NBA ELITE
A Collectible Card Game Concept
Goal:
Make a fun card game that simulates the statistics of real-life NBA Basketball
Target Market:
This game is aimed at niche market of fans who also enjoy complex card games. Cards would be sold in packs, so there’s an appeal to collectors as well.
All real NBA players could be licensed as well as NBA legends. It’s possible that there could be celebrity cards and build your own cards online for an additional fee, so players could put themselves in the game.
How does it work?
NBA Elite is played with 2 human players going head-to-head trying to score more points than their competition. Each player will control an NBA Team or select a “Dream Team” from their collection.
Each round will consist of each player getting a turn at offense, while the other team plays defense. There are 4 rounds (8 possessions) in a quarter to mimic the 25-32 possessions per real NBA basketball game.
At the beginning of round players may give one “Elite Trait Token” to the player of their choosing. The tokens allow the purchase of special abilities in the game such as extra defense or better shooting or a chance at a block or a steal etc.
Players will draw 5 “Possession” cards, which have an offensive play on one half and a defensive play on the other half. This means for every offensive play they use in the game they will be giving up a defensive play. This causes players to be careful with their resources much like teams might get tired on one end of the floor if they’re using a lot of energy on the other.
When a Possession Card is chosen by the offensive team, they will push the appropriate Player Card forward as assigned on the Possession Card. Then, when both are ready players will flip their Possession Cards over at the same time.
If the Possession Card for the offensive team says they’re shooting a 3pt shot then the player on offense will roll their 12 sided dice to see if they’re making the shot. If the number rolled is the same or lower than the corresponding number on the Player Card then they will be making the shot unless the roll for the defensive team alters the play.
An appropriate Player Card for the defensive team will be pushed forward corresponding with the directions on the Possession Card. If the shot is going in the defensive team can choose to roll their 4 sided dice to impact the shot. If the shot is still going in after this then it’s a made basket, and the score must be marked.
If the basket is missed then a “Post Play Card” is drawn from a separate deck. These cards will most often read “Defensive Rebound”, but they could also read “Chance at an Offensive Rebound” where the offensive team will flip a coin to see if they can get the rebound. This card will also act as the referee in a sense as some of these cards read “Foul Called” or even “Technical Foul.”
Defensive teams also will have Possession Cards where they can risk fouling by going for a turnover either by “Going for the Steal” or “Going for the Block.” If they roll the right number in these cases it will result in an extra offensive possession for the defensive team.
On every 3pt make and Dunk there are also a chance to draw from the “Momentum Card” deck, which will reward the corresponding team with more Elite Trait tokens.
Player Cards:
Player must always have a C, PF, SF, SG, and PG in the game at all times in the proper position slot. These positions correspond with the Possession Cards. You’ll notice almost every Player Card can be slotted in multiple positions, but once they are slotted they can’t be moved until the end of the round.
If you know basketball pretty well you know as good as Steph Curry is he doesn’t shoot 8 out of 12 from 3pt range. The shooting number on these cards take into account how often a defensive team might steal or block a shot as well as the fouls that could take place. This math all adds up to feel more like the ebb and flow of an NBA game.
You’ll notice the green, yellow, and red. Player will have the opportunity to sub out their Player Cards at the end of each round. If they do not then the player will get a “Fatigue Token” marking which color they’re shooting from.
Certain Elite Traits were somewhat subjective, while others were based on the number of steals or blocks the NBA player gets in real life basketball.
You’ll notice the “V” in the upper right. There are several demarcations like this that let you know if the player is a veteran or a young player. There are “hot heads” as well. These Personality Traits come into play sometimes when a Momentum Card is drawn.
Examples of Possession Cards:
Examples of Post Play Cards:
Examples of Momentum Cards:
Examples of Tokens:
