ABSTRACT
Cards mechanisms include contemporary iterations on the core mechanisms of traditional trick-taking, hand-shedding, and hand-comparison games, as well as the modern card mechanisms that use cards as mini-rulebook additions that can operate outside the structure of rank, number, and suit. Cards are uniquely suited, in their form factor, to a large variety of applications. This chapter considers core concepts to any card game, such as the idea of decks, hands, and draw limits, how traditional card games have evolved in the modern context, new game types like deck-building games, and how the physicality of cards impacts their use in mechanisms like drafting.
