There are two clear contenders for the best board game of 2022

Many board game publishers make good profits on advanced components – things like metal coins and card sleeves that make their products more attractive on the table. But some companies are building entire games around these kinds of bits. Check out the poker-style chips and custom dice that chip theory games use, or the neoprene game board at the center of Ladder Games’ Oath: History of Empire and Exile, This year, another rare and expensive ingredient is having its breakout moment: clear plastic playing cards.

These unusual transparent sheets feel like regular playing cards. You can shuffle them and you can sleeve them so that they integrate with traditional cards into the deck. But they can also be printed, allowing designers to layer art or hide certain game elements from view. Used in clever ways, clear cards offer players new mechanics and features not previously available in board games. Two of the Best Games of the Year – John D. Claire’s dead reckoning and Corey Konieczka 3,000 crooks , Ask them to use them in their own creative ways.

dead reckoning A sandbox-style game of exploration and struggle on the high seas. Each player at the table has a team of sailors to steer his ship. That crew can be upgraded over time, giving players a strong sense of ownership. Claire uses a clear plastic card for each of these crew members—one for the bosun, the first mate, the deck hand, and so on.

The art of these transparent cards only takes up the top half of one side. Each is then paired with a similarly sized traditional card and a matching card sleeve. As players upgrade their crew, they remove the traditional playing card from the sleeve and either shuffle it or flip it around, revealing new figures shown through the transparent card at the top. Huh. It’s a clever system in how it uses novel material, and also in how it reinforces the spirit of investment players have in their crew.

In 3,000 crooks, designer Konieczka has created an elaborate bidding game in which players draft other characters to work with them to collect as much treasure as possible. Konieczka uses a lot more of these transparent cards in its designs – 60, vs. dead reckoning‘s 8. These 60 unique cards combined with 50 traditional cards create thousands of possible characters, a rogue gallery that also upholds the game’s promise of diversity inherent in the title.

Implementation of clear card in 3,000 crooks Particularly efficient. While the game’s traditional cards have art for NPC faces, clear job cards overlay clothes and other props on top — like a paper doll. Traditional and explicit cards also interact by creating new combinations of stats, perks and costs depending on how they are added. This serves as a quest for each new game – further reinforcing the game’s futuristic time-travel story.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that clear cards have been used in tabletop games. One of my personal favorites, the sadnessBeen around 2005. really, dead reckoning is the latest in a long line of games similar to AEG, titles like mystic valley And Custom Heroes, The company even copyrighted a name for their particular solution: they call it the Card Crafting System.

But why have two different companies brought such high-profile games to market with so many similar bits? Well, that’s one of the joys of tabletop gaming. While names, locations, and some mechanics may be legally protected, more common items such as dice may not, barring other companies from using them in their own games. The idea of ​​using cards to play games is as old as gaming, leading to these kinds of co-evolutionary designs.

Even more interesting, while both games use clear cards in similar ways to accomplish different things, the games also occupy very different places in the business landscape. 3,000 crooks A very affordable, big-box friendly price of $49.95. dead reckoningOn the other hand, it consists of incredibly high cost components, such as plastic miniatures, sturdy tuck boxes and 3D resin tokens. It also carries a premium price of $79.95, which you can expect to increase once it makes its way to retail.

you can find dead reckoning On Backerkit, where a second printing is currently up for pre-order. 3,000 crooks It goes up for pre-order on the Asmody website and friendly local game stores on September 23, with a worldwide retail release on October 7.

dead count and 3,000 crooks Previewed with the final retail version provided by AEG and sModi. Vox Media has an affiliated partnership. These do not affect editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commission for products purchased through affiliate links. you can find Additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here,