I spoke with the creator of Lustrum! Here are her answers to my questions:
Q: Please describe your trading card game!
A: Lustrum is a two-player card sequencing game about rituals, sabotage and corruption. You are an invoker endeavoring to call forth and bind an archdemon, an all-powerful entity from the Abyss. Using your pentacle, perform rituals to Align each Point of Power with the required strength needed to control the fiend. Act quickly though! Your enemies conspire against you. If they should Corrupt your Points of Power you will lose control over your demons and they will turn against you.
Q: What inspired you to create your own TCG?
A: When the pandemic started I was looking to work on a creative project to keep me occupied. I wanted to improve my digital painting skills and producing a functioning card game encapsulated the project size I was interested in. I proceeded to fall in love with game design and there’s been no looking back!
Q: What TCGs did you grow up playing as a kid?
A: Growing up I played a lot of Neopets and Pokemon, I loved collecting cute critters and those two managed to hook me into card games with their marketing campaigns. Later as a teen I got into Yugioh, which influenced a lot of my preference in game pace.
Q: What sets Lustrum apart from other TCGs?
A: First and foremost Lustrum is more in line with an XCG distribution model. I don’t consider a TCG model to be a sustainable way for getting indie card games out to the people who want to play them. I love TCGs but I don’t have the time or money to throw at games with a randomized distribution model, and I feel that a lot of people tend to agree with that sentiment. There’s a reason most people just buy singles! I want players to be able to buy a single product and immediately bring it to the table and play Lustrum with their friends.
Lustrum is set apart in that it's a “racing” game. So many card games are focused on combat, having units and direct conflict between players is something I wanted to avoid. I created a game that’s more in line with the design philosophy of Keyforge, where you are primarily working towards your own objective while still having some interaction with your opponent.
Q: How did you come up with the name Lustrum?
A: The word lustrum refers to a purifying sacrifice that happens every five years. With the theme of the game centered around corruption and bending demons to your will I felt it captured the essence I wanted for the game.
Q: How long have you been working on the game?
A: As I mentioned before this has been a project I’ve worked on since the beginning of the pandemic, so a little over three years at this point!
Q: What is the illustration/design process like?
A: I draw a lot of inspiration for my art from dark fantasy and horror. I'm especially inspired by the works of Junji Ito. I spend a lot of time sketching ideas for cards and their effects that I feel will fit the theme of the game. On the game design side of things the process is largely to study what other designers have done across many types of tabletop games. Learning from board games and playing card games is a great help in coming up with my own designs. Games like rummy are one of the greatest inspirations for Lustrum mechanically. Testing ideas out swiftly and iterating with as many people as possible giving feedback is critical in the design process.
Q: When will the game officially be released?
A: I’m wrapping up the artwork this year and hope to start hitting the convention circuit once that’s finished. I’m aiming for 2025 for an official release.
Q: What are your future plans for Lustrum?
A: Once the first 80 card set is released I intend to release a 40 card expansion that further fleshes out the game and experience for players, while building up a local scene for the game.
Q: Will you be at any upcoming conventions?
A: I don’t have any plans for conventions till 2024.
Q: Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own TCG?
A: Draw from all forms of games for inspiration, you never know what can be a great source of inspiration. Some of my recent favorite card game designs have been influenced directly from cooperative video game mechanics. Don’t get too attached to an idea or mechanic. Try something and set it aside. The more mechanics you try out the more you’ll discover what does and doesn’t work. If something keeps coming up as a positive mechanic for your game, that’s when you may have something worth keeping.
For more, follow @lustrumcardgame on Instagram and check out lustrumcardgame.com
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