagine you had a deck of cards that lets you play any “traditional” card game out there, but also numerous new and modern card games. A deck that lets you play Poker and Cribbage, but also Hanabi, Pairs, and The Mind. And not just that: You could even use this deck for non-game activities, like sparking conversations or as a creativity/inspiration aid.

This is what we created with ZSA Cards. It’s not a crowdfunding project or a concept: This deck exists, is published, and many people already have their copies. It’s based on the excellent Everdeck and conceived with generous help from the Everdeck’s designer, Wil Su.

Now we want to take ZSA Cards to the next level by authoring an entire book of games and activities — and we want to invite The Game Crafter community to take part in this!

This competition invites you to create either a card game or a non-game “activity” that uses ZSA Cards. If you have any questions, you can always email us at contact@zsa.io.

Examples and Resources

In addition to the examples mentioned above, you can see other existing games for ZSA Cards at https://zsa.fun/cards/games.

You can access a spreadsheet that shows the exact structure of the deck and the details of every card.

You can download a print-and-play version of the deck as well as the suit icons in this asset pack.

Judges

• Gabe Barrett - Founder of Best With 1 Games and the Board Game Design Lab
• James Ernest - Founder of Cheapass Games
• Erez Zukerman - CEO of ZSA Technology Labs
• Robin Leinonen - Activity designer, ZSA Technology Labs (Cards project)
• Joanne Williams - Lead designer, ZSA Technology Labs

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To qualify, your game must abide by all of the following rules:

• The game must use ZSA Cards as its primary component. You don’t need to buy a deck of ZSA Cards to participate: The asset pack contains a full set of cards you can print.
• The game doesn’t have to use every card in a deck of ZSA Cards— most games use a subset of the deck.
• It may also use up to four d6 dice and a simple (Letter or A4-sized) board that players can print at home. These are optional.
• The game may include a printable player aid.
• Any theme, player count, and mechanism is allowed.
• The game should play in 60 minutes or less.
• The game's rules must be clearly presented in PDF form (A “how to play” video, in addition to the PDF, is most welcome).
• Though not required, a 2-minute overview video is highly encouraged.
• All artwork must be your own, commissioned by you, licensed to you, or in the public domain. You may use artwork from ZSA Cards in the context of this contest. Be sure to attribute your images when required.
• This must be a new game created for this contest.
• You own the game, which means even if it doesn’t win or get picked for inclusion in the book, you may still publish it on TGC or elsewhere. You would be able to create your own deck of cards with the specific mechanisms and features your game requires, without using any of the art or specific slogans from ZSA Cards. Your own deck must allow just for your game and should not be a full copy of ZSA Cards. You may use the icons and the other data in the spreadsheet for your game.
• All entries must be submitted through TGC's game editor (by clicking on the "Contests" button) no later than March 3, 2025 at 6pm US Central Time.
• Games and their shop page should not be changed after the contest deadline, until the finalists have been announced.
• Contestants may submit multiple entries to this contest. Each entry will be judged separately.
• If designing an activity rather than a game, all the same rules apply, but the goal of an activity should not be winning. It should be about forming connections, thinking about something in a new way, reflecting, etc.

You retain all rights to your game, and are welcome to sell it in The Game Crafter shop during and after the contest, regardless of the outcome of the contest. Your game does not have to be available for sale to enter the contest.

The community voting process will be used to determine 20 semi-finalists.

You can read more about TGC contests here: Game Design Contests - The Game Crafter

The winner shall receive all of the following prizes:

• $250 from ZSA (or a keyboard of your choice from their catalog).
• A trophy from ZSA to put on your mantle.
• $250 of shop credit on thegamecrafter.com.
• Automatic Showcase status for their game on thegamecrafter.com.
• The possibility of judging a future contest.
• Induction into The Game Crafter Hall of Fame.

All semi-finalists receive

• A brand-new box of ZSA Cards, including free shipping.

All games may be:

• Featured (with attribution) on the ZSA Cards website.
• Considered for inclusion (for pay and attribution) in the coming ZSA Cards book.

Finalists will be chosen from the group of semi-finalists by the following criteria:

• Complexity - Is the game or activity easy to understand and teach or demonstrate?
• Specificity - Does the game or activity make good use of the specific structure and card elements of a deck of ZSA Cards, as opposed to a generic deck of cards?
• Creativity - Does the game or activity use ZSA Cards in innovative ways?

Finalists will be judged on the following criteria. (Each section is worth 10 points):

• Fun - Is the game or activity enjoyable? Is it something we want to go back to?
• Creativity - How well did the designer use ZSA Cards?
• X-Factor - What makes the game special and stand out from the rest? For activities, this rubric is called effectiveness: How good is the activity in doing what it purports to do? For example, if it’s a conversation, does the activity result in fun/great conversations?