History Main / FightLikeACardPlayer

* Inverted in the UsefulNotes/{{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.

* ''VisuaNovel/PrincessWaltz'' is a VisualNovel that resolves its battles through a ''very'' abstract card game. They don't even have any images, just numbers.

[[folder:Card games]]

* ''VideoGame/LunarLux'': Upon choosing an active skill to perform, the player must choose from a list of three support skills to activate, which randomly picks skills from a pool that the player designated. Not only are repeats allowed in the same list of three, the player must designated at least 10 skills for this pool, ensuring that they can't just skew the odds in their favor by having only a few skills in the pool. However, certain upgrade chips allow the player to equip fewer skills and allow more red skills to be equipped. This is supposed to be reminiscent of folder building in ''VideoGame/MegamanBattleNetwork''.

* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'' mostly averts this trope. The story revolves around 5 cards containing an evil god. It's also implied that everyone in-universe uses Magnus cards to carry things around, as each of them can carry an item or an elemental essence, but they're not mentioned often by the people you meet probably in the same manner that you say you buy some pasta and not a box of pasta. They're so ubiquitous that their application is redundant in a conversation.
** The battle system is less consistent with its universe, though. It has you drawing Magnus cards from your shuffled deck. These contain a weapon, an item, a piece of armor, or a special attack and selecting them makes your character use them once to attack, defend or heal. While having many different tools to fight with during battle is immensely useful, there's no reason why your characters would not just keep their best weapons and armor for the whole fight and even less justification for why your deck is shuffled, why you have to use cards for special attacks and how your items like potions and food always stay full after use.
** The second game fits this trope straight-up, as weapons are instead replaced with generic attacks which can be used by everyone in your party. Magnus cards are not made to hold such things at all.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Inverted in the UsefulNotes/{{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.
* The [[http://patpack.abraham.me.uk Patience Pack]] has a game called ''VideoGame/{{Armor of God}}'', in which the player tries to build his castle before the enemy can finish tunneling under the foundation. Your cards represent parts of the armor of God mentioned in Ephesians 6, and your opponent's cards represent Deception, Accusation, Hatred, Temptation and Death.
* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'' mostly averts this trope. The story revolves around 5 cards containing an evil god. It's also implied that everyone in-universe uses Magnus cards to carry things around, as each of them can carry an item or an elemental essence, but they're not mentioned often by the people you meet probably in the same manner that you say you buy some pasta and not a box of pasta. They're so ubiquitous that their application is redundant in a conversation.
** The battle system is less consistent with its universe, though. It has you drawing Magnus cards from your shuffled deck. These contain a weapon, an item, a piece of armor, or a special attack and selecting them makes your character use them once to attack, defend or heal. While having many different tools to fight with during battle is immensely useful, there's no reason why your characters would not just keep their best weapons and armor for the whole fight and even less justification for why your deck is shuffled, why you have to use cards for special attacks and how your items like potions and food always stay full after use.
** The second game fits this trope straight-up, as weapons are instead replaced with generic attacks which can be used by everyone in your party. Magnus cards are not made to hold such things at all.
%%* ''VideoGame/BattlesOfPrinceOfPersia''
* [[UnexpectedGameplayChange Delivery Missions]] in ''VideoGame/BillyVsSNAKEMAN''. There are hints that the in-universe card games Mahongg (and even more so Flower Wars) are covers for something affecting reality on a deeper level. Although in this game it seems like ''everything'' is secretly affecting reality on a deeper level...
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}: Blade of Fate'' had a fairly tight card system, although the cards in question only gave a StatusBuff.
%%* ''VideoGame/{{Culdcept}}''
* ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' (and the related ''Case Zero'' prequel game) allows you to combine ordinary items to form super weapons (bat plus box of nails equals spiky bat; shotgun plus pitchfork equals boomstick). But your ability to use these ''to their fullest'' is goverened by whether you've collected the associated "combo card." If not, you gain less experience from using the weapon, and you are unable to use the weapon's "strong attack" variant. Combo cards are [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diegesis non-diegetic]] rewards — you earn them when you level up, defeat bosses, and do other plot-related things.
* In ''VideoGame/DiceyDungeons'', [[spoiler:The playable Jester]]'s gimmick is that they use a deck of cards they swap out every turn instead of a regular inventory.
%%* The two ''VideoGame/DodgeDanpei'' games that were made by Creator/{{Sunsoft}} play this way, the first more so than the second.
%%* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' has a series of games that play like this.
* ''VideoGame/EndlessSpace'' uses cards to represent battle tactics.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Etherlords}}'' series. It's made a little weird when one of the playable characters in ''Etherlords II'' has [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes]] and holds a [[BigFancySword very large sword]], yet battles are handled ''entirely'' through cards.
* 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 three 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 gauge 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.
* In ''VideoGame/GuildOfDungeoneering'', characters start out with a deck of cards based in their classes, and gain more based off what loot they collect.

