Design Diary – August 12th 2025

(Note: This entry was dictated by the designer and transcribed by ChatGPT, as the designer was multitasking hands-free.)

Today, I officially decided to jump into the BGG 54-card design contest. I hoped to do a 24-hour contest again because I had some unexpected success last time. This time the 24-hour contest had keyword “PAD” as a theme. But since my vacation ended, I didn’t have the time. So this 54-card contest felt like a more realistic option. Especially as I have a tendency to design games with more cards this seemed a good way to limit myself.

I’ve been brainstorming Hack-a-Pad for a couple of weeks and used last couple days to draft few pages of notes on cards, mechanics, and layout. The idea is a two-player game where each tries to hack the other’s tablet. For tracking health (the “privacy” bar), I was inspired by Star Realms’ use of two cards to track a player’s authority and adapted it here.

Core game play idea

The core gameplay revolves around installing and uninstalling app cards while managing action points and trying to breach the opponent’s defenses. There are two main types of cards: App Cards, which simulate various (often humorous or risky) tablet applications, and Hacking Cards, which provide different offensive or defensive actions. Each hacking card contains two different features—one on the top half and one on the bottom—so players must choose which to use, effectively doubling the variety of play options.

I figured I needed a way for players to pay action points to play hacking cards. Because of the card limit, I combined the health and action point tracking into the same set of cards. That means the same cards track privacy and action points.

Do I have enough time for this?

I have to admit I’m a bit worried about finding the time for this design because I also want to focus on two other designs and get them pitch-ready this year. I’m a little afraid I might end up regretting entering this contest because I have so much on my plate. But we’ll see how it all unfolds!