Infinite Armies is a customizable card game

Card game

A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...

 for two players. It was created by Greg Porter, and published in 2005

2005 in games

This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 2005. For video and console games, see 2005 in video gaming.-Game awards given in 2005:...

 by Blacksburg Tactical Research Center

Blacksburg Tactical Research Center

Blacksburg Tactical Research Center, Inc., or BTRC is an American game publishing company most famous for publishing the Timelords and EABA role-playing games.-Role Playing Games:*Timelords, 1987*Macho Women with Guns, 1988...

. It follows on the success of the collectible card game

Collectible card game

thumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...

 genre, but establishes its own niche by focusing more on card and deck customization. It breaks from the traditional collectible card games by allowing players to fully design and customize their own cards. Players do not even buy cards, but print their own. Whether this is a viable business concept is still being tested, as most card games rely heavily on sales of cards and the continued publication of new cards.

The heart of the game is a PDF file called iArmy Builder, which uses the functions of the Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format . All members of the family, except Adobe Reader , are commercial software, while the latter is available as freeware and can be downloaded...

 program to allow players to create and print their own cards using any graphics files they like. The first versions focused on traditional modern armies, with tank

Tank

A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

s, infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

, airpower

Military aircraft

A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...

, etc. But in theory, a player may base their cards on any idea they like, such as spacecraft

Spacecraft

A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....

, fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

, cartoon characters

Cartoon

A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

, or even photos of friends and family.

Awards

• 2006: Origins Vanguard Award for new gaming concept. It is the first PDF-only game ever to win an Origins award.

External links

• Infinite Armies at Blacksburg Tactical Research Center website
• Review by Steve Jackson Games