Shall we play a game?

Updated October 26, 2021

August 7, 2020

Release

We are the most beta we'll ever be: www.volwal.com

Because no one will see this blog post anyway, we think it's safe to post the details of our closed beta release of Volition CCG. It's no small feat having created our own custom blockchain protocol to track all these unique digital game assets. We had to create a reference wallet that will allow players to manage their inventory and easily print their cards for gameplay. Oh yeah, and we had to build an engaging collectible card game.

Here's what you gotta do if you want to join the fun:

Set up a wallet at https://www.volwal.com
Check out the instructions below for getting an account provisioned
Join our Discord
Open packs, print cards, play the game

That's it. We'd love to hear your feedback on Discord, email, forums, Twitter, whatever. Hell, file some bugs or feature requests.

Go to https://www.volwal.com. We recommend using a computer or at least something with a larger screen.
Create a password for your wallet. (You’ll be using this a lot.)
Add Network: https://beta.volitionccg.com.
Hit the green button, and if the node is up you should see it.
Give it a different short name if you want and Save.
Click on ‘volition-open-beta’ or whatever nickname you gave it.
On the NETWORK screen click Request Account.
We’ve generated a BIP39 mnemonic seed for you, or you can generate your own and upload it. WRITE THIS DOWN, NOW. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Enter your wallet password and click Request Account.
Click the LONG_STRING_OF_TEXT to copy to your clipboard.
Go to the #volbot channel on Discord
Use the volbot to provision your account by typing: volbot, account LONG_STRING_OF_TEXT
Once it’s provisioned, you’ll have an account name like .volbot.692.5C9.674. We should change it.
Click on the account name ('.volbot.692.5C9.674' in this case) and then click New Transaction
Choose Rename Account.
- Enter an alias for the account. This is where people will send assets to. No spaces; not case sensitive.
- Using your Discord name helps us a lot when we’re trying to troubleshoot and send stuff to you.
- Gratuity can stay blank, since we’re on the open beta network.
- Enter your wallet password and click Submit Transaction

There you go. You have an account with a friendly name, some keys, and an empty inventory. Now what?

On Discord, you can let us know your account name, and we will send you VOL and game assets. Other players can also send you stuff. Remember, this is beta testing, so don’t worry about running out of cards or packs.
When someone sends you assets, you’ll see a little green inbox at the top of your account screen. Click that thing to see what you got.
You can tag the assets so you can find them easily in your inventory. Click OK.
In the ACCOUNT dropdown, navigate to your Inventory.

You're on your way. You can trade assets, download cards, print sheets, build decks, craft assets... Ken did a show and tell last month if you want to check out some of the wallet features.

Here are some links that might be helpful. (Thanks, stl1988, for timestamping.)

And don’t forget: every digital asset is one of a kind owned by you. We hope you have fun. Let us know what you think.

Say Hello to Cardmotron

November 25, 2019

Update

We are pleased to announce the launch of www.cardmotron.com

Cardmotron is a card game layout tool we developed to prepare assets for Volition. It works by reading an XLSX spreadsheet and generating print-ready layouts. Our game designer found it so useful that we decided to make it available to everyone. If you’re a game designer and need an easy way to lay out your cards for print, check it out.

There's detailed instructions in the link to the github source below. However, here's the quickstart:

Download the sample xlsx file
Build and run Cardmotron locally or go to Cardmotron.com
Click the file picker in the top left and select the sample xlsx file
Bask in the glory of the generic auto-generated cards

It's a powerful little tool, with a slightly steep learning curve. But once you get it down, you can crank out cards like nobody's business. Have fun!

You can find the Cardmotron source code here and share your experiences with it in the forums.

Jordan Weisman likes us!

March 12, 2019

Update

Quick note on Volition CCG: we just announced that Jordan Weisman has joined our board of directors. Seriously, we are totally chuffed to have him. If you don't know who he is, you can check out his Wikipedia page. He's designed so many wonderful games like MechWarrior, Shadowrun, Crimson Skies and, most recently, the super-successful TBS BattleTech.

We've been sitting on this news for a while waiting for all the Ts to be crossed and lowercase Js to be dotted, and it feels good to be able to announce the news. We're pleased as Punch here at Cryptogogue HQ.

Reminder:We're still looking for more playtesters, so send Ken an email, and he'll get you sorted. Once you sign up, you'll also have access to the playtesters section of the forums.

Volition Gameplay Testing Update 1: Hero Attack and Trap Changes

December 14, 2018

Gameplay

Reminder: If you wanna help playtest the game, email Ken, and he'll hook you up. Once you sign up, you'll also have access to the playtesters section of the forums.

While our dev team is building the tech behind Volition, the gameplay design team is hard at work tinkering and tweaking the game's rules to make it a streamlined, awesome experience for card gaming enthusiasts.

That's why Lead Designer Ken Pilcher gathered some local gamers last week and put Volition to the test. The group had a great time playing round after round, and during the session, a few areas of improvement were identified.

For starters, we discovered that many players felt there were too few actions when they wanted to attack. Generally, players wanted to Draw, Deploy an Asset, and Deploy something to help set up their attack, but then had no remaining actions to attack. So, we decided to let players deplete their Hero for a "free" attack and if a player wants additional attacks, they can still pay an action. This change really helped the playtest games move smoothly and the players really enjoyed it. This new ability has been added to all current Hero cards.

Another point of confusion for first-time players were Traps. It was sometimes hard for players to quickly identify a Trap vs. an Event. Upon reflection, we have decided to change Traps from an Event card with the “Trap” super type to its own> card type. Traps will be much more clear and cause less confusion as their own card type. This also means we can easily and clearly add keywords that allow Dudes, Events, Items and Assets to be flipped up as traps. Tricky, tricky!

In our next gameplay test, we will explore different variations and rules for multiplayer games. Volition is designed for 1v1, but we also have multiplayer in mind. The game can handle as many players as you and your playgroup can handle—ideally 3-5 players, otherwise time between turns may get long. So, we will continue to test, tinker, and tweak until we hit the sweet spot for gaming groups, small and large.

We look forward to doing more public playtest sessions soon and are always looking for more testers to help build their local playtest groups. If you’re interested, please drop us a line on the forums or gather your friends to set up your own session!

Volition CCG gets a blog

November 27, 2018

Update

I know what everyone is thinking: I've been waiting ages for you to provide regular updates about Volition. What's taken so long?

To be honest, we—the royal we, that is—didn't think there'd be such a clamour for news about our little game. And, sure, most of the clamouring has been us banging on the blockchain pipes for Volition, but nonetheless. We came here to give the people what they want. Tidbits of info about a little-known blockchain card game. Yeah! That's what everyone wants—nay—needs.

I know what else your thinking: Hey, waydaminnit, this looks just like the Newsroom but with a dopey red "blog" stamped on the logo.

To that, I say, QUIET, YOU!

What have we been doing, though? Well, we've been doing all the things busy businessfolks do, like expanding our advisory board with people smarter than ourselves. We're hard at work building the blockchain protocol and tools for mining booster packs and keeping track of your cards. It's got to the point that we're looking for dev collaborators if anyone is interested.

We've also been busy live playtesting the game. For all those who want to help playtest at home, singup info is here.

Lastly, we've got some pretty cool news for us to tease: we've wrangled a gaming luminary to help us out. That's all I'll say about that for now, but you'll be hearing more from us soon!