TROK

Trok is set in the universe of another game - Nidavellir. I think that's a good product and marketing strategy. This is building an intellectual property and a brand. Attract your existing fans and supporters. Nidavellir is a game about dwarfs, and Trok is the popular card game played by dwarfs in taverns in the world of Nidavellir. 

The cards in the game are numbered 1 to 7, with 1's being the most common, and 7's being the rarest. There are also some jokers in the game. Every round everyone draws five cards, and then simultaneously picks three to offer to other players. These offered cards are revealed at the same time. Whoever has the highest total value of cards being offered goes first. This player picks one card from another player. Then it is that player's turn to pick a card from someone else. This continues until everyone has taken 3 cards from other players. Then you try to make sets with the cards you now have. If you make a set of at least three cards of the same value, you score points based on the card value. E.g. a set of three 1's gives you just 1 point. Each card from the 4th onwards scores you 3 points. This is lucrative if you manage large sets. 

There is a card market of three cards. When you take a card from an opponent, instead of keeping it for yourself, you can put it into the market, and take another card from the market. If you create a set of three similar cards in the market, you score points too. 

The other type of set you can make is a set of different values. You need at least 3 different cards, and when you make such a set, you get to claim one tool from a tool market. The bigger your set, the more cards you get to choose from. The tools have various effects, for example letting you draw an extra card at the start of a round, letting you keep a card for the next round (normally you must discard all cards at the end of a round), and scoring points every round based on other tools you have. Tools are how you augment your abilities. You will want to get them early, because the earlier you get them, the more opportunities you will have to use them. 

And that's the game. I'd call this a card drafting game. Your points are secret, and you don't know exactly how well your opponents are doing. You do know each time they score, but it's not easy to keep track of everyone's cumulative score. This creates some uncertainty and excitement. The game ends when someone reaches 50 points. There is one alternative winning condition. If you can collect a set of all eight card types, i.e. 1 to 7 plus the joker, you win immediately regardless of your accumulated score. To be able to do this you will need to get several tools to augment your abilities, because by default you only draw 5 cards every round. 

In the late game when everyone has more tools, you will have more cards and you can make bigger sets, and possibly the instant win set. 

Trok is a pretty straight-forward game. It is about collecting cards and trying to make sets of the same number or sets of different numbers. Making use of tools is fun. They help you make better sets. You need to watch your opponents and try to guess what cards they might want. You want to avoid creating opportunities for them to make sets of three. The player interaction is subtle. If you want to play well, you need to pay attention. When you choose a card, you decide who goes next, and that can be an important consideration. The tools your opponents have give you clues as to what they might be trying to do. Creating good combos of tools is fun. That's the part I enjoy most. I also like that tension between choosing to grab a good tool and scoring a bunch of points. You focus more on tools in the early game, and eventually you will switch to rushing for points. That transition is not always straight-forward. Finding that balance is the interesting part of the game.