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'' {{zigzag|ging Trope}}s this trope. Cards are present in the game's setting, as Sora is told that cards are used to progress in Castle Oblivion and he obtains World Cards used to generate new floors, but in most cutscenes no one is ever seen using cards to fight.
** The Command Deck system in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'', and ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance''. Players build a Deck by collecting Commands through various means and equipping them; characters have a limited Deck capacity that increases over the course of the game, with stronger Commands taking up more space. By pushing a button, characters can instantly use a special attack or item, but upon doing so the Command must "reload" and can't be used for a period of time. There's no explanation as to why the characters can't just use all of their best moves whenever they want as much as they want.
* The bosses in ''VideoGame/YoNoid'' are fought this way. The cards depicted either attacks or pizzas, depending on the regional version.
%%* ''VideoGame/LostKingdoms''
%%* ''VideoGame/MetalGearAcid'' and its sequel.
* ''VideoGame/MobiusFinalFantasy'' uses equippable "cards" for your magic and attacks, but these do not act mechanically like cards. What ''does'' act like cards is the orb-drawing mechanic, which lets you "draw" an orb for every attack you make and put it into your hand, which can then be used to pay for one of your "card" abilities.
* ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' has three types of cards utilised in its gameplay. A "loadout" deck which provides extra power and cooldown reductions to a champion and their abilities (20 cards for each champion, 5 each for their main three abilities, and the last 5 for their main weapon and passive armor effects) which are unique for each hero, and 16 cards that are bought in-battle (think like the equipment in a MOBA) with four types: Defense, Utility, Healing, and Offence. There are also "Talent" cards, with one only available when a character comes out, but more unlock as you level them up. Talent cards compliment your loadout and massively change the gameplay style of the character.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMario'':
** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'''s stickers function like action cards: Any action Mario takes in a battle must be done using a sticker, including staples like jumping. Mario can also turn objects (or even living things) into stickers, which can then be summoned mid-battle when played.
** ''Sticker Star'''s battling system extends to the next Paper Mario game, ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'', only this time, Mario is directly using a deck of cards to battle with.
* ''VideoGame/PocketCardJockey'' has the player as a rookie horse racer who gets trampled to death in their first race. An angel takes pity on them and, upon learning that they're terribly naïve and have zero skill in even riding a horse, brings them back to life and gives them the ability to perceive horse racing as a literal game of golf solitaire. Of course, everyone else still sees horse racing as actual horse racing, and are either deeply confused when the player explains that they win by playing cards or see it as an odd metaphor.
%%* The SNES port of ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker''.
%%* ''VisuaNovel/PrincessWaltz''
* Not involving cards, but ''VideoGame/PuzzleQuest'' has the same idea; you and your enemies do damage and collect mana by [[MatchThreeGame matching stones on a puzzle board]], even though you're just fighting monsters according to the storyline.
* In ''VideoGame/SecondLife'', there is a popular card game called ''En Garde'', which emulates a swordfight (complete with animations): only the players see the cards, spectators see a (slow-motion) duel.

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

%%** Other examples include Griftlands, Night of the Full Moon,

* ''VideoGame/{{Soukoku no Arterial}}'', which actually all the cast either has supernatural power, devil or angel but the combat is using card with quite complex rule. To be honest it was more close to SRPG as promoted by themselves, only using card.
* ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutenScarletWeatherRhapsody'' 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.
* Averted in one the strangest ways possible in ''VideoGame/TheTwistedTalesOfSpikeMcFang''. The main character fights using a variety of cards and said use of cards affects the progression of plot and puzzles. However, the actual gameplay is a top-down action game, the game has little to do with the traditional aspects of a collectible card game, functioning more like a glorified inventory.
* ''VideoGame/{{VS System}}'' had this. The plot involved hero vs. villain comic book conflicts as fight scenes, and every time there was a fight, you played cards.
* ''VideoGame/Wizard101'' has spells as cards, but there is no real 'collectible' element to making a spell deck. You unlock spells for your school as you advance in level, and the only limit to the number of copies of a particular spell is determined by your deck-box, a piece of equipment that you trade for better versions as usual. You do however get a limited number of 'training points' you can use to get spells from outside your school, but since you need to acquire them linearly you're usually just better off focusing on one extra school.

%%* ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion''

* The boss battles in ''Kamen Ninja Hanamaru'' (''VideoGame/YoNoid'' in the United States) were fought this way. The cards depicted either attacks or pizzas, depending on the version.

* ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' used a card system to customize Emerl's moveset while playing like a typical fighter.

* Averted in one the strangest ways possible in ''VideoGame/TheTwistedTalesOfSpikeMcFang''. The main character fights using a variety of cards and said use of cards affects the progression of plot and puzzles. However, the actual gameplay is a top-down action game, the game has little to do with the traditional aspects of a collectible card game, functioning more like a glorified inventory.

* ''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.

* ''VideoGame/MobiusFinalFantasy'' uses equippable 'cards' for your magic and attacks, but these do not act mechanically like cards. What ''does'' act like cards is the orb-drawing mechanic, which lets you 'draw' an orb for every attack you make and put it into your hand, which can then be used to pay for one of your 'card' abilities.
* ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' has three types of cards utilised in its gameplay. A "loadout" deck which provides extra power and cooldown reductions to a champion and their abilities (20 cards for each champion, 5 each for their main three abilities, and the last 5 for their main weapon and passive armor effects) which are unique for each hero, and 16 cards that are bought in-battle (Think like the equipment in a MOBA.) with four types: Defense, Utility, Healing, and Offence. There are also "Talent" cards, with one only available when a character comes out, but more unlock as you level them up. Talent cards compliment your loadout and massively change the gameplay style of the character.

* Inverted in the {{UsefulNotes/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.

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

* ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' used a card system to customize Emerl's moveset while playing like a typical fighter.

* The boss battles in ''Kamen Ninja Hanamaru'' (''Yo! Noid'' in the United States) were fought this way. The cards depicted either attacks or pizzas, depending on the version.
* The [[http://patpack.abraham.me.uk Patience Pack]] has a game called ''Armor of God'', in which the player tries to build his castle before the enemy can finish tunneling under the foundation. Your cards represent parts of the armor of God mentioned in Ephesians 6, and your opponent's cards represent Deception, Accusation, Hatred, Temptation and Death.
* The ''Etherlords'' series. It's made a little weird when one of the playable characters in ''Etherlords II'' has [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes]] and holds a [[BigFancySword very large sword]], yet battles are handled ''entirely'' through cards.
%%* The SNES port of ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker''.
%%* ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion''

%%* ''VideoGame/SigmaHarmonics'', in a way similar to the above.
* ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' (and the related ''Case Zero'' prequel game) allows you to combine ordinary items to form super weapons (bat plus box of nails equals spiky bat; shotgun plus pitchfork equals boomstick). But your ability to use these ''to their fullest'' is goverened by whether you've collected the associated "combo card." If not, you gain less experience from using the weapon, and you are unable to use the weapon's "strong attack" variant. Combo cards are [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diegesis non-diegetic]] rewards — you earn them when you level up, defeat bosses, and do other plot-related things.

* [[UnexpectedGameplayChange Delivery Missions]], in ''VideoGame/BillyVsSNAKEMAN''.
** And there are hints that the in-universe card games Mahongg (and even more so Flower Wars) are covers for something affecting reality on a deeper level. Although in this game it seems like ''everything'' is secretly affecting reality on a deeper level...
%%* Real-life card game example: David Sirlin's card game [[http://www.sirlin.net/articles/designing-yomi Yomi]].
* The entire ''VideoGame/WrestleAngels'' series has you controlling female wrestlers with cards.

* ''VideoGame/{{Wizard 101}}'' has spells as cards, but there is no real 'collectible' element to making a spell deck. You unlock spells for your school as you advance in level, and the only limit to the number of copies of a particular spell is determined by your deck-box, a piece of equipment that you trade for better versions as usual. You do however get a limited number of 'training points' you can use to get spells from outside your school, but since you need to acquire them linearly you're usually just better off focusing on one extra school.

