Chapter 66: The Three Axes of Card Games

Alex Parker laughed, "Yes, exactly, you have to do the first ten consecutive draws before you leave."

Paul Wilder opened the store and placed his hand on the ten consecutive draws button, feeling a bit nervous. As someone with notoriously lousy luck, Paul was always anxious about these lottery-style operations, fearing the worst every time probability was involved.

"I'm going for it!"

Paul gritted his teeth and pressed the ten consecutive draws button.

Alex chuckled silently. No wonder you have bad luck, he thought. You didn't even wash your face or hands before drawing. It shows you're not sincere.

Swipe, swipe, swipe...

Ten cards appeared on the screen, flipping over one by one. Paul licked his lips and focused intently on the edges of the cards.

"God bless, give me a purple card..."

Blue card, blue card, blue card, fragments...

Paul started to feel discouraged and was about to quit the game when the second-to-last card flipped over to reveal a purple Square Brick!

"Ah! A purple card! I got a purple card too!"

Paul was ecstatic. For once, his luck matched that of Lily Emerson.

"Who is it?" Lily and Jessica Thompson crowded over.

Paul said, "Square Brick, the human square-headed mage."

Lily said, "Wow, not bad. You actually got a purple card?"

"Heh, everyone has their lucky day!"

Paul happily opened Square Brick's card details to check his skills.

"Blizzard? That sounds powerful. I need to level him up."

Paul had a bunch of unused monster cards in his bag, so he used them all to level up Square Brick, stopping only when he reached purple+.

"Hmm, to advance further, I need another Square Brick. I'll leave it for now."

Paul happily adjusted his new card into his lineup and eagerly challenged the new levels.

The others had also saved enough stones and started their ten consecutive draws.

"I got a purple Alex Parker. Uh, doesn't seem very useful?"

"Purple Dumb Rogue. Seems decent, can go for a one-hit-kill flow."

"Should focus on boosting purple cards' attributes in the early stages? I'll prioritize upgrading this one."

Everyone drew a purple card and happily added them to their lineups.

Alex smiled silently.

This was all predetermined. The first ten consecutive draws were guaranteed to yield a decent purple main character card. There was no difference between bad luck and good luck players.

However, subsequent ten consecutive draws would involve some probability variations. Although there were guaranteed purple cards, there was a chance of drawing less valuable monster purple cards, not worth much investment.

If players performed a certain number of ten consecutive draws, they would eventually get rare cards like Gunner Sister or New Druid, etc.

This was all part of the strategy.

For the first ten consecutive draws, if players didn't get good cards, they would likely leave the game. Hence, the overall drop rate for ten consecutive draws was adjusted higher, with a guaranteed drop of a main character purple card.

Subsequent ten consecutive draws would slow down the rate of obtaining stones and sound cards needed to retain value. Therefore, the drop rate would revert to normal. Players who wanted better cards would need to spend money.

For big spenders, there had to be a safety net to ensure that the money they spent was worth it, preventing dissatisfaction among unlucky big spenders.

This was basically the unspoken rule of domestic card mobile games. Of course, there were exceptions, like "Onmyoji."

"Onmyoji" seemingly had no safety net; getting an SSR entirely depended on luck, leading to phenomena like selling starter accounts and causing various issues.

However, the quality of "Onmyoji" was so high that it could afford to be so daring. Alex's 3D art level was far from "Onmyoji," so he couldn't afford to take such risks with "I Am MT."

Paul had already added Square Brick to his lineup.

The monsters in the dungeon had no chance to fight back. Square Brick cast Blizzard, wiping out most monsters. Even against bosses, the other cards could chip in to finish them off, allowing rapid progress through the dungeons.

"So satisfying!"

Paul went through each chapter, claiming rewards from chapter chests, tasks, and achievements. When he hit a wall, he used the rewards to upgrade his cards, advancing further once they were powered up.

"Hmm, I can level up again, but I don't have enough monster cards. I'll try another chapter..."

Paul opened the next chapter.

Alex watched everyone's reactions.

Amy Johnson frowned, looking unwilling but still playing.

Paul seemed quite addicted, concentrating on the game.

Lily wasn't rushing through the levels but was instead checking the card index, clearly considering lineup strategies.

So far, the three main tactics of domestic card games have been working well.

IP attracted players to the game.

High-level card battles showcased card abilities.

Simple newbie guides introduced gameplay.

Various playstyles kept player fatigue at bay.

Generous stone giveaways let players draw good cards.

Good cards-crushing dungeons gave players a sense of progress.

This combination ensured that within two hours, players would feel sufficiently satisfied and begin to recognize the value of in-game virtual assets.

This satisfaction and recognition of virtual assets would motivate players to log in the next day and seek better cards.

IP's most important influence on card games was in the first step—attracting players. The better the IP, the more loyal players it attracted, increasing the player base.

With a more extensive player base, profits naturally increased.

However, does IP determine the fate of a card game? Not necessarily.

When the initial player attraction is similar, retention, long-term retention, and average spend per player depend on the game's quality, with minimal IP impact.

People say IP is crucial for card mobile games compared to other card games because it helps differentiate and stand out among many card games.

Compared to other mobile games, even without IP, card mobile games would still win.

In the mid-to-late stages, card games essentially become auto-play, task completion. The gameplay itself has minimal attraction for players, but the value stimulation, card draw probabilities, and virtual assets make them increasingly addictive.

Value stimulation: New levels, new rewards, main cards can level up, advance again...

Card draw probabilities: Enough for another ten consecutive draws; maybe this time, I'll get a sound card...

Virtual assets: I've spent hundreds of dollars on this game, have a perfect lineup, and now you want me to quit?

At this stage, IP's impact is minimal.

These three factors keep players firmly attached to the game, with recharge activities continuously enticing them to spend.

Even if they don't spend, keeping them in the game ensures they eventually will.