GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Tabletop Summit: Timeless Design Lessons from 25 Years of 'Duel Masters' TCG
Richard Zapp (Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast)
Location: Room 3024, West Hall
Date: Monday, March 17
Time: 10:50 am - 11:50 am
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Design
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: Video
Audience Level: All
Preparing to celebrate its 25th anniversary, Wizards of the Coasts' 'Duel Masters' continues to be a AAA Physical and Digital Trading Card Game title, fostering a best-in-class competitive environment with tournaments with 4000+ players in attendance. Game designer Richard Zapp takes attendees through the history of the game, introduces core design and development philosophies, and shares lessons learned over decades of work. Duel Masters is a case study on many challenges game designers face in the TCG space, such as supporting an eternal format where nearly every card is legal, and producing a game simple enough for elementary school audiences to learn and enjoy. Any designer motivated to produce a game that can stand the test of time has something to learn from Duel Masters.
Takeaway
Duel Masters has succeeded as a competitive game for decades because of its core game design principles and its collaborative international design practices. These philosophies highlight how the team protects the new player experience, approaches power creep and deck diversity, and embraces its comeback mechanics to ensure emotional, exciting games.
Intended Audience
Digital and physical game designers that work on turn-based and/or card-based game systems looking for insight on how to improve the sustainability of their game. Teams working on a solid foundation for a game system with longevity in mind or teams considering major mechanic pivots will benefit from this presentation.