%%* The two ''Dodge Danpei'' games that were made by Creator/{{Sunsoft}} play this way, the first more so than the second.
* The ''VS System'' 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.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}: Blade of Fate'' had a fairly tight card system, although the cards in question only gave a StatusBuff.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'''s stickers function like action cards: Any action Mario takes in a battle must be done using a sticker, including staples like jumping. Mario can also turn objects (or even living things) into stickers, which can then be summoned mid-battle when played.
* ''Sticker Star'''s battling system extends to the next Paper Mario game, ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'', only this time, Mario is directly using a deck of cards to battle with.
* The Duelist class from ''VideoGame/SeventhDragon III: Code VFD'' fights using decks of playing cards, using different combinations of elemental cards to lay traps and summon monsters.
* ''VideoGame/EndlessSpace'' uses cards to represent battle tactics.
* ''Soukoku no Arterial'' which actually all the cast either has supernatural power, devil or angel but the combat is using card with quite complex rule. To be honest it was more close to SRPG as promoted by themselves, only using card.
* In ''VideoGame/GuildOfDungeoneering'', characters start out with a deck of cards based in their classes, and gain more based off what loot they collect.
%%* ''VisuaNovel/PrincessWaltz''
* ''VideoGame/MobiusFinalFantasy'' uses equippable 'cards' for your magic and attacks, but these do not act mechanically like cards. What ''does'' act like cards is the orb-drawing mechanic, which lets you 'draw' an orb for every attack you make and put it into your hand, which can then be used to pay for one of your 'card' abilities.
* ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' has three types of cards utilised in its gameplay. A "loadout" deck which provides extra power and cooldown reductions to a champion and their abilities (20 cards for each champion, 5 each for their main three abilities, and the last 5 for their main weapon and passive armor effects) which are unique for each hero, and 16 cards that are bought in-battle (Think like the equipment in a MOBA.) with four types: Defense, Utility, Healing, and Offence. There are also "Talent" cards, with one only available when a character comes out, but more unlock as you level them up. Talent cards compliment your loadout and massively change the gameplay style of the character.
* ''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.
* 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 three 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 gauge 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/{{Shadowverse}}'' is a straightforward CollectibleCardGame, but the story mode shows no indication of cards being used in any way.

** Other examples include Griftlands, Night of the Full Moon,
* {{Zig Zagged|Trope}} by ''VideoGame/{{Hearthstone}}''. The game's meta-narrative is that it takes place in TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday where heroes and villains from across time and space come together to play ''Hearthstone'' (which is a card game that exists in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', albeit as a physical game rather than a digital one). However, ''Hearthstone'''s actual story missions ignore the card game aspect and instead are meant to represent physical battles taking place between heroes.

* ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' used a card system to edit stats while playing like a typical fighter.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition'' had the ''Tome of Battle'' supplement come with online "maneuver cards", which could be printed out for quick reference of the effects of different martial techniques. Given that the 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.
* The tabletop RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'' uses ordinary playing cards for a lot of mechanics including initiative, spellcasting and weird science gadgetry.
* The RPG ''TabletopGame/CastleFalkenstein'' uses playing cards as the main mechanic. This is explained as the game having been created InUniverse, by a game designer who ended up in the Falkenstein universe, and the prejudices of that world mean that gaming with dice just isn't "proper".

* Combat in ''TabletopGame/FuryOfDracula'' is handled with a fairly basic card battle mechanic. Hunters have a few stock combat cards like Punch, Dodge and Escape, and can supplement these by finding & exchanging weapons, talismans and special abilities in the course of the game. Dracula has a more varied range of starting cards, including most of the [[ClassicalMovieVampire classic vampire powers]]. All combat cards have various combinations of icons that interact based on a TacticalRockPaperScissors mechanic, so the Hunters' main advantage is in Drac not knowing what other tricks they have up their sleeves, while they (usually) know exactly what he's capable of.
* ''TabletopGame/LaceAndSteel'' features card-based dueling systems for [[SwordFight swordfighting]], [[WizardDuel sorcery]], and [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath repartee]]

* 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 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.

* ''VideoGame/{{SlayTheSpire}}'' revitalized the card-RPG genre with a generalized ruleset:

* ''VideoGame/PocketCardJockey'' has the player as a rookie horse racer who gets trampled to death in their first race. An angel takes pity on them and, upon learning that they're terrible naïve and have zero skill in even riding a horse, brings them back to life and gives them the ability to perceive horse racing as a literal game of golf solitaire. Of course, everyone else still sees horse racing as actual horse racing, and are either deeply confused when the player explains that they win by playing cards or see it as an odd metaphor.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' and its sequel series, ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' both had battles in which the combatant had to process attack data to produce weapons or abilities from either battle chips or battle cards, respectively (which would be carried in a folder and presented randomly to the participant during each battle).

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'' provides the page image but in reality zigzags it. Cards are present in the game's setting, as Sora is told that cards are used to progress in Castle Oblivion and he obtains World Cards used to generate new floors, but in most cutscenes no one is ever seen using cards to fight.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'' sort of qualifies.
** Even though the tutorial character [[spoiler:[[BigBad Marluxia]]]] explicitly says that the game's setting, Castle Oblivion, is governed by cards, characters are seen to fight normally in cutscenes.
** 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]] is on low health, he can unleash a shockwave that will ''remove any cards still scattered''.

[-[[caption-width-right:249:[[http://destiny-islanders.tumblr.com/post/133443879482/you-dont-need-your-memories-to-grasp-the Original comic]] by [[http://destiny-islanders.tumblr.com/ DaPanda]].\\