Card drafting
Players build a deck by picking cards one or a few at a time from offered choices, rather than assembling a deck freely beforehand. Drafting is the decision engine of roguelike deckbuilders and limited card formats: each pick is a fork weighing immediate power against long-term synergy, and the sequence of picks is what makes each run's deck unique. Designers use drafting to keep players constantly choosing, to reward reading synergies on the fly, and to generate variety from a fixed card pool. Key decisions: offer size and structure (pick one of three is standard), whether picks are free or paid, rarity weighting in the offer pool, and rerolls or skips (skipping to keep a deck lean is a subtle skill). Pitfall: if one card is a near-auto-pick whenever offered, drafts around it become rote — offers need multiple tempting answers to keep the decision genuinely open each time.
- Dev effort: Small
- Timing: Real-time or turn-based
- Common in: deckbuilder, card-game