History Main / FightLikeACardPlayer

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* ''[[VideoGame/ChainOfMemories Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories]]'' sort of qualifies; even though the tutorial character explicitly says that the castle you enter is governed by cards, characters are seen to fight normally in cutscenes.

* ''LostKingdoms''
* ''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.

* ''Battles of Franchise/{{Prince of Persia}}''

* In ''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.

* ''PrincessWaltz''

* Th [[VSSystem 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 status buff]].
* ''MagicTheGathering: Battlemage''. Between battles you select cards to your deck, including individuals who have agreed to join your side. Combats are fought in RTS style. Lands create a mana pool, that acts like traditional resource pool and units either attack towards the enemy or stand in front of you and defend. Your choice of actions is limited by your "hand", a selection of seven cards from your deck.
** Inverted in Shandalar (part of the original MagicTheGathering PC game). Instead of an RPG that used cards for the combat mechanics, it was a port of the card game with an RPG as the FramingDevice.
** This even applies in the proper ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' game, as the cards just represent wizards dueling with spells, summoning and attacking with monsters, and drawing power from the land.

* 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.

** And the sequel series, ''MegaManStarForce'', even more so, since the "Battle Chip" cards of ''Battle Network'' are swapped out for actual cards.

* The [[http://solitaire.vegard2.no/patpack/play.html 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 SNES port of ''PrincessMaker''.
* ''YggdraUnion''
* ''{{Culdcept}}''
* ''DragonBallZ'' has a series of games that play like this.
* ''[[ChainOfMemories Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories]]'' sort of qualifies; even though the tutorial character explicitly says that the castle you enter is governed by cards, characters are seen to fight normally in cutscenes.

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

* ''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.

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

* ''BatenKaitos''. Note that cards actually ''are'' important in both story and gameplay, as [[HyperspaceArsenal magical storage devices]] (including where the characters pull their weapons from)...but not in actual combat.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearAcid'' and [[VideoGame/MetalGearAcid2 its sequel]].

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

* ''EndlessSpace'' uses cards to represent battle tactics.

* From the same company who made Kamidori, 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.

* ''DeadRising 2'' (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.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearAcid''

** And there are hints that the card games (in-universe) 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...

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

A SisterTrope to CardBattleGame.

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

*** ''Slightly'' justified in both with the explanation 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/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'' certainly counts, as you combine the various action and attribute cards to do special attacks.

* ''[[CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon Castlevania: CotM]]'' certainly counts, as you combine the various action and attribute cards to do special attacks.

** Happens again in ''KingdomHeartsII'' with Luxord, who literally [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin fights like a card player]] and forces Sora to fight him using cards in a bit of UnexpectedGameplayChange.

*** One wonders why he wasn't in charge of Castle Oblivion...
**** [[spoiler: Probably because the ones sent to CO were the ones that were the most annoying to the Organization, such as Marluxia, or the ones that Saix saw as a threat, such as Zexion]].

* Averted in one the strangest ways possible in ''The Twisted Tales of Spike [=McFang=]''. 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.

* ''Battles of {{Prince of Persia}}''

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Hisouten(soku)''. It basically replaces a standard super bar, though it also lets you level and replace special moves.

* Not involving cards, but ''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.