History Main / FightLikeACardPlayer

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearAcid'' and its sequel.

* The SNES port of ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker''.

* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' has a series of games that play like this.

* ''VideoGame/SigmaHarmonics'', in a way similar to the above.

* Real-life card game example: David Sirlin's card game [[http://www.sirlin.net/articles/designing-yomi Yomi]].

* The two ''Dodge Danpei'' games that were made by Creator/{{Sunsoft}} play this way, the first more so than the second.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork''
** And the sequel series, ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'', even more so, since the "Battle Chip" cards of ''Battle Network'' are swapped out for actual cards.
*** In both, the explanation is that all the battles are virtual and the "cards" have attack data for you to use. Though that doesn't really explain why you need to select your attacks from a randomly selected hand, or why you discard attack data after using them once.

* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline Episode III: C.A.R.D Revolution'' (since the rest of the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar'' series doesn't use cards like this)

** In ''[[VideoGameRemake Re:Chain of Memories]]'', the fact that Sora's abilities are locked into cards leads to a very dangerous move from the FinalBoss, where he ''blows the cards out of your deck and scatters them, including the card you need to reload your deck'', so you have to pick them up while dodging attacks before you can fight again. Also, when [[spoiler:Marluxia]] on low health, he can unleash a shockwave that will ''remove any cards still scattered''.

** Even though the tutorial character explicitly says that the castle you enter is governed by cards, characters are seen to fight normally in cutscenes.
** The fact that Sora's abilities are locked into cards leads to a very dangerous move from the FinalBoss, where he ''blows the cards out of your deck and scatters them'', so you have to pick them up while dodging attacks before you can fight again.

* ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' has two types of cards utilized in the gameplay. A "loadout" deck which provides extra power to a Hero and their abilities, (20 cards for each hero, 5 each for the 3 non-ultimate abilities, and the last 5 for their main weapon and passive armor effects) that are unique for each hero, and 17 cards that are bought in-battle (Think like the equipment in a MOBA.) with four types: Defense, Utility, Healing, and Offence.

* The VSSystem video game had this in spades. The plot involved rather uninspired hero vs. villain comic book conflicts, just an excuse for an extended sequence of fight scenes. Every time there was a fight, you played cards. At least the computer's deck usually meshed well with the events of the plot, but, especially in the early phases of the game, it was impossible for you to construct a deck that meshed with what "you" were doing in the plot.

[[AC:TabletopGames]]

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' edition 3.5, the ''Tome of Battle'' supplement came with online "maneuver cards" which could be printed out for quick reference of the effects of different martial techniques. Given that the [[{{Determinator}} Crusader]] class from said supplement had a limited pool of maneuvers which expanded randomly on each turn, it was extremely common for Crusader players to keep a deck of maneuver cards which they could draw from and shuffle.

[[AC:VideoGames]]

* ''{{VideoGame/Touhou}} 10.5 - Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'' requires each character to equip a 20-cards deck (each character has its own personal pool to choose from); you "draw" a card by filling a super meter. There are three kinds of cards: "System", relatively simple effects that can be used by all characters; "Skill", which can improve your current special attacks or swap them with other specials of the same category; and "Spell", super moves that almost always consume multiple cards at once.

* Inverted in the {{SNES}} game ''VideoGame/{{Arcana}}''. Cards figure heavily into the backstory and plot of the game, but when it comes to gameplay has almost nothing to do with cards other than a visual motif.

** Likewise the sequel, ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash''. They're even called battle cards.

* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline Episode III: C.A.R.D Revolution'' (since the rest of the ''PhantasyStar'' series doesn't use cards like this)

* In ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', each Servant has five attack cards that fall into one of three different categories: Buster (red, inflicts extra damage), Quick (green, inflicts multiple hits and raises the rate at which you reap [[CriticalHit Critical Stars]] that are applied to the next turn), and Arts (blue, raises their [[LimitBreak Noble Phantasm]] gauge). In battle, all of your frontline Servants' (up to three) cards are placed into a deck of up to 15, five are dealt at a time, and you pick three cards that determine which Servants attack and what type of attacks they use. Picking three cards that belong to the same Servant grants them an [[ExtraTurn Extra Attack]], and picking the cards of the same type gives a bonus: three Buster cards grants additional damage, three Quick cards adds 10 Critical Stars, and three Arts cards gives instant NP boosts to everyone whose cards were picked. Once the deck is emptied (1-3 turns, depending on how many Servants are in battle), the deck is refilled and reshuffled.

* ''VideoGame/LostKingdoms''

* ''Battles of Franchise/PrinceOfPersia''

* ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion''
* ''VideoGame/{{Culdcept}}''

* Mawlock from the ''ShiningForce'' remake, ''Resurrection of the Dark Dragon'', whose specialty lies in using character cards to change the tide of battle. Cards are obtained through various arbitrary methods, such as talking to a certain character a number of times at your home base, or using a certain character to deliver a killing blow on a boss.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'' counts, in that you combine the various action and attribute cards to do special attacks.

* The Duelist class from ''VideoGame/7thDragon III: Code VFD'' fights using decks of playing cards, using different combinations of elemental cards to lay traps and summon monsters.

* A non-video game example: the tabletop RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'' uses ordinary playing cards for a lot of mechanics including initiative, spellcasting and weird science gadgetry.

* Real-life card game example: David Sirlin's card game [[http://www.sirlin.net/articles/designing-yomi.html Yomi]].

[[quoteright:249:[[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_cardguyfight.png]] ]]