Nertz Understands the Ergonomics of Real-Time Card Play

Playing cards present challenges for real-time gameplay. They take time to parse, can be difficult to pick up from the table, and are impractical to shuffle under time constraints. The game Nertz (and its relatives Pounce, Racing Demon, and Dutch Blitz) navigates the challenges of real-time card games brilliantly by leaning into the ergonomics of cards. It does this in three ways:

1. By avoiding shuffling and instead asking players to manipulate a fixed deck
2. By rewarding actions that are physically more difficult to perform
3. By limiting pattern matching to comparisons of just two cards

By aligning its mechanics and incentives with its ergonomics, Nertz shows how to design a real-time card game that feels satisfying to play.

Nertz avoids shuffling

One of the biggest problems with card ergonomics is shuffling. It takes time and effort, and it isn't obvious when to stop. Worse, players vary widely in their ability to shuffle. But Nertz not only prevents players from shuffling their deck, it also makes manipulating the order of the cards a core part of gameplay. Players go through their deck three cards at a time, only able to access every third one. If they play a card from early in the deck, it changes the offset so that they will see completely different cards next time. Skilled players learn how to use this to their advantage. When they run out of matches, they play to their work piles to change what cards they see next.

Nertz rewards physically challenging actions

Cards are much easier to put down than they are to pick up. It is hard to get a grip on a flat object lying on a flat surface. The incentive structure of Nertz reflects this: playing from your Nertz and work piles nets you more points than playing from your deck because of how you lose points for leftover cards. This rewards players more for actions that are physically harder to perform. Aligning effort and reward matters because people naturally seek out low effort, high reward behaviors and become dissatisfied with those that do not meet their expectations.

Nertz uses simple card comparisons

Evaluating sets of cards for patterns is fine in games like Poker, where you have time to think, but it gets in the way when the goal is speed. Nertz streamlines move recognition by asking the player to compare only two cards at a time, rather than an entire set. To play into a foundation pile, you must match the suit and increment the value. To play into a work pile, you must have a different color and decrement the value. These comparisons are easy to perform at a glance.

Conclusion

Cards pose unique challenges in real-time games because of their physical form. By accommodating the ergonomics of cards and aligning its incentives with the physical challenges of handling them, Nertz creates real-time gameplay that feels fast and intuitive.