It's a work of art! Games that are puzzles: cards with artwork that forms a single picture when combined

Ender Wiggins

(EndersGame)

Recommend

Several games have artwork on the cards which can be combined to form a single image. The technical term for such panoramic images made up of multiple parts is polyptych.

I've started things off by listing the examples of polyptychs that I'm aware of, please add more!

Isn't it great when game designers and publishers show this kind of attention to detail?!

Your Tags:	Add tags Tags (separate by space):
Popular Tags:	polyptych [+] artwork [+] Cool! [+] Art [+] collage [+] [View All]

Edited Thu Sep 10, 2009 2:30 am
Posted Mon Sep 15, 2008 7:50 pm

51. Board Game: Cowabunga [Average Rating:6.03 Overall Rank:4066]

The root of all evil... but you can call me cookie.

(thoia)

United States
Gainesville
Florida

Put the cards together and the wave in the background moves from card to card and gets more intense as it grows.

0 comments

Posted Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:28 pm

52. Board Game: Pompeji [Average Rating:6.34 Overall Rank:2405]

Kolja Geldmacher

(Flashhawk)

Germany

Niedersachsen

I don't know if it is a valid addition but in this game you build a continuous cityscape like this:

0 comments

Posted Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:56 pm

53. Board Game: Dominion: Seaside [Average Rating:8.22 Unranked] [Average Rating:8.22 Unranked]

Ender Wiggins

(EndersGame)

Three cards (Island, Pirate Ship, Native Village) form a single image, matching the artwork on the player mats.

0 comments

Edited Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:34 am
Posted Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:17 am

54. Board Game: Day & Night [Average Rating:6.69 Overall Rank:1186]

Tim Mierz

(TimMierz)

United States
Cheshire
Connecticut

The individual illustrations are great, but even the Day tiles come together to from a larger image, as seen on the unpunched sheets:

2 comments [Hide]

Posted Wed Nov 4, 2009 4:02 pm

Valentijn Eekels

(Valentijn_Eekels)

Netherlands
Haarlem

The tile images are actually taken from one single big image.

This image tweaked and combined is also the background of the box. I sed these single two paintings for almost all components of the game.

Posted Wed Nov 25, 2009 11:16 am
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

Edward Jamer

(newuser)

Canada
Fredericton
NB

Valentijn_Eekels wrote:

The tile images are actually taken from one single big image.

...

This image tweaked and combined is also the background of the box. I sed these single two paintings for almost all components of the game.

Very cool!

Posted Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:12 pm
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

55. Board Game: Im Reich der Jadegöttin [Average Rating:6.46 Overall Rank:2956]

Martin Cassel

(Marfried)

Canada
Montréal

In Entdecker: Im Reich der Jadegöttin, you collect sets of tiles that add up to a statue

0 comments

Posted Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:00 am

56. Board Game: Zoo Mix Max [Average Rating:5.43 Unranked]

Jurica Hladek

(joezg)

Croatia
Zagreb

1 comment [Hide]

Edited Mon May 24, 2010 9:11 am
Posted Mon May 24, 2010 8:57 am

Fritz Mulnar

(superjosef)

Germany
Nuremberg
Bavaria

Posted Mon Sep 5, 2011 4:08 pm
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

57. Board Game: Famiglia [Average Rating:6.84 Overall Rank:648]

Y Kim

(krit1789)

United States
Chicago
Illinois

When I looked at the cards, this geeklist occured to my mind immediately.

Image by André Kretzschmar (toob)

1 comment [Hide]

Posted Wed Dec 29, 2010 11:11 pm

Ender Wiggins

(EndersGame)

Great addition. Each of the four families in the game has the same backdrop, which makes a continuous image.

For example, the background artwork on these three cards features a bar called "Friedman's Bar 'N Mart".

