Help me choose a name for a card game!

[Larcen]

I put together a fantasy card game and now I am stuck on choosing a name for it. I narrowed my huge list of names down to the 6 candidates in the poll.

The game uses a standard deck of playing cards and simulates a battle between two opposing groups of adventurers.

At this point I have the rules typed up and a Palm version of the game pretty much programmed. But I don't want to put the game on the net yet until I finalize on the name. Believe me I have agonized over this, so I could really use everyone's help.

Here are some brief notes on the 6 names to choose from, in alphabetical order.

Epico – Means “Epic” in Spanish. I think it makes a nice abstract name.

Fray - As you can see, I am leaning towards short and simple names.

Melee – This is the current name of the game. I like it, but the game has ranged attacks not just melee attacks.

Mythic – Again, short and sweet. And, uh, mythic sounding.

Rouen – This is the city in France where the modern court cards (King, Queen, Jack) were created. The design of those cards inspired me to create the game more than anything else. The name looks cool and is interesting. Pronounciation is weird though. roo-ON, or roo-WA, I believe.

Ruin – This is what I originally thought Rouen was pronounced like. When I found out how to really pronounce the city name, I still liked Ruin. Would make for some cool slogans. "My life is in Ruin." "All card games lead to Ruin." "I was led to Ruin." Etc...

Please select 1 to 3 names from the poll. Thanks for helping!

 

[Larcen]

*bump*

Thanks to everyone who has voted so far! Interesting how it's breaking down.

But I need more votes before I go out and buy a URL...

 

[RangerWickett]

I like Rouen. If you include with your game the historical information about the origin of the name, it would make your game seem more established. Like, "Look, this game has been around since the time of the French Kings."

The key thing is to make sure the game is fun, and well-illustrated. Let me know when I can take a look.

 

[Larcen]

I like Rouen. If you include with your game the historical information about the origin of the name, it would make your game seem more established. Like, "Look, this game has been around since the time of the French Kings."

The key thing is to make sure the game is fun, and well-illustrated. Let me know when I can take a look.

Yes, all the names have some merit to them, which is why I am so stuck on picking one. One of things I like about the name Rouen is that it makes it sound like all the other classic card games that have obscure and unusual names like Baccarat, Euchre, Canasta, Pinochle, Cribbage, Rummy, Whist, even Poker. Rouen would fit right in with that crowd I think.

Still, there are other cool names on the proposed list as well. *sigh* Seems like coming up with the rules is easier than naming them!

Speaking of the rules, and since you asked, I would be happy to email you a copy of them. All I ask is that you do not pass them around until I finalize them and offically post them somewhere. You are free to play them of course, and I wish you would, and give me feedback. Its a two player game so it shouldn't be too hard to get a game going.

Also if you have a Palm PDA you can have a copy of the beta program as well. But it still needs a lot more work so I definately ask that it does not get passed around. Let me know if you are interested in one or the other.

I would like to extend this offer to anyone else on Enworld too. I trust you guys.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Sorry to muck things up...but I voted for "Ruin."

Part of my rationale was that there is already a game called Melee (old and out of print, but well respected), and another called Mythus.

"Epico" sounds too much like Blaise Müller's Quarto... Unless you're trying to ride someone else's coattails, you want to avoid product confusion as much as possible.

"Rouen," despite its historical connection to cards, seems to me to lack a connection to the game itself.

"Fray" is short & sweet, but I think it lacks..."poetry."

 

[Mycanid]

I'll go for "Ruin" too ... the others just sound odd to me I guess....

 

[Uriah Heep]

Yo ho. I am a friend of Larcen, and believe me, it is a great game. I have helped him play test the game extensively. Very good game. And I personally like Rouen myself. But of course, he knows that.


Rock on!!

 

[The Thayan Menace]

¡Qué Mal!

I voted for "Ruin", although "¡Ruin Epico!" was also tempting.

-Samir Asad​

 

[Bront]

Pie! There was no choice for Pie!

 

[Larcen]

Looks like Rouen is winning. Funny thing is I am still not even sure how to pronounce it!

In fact, even after I listen to it here I STILL can't repeat it:

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?ggroue01.wav=Rouen

Ah, the French.

Sorry to muck things up...but I voted for "Ruin."

Part of my rationale was that there is already a game called Melee (old and out of print, but well respected), and another called Mythus.

"Epico" sounds too much like Blaise Müller's Quarto... Unless you're trying to ride someone else's coattails, you want to avoid product confusion as much as possible.

"Rouen," despite its historical connection to cards, seems to me to lack a connection to the game itself.

"Fray" is short & sweet, but I think it lacks..."poetry."

Nice breakdown, Danny. I agree with not stepping on the microgame Melee. Its one of the reasons I was not completely happy with that name.

I'll go for "Ruin" too ... the others just sound odd to me I guess....

Ruin is my current personal fave too. But I am still open to whatever is voted for here. Like "roo-WA"

Yo ho. I am a friend of Larcen, and believe me, it is a great game. I have helped him play test the game extensively. Very good game. And I personally like Rouen myself. But of course, he knows that.


Rock on!!

Thanks for the kind words dude. I'll get you that money I owe you...

BTW, see you Saturday for another rematch in Puerto Rico. I'm on to all your tricks now.

I voted for "Ruin", although "¡Ruin Epico!" was also tempting.

-Samir Asad​

Ha... Yeah, I should have had an "other" option. This reminds me of a name I didn't include in the poll, "Heroico". I was even playing at one point with, "Epico Herioco". LOL. Hey, you should see some of the other names I came up with on this huge list I have..

Pie! There was no choice for Pie!

Er, okay! I can see it now:
"Hey guys, let's have a Pie tournament!"
"Um, what?"
"Pie! Pie! Let's play Pie, man."
"?... I'm in."