Edited Mon Jan 24, 2011 1:09 pm
Posted Mon Jan 24, 2011 9:01 am
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

58. Board Game: Dice Town [Average Rating:6.89 Overall Rank:436]

Eugene Loh

(Elyt007)

Singapore
Singapore

This game is the first one that popped up into my head when I first saw this list.

I have NO idea how to make the pictures larger either.

1 comment [Hide]

Posted Wed Jan 26, 2011 11:57 pm

Ender Wiggins

(EndersGame)

Posted Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:12 am
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

59. Board Game: Aladdin's Dragons (card game) [Average Rating:6.40 Overall Rank:2679]

Y Kim

(krit1789)

United States
Chicago
Illinois

The Hero cards form a single picture.

2 comments [Hide]

Edited Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:27 pm
Posted Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:10 am

Ender Wiggins

(EndersGame)

Thanks for this great addition!

Posted Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:35 am
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

Y Kim

(krit1789)

United States
Chicago
Illinois

Oh, now I see how to make the picture bigger. Learning by examples! Thanks!

Posted Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:29 pm
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

60. Board Game: Crazy Race [Average Rating:5.87 Overall Rank:4526]

Andrew Miller

(Welshmilla)

Wales
Swansea
Neath Port Talbot

The boxes from Crazy Race, Station Manager and Mogul combine to form a single image:

1 comment [Hide]

Edited Mon Jun 13, 2011 1:33 pm
Posted Mon Jun 13, 2011 1:27 pm

Fritz Mulnar

(superjosef)

Germany
Nuremberg
Bavaria

is that verdi on the left?

Posted Mon Sep 5, 2011 4:07 pm
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

61. Board Game: Guardians [Average Rating:6.27 Overall Rank:2941]

Ilya Baranovsky

(Ilya 77)

Russian Federation
Novosibirsk

Triptychs on stronghold cards:

0 comments

Posted Mon Sep 5, 2011 4:03 pm

62. Board Game: The Kingdoms of Crusaders [Average Rating:6.31 Overall Rank:4186]

Ender Wiggins

(EndersGame)

The artwork in this game features fragments from larger works about the crusades by 19th century artist Gustave Doré.

For example, the following pair of cards forms a single image which is part of Dore's "The Ottomans Penetrate Hungary":

Here are several other polyptychs featured in the game, along with the original artwork:

For more information and more pictures, see:

Beautiful polyptych artwork: combine pairs of cards for a single picture

0 comments

Posted Fri Oct 7, 2011 7:24 am

8 comments [Hide]

Post Comment

Orlando Ramirez

(dirkgent001)

United States
Manor
Texas

This is a really cool list! I didn't realize how many games did this, and I really like it.

Posted Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:00 pm
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

Show 3 more comments...

Ender Wiggins

(EndersGame)

dbuel wrote:

I think the word you want is "polyptych."

Quite so, thanks for pointing that out!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyptych

Posted Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:17 pm
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

Was George Orwell an Optimist?

(Sphere)

United States
Corvallis
Oregon

I can't believe nobody has added Busen Memo. They did and it got zapped, right?

Posted Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:52 pm
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

Cate

(Cate108)

United States
Milwaukee
Wisconsin

No good deed goes unpunished.

Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering, There's a crack in everything, That's how the light gets in. - Leonard Cohen

Woelf wrote:

Great list!

If you took all the cards from Arkham Horror (and its expansions), could they be arranged into a photomosaic of something unspeakable, or would the mere attempt drive a person insane?

Both of these are the same option!

Posted Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:49 am
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote

Jonan Jello

(Hex_Enduction_Hour)

United States
the enclave Newark
California

Cedar Waxwing & Western Scrub Jay

Fun and interesting thread, Ender. (I found it through a link on a Jamaica image)

Posted Thu Jan 5, 2012 3:36 pm
- Choose your Dice
  - d4
  - d6
  - d8
  - d10
  - d12
  - d20
  - d100
  - Help
  - Roll
  - Comment (Optional)
- Reply
- Quote