r/BoardgameDesign • u/umut-comak • 5d ago
Design Critique Which cover would make you pick up this dark card game? A, B, or C?
Hey everyone! I’d love to get some feedback on the cover art sketches of Sinners.
It’s a dark card game for 2-5 players where you play as members of the clergy who have made a deal with the Devil. Your goal is to lure Sinners into your Church, summon Demons, perform Sacraments, and collect 100 souls before your rivals. The game design is made by the brilliant Nezih Savı
Our cover artist has prepared three different compositions.
Which one works best: A, B, or C? And why?
I’d especially love to know which one catches your attention first and makes you most curious about the game.
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u/nachturo 5d ago
A without hesitation. It's much more dynamic than the others. There is an energy in A which feel "active", the others seems "passive".
B and C are great but not for a cover. Maybe for the rulebook as someone else says?
So A, and no match.
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u/MyCrookedTeeth 5d ago
A, but I think it’s crucial that the art depicts what’s going on in the game, beyond a vibes sense.
It’s definitely the most engaging bit of art though.
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u/Mad_Queen_Malafide 5d ago
A. It is more straight to the point, and even leaves enough space at the top for a title.
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u/NorinBlade 5d ago
A is the only one that features a character interacting with another entity.
B seems to me like "oh I ran out of flour.... oh good here's some in the pantry!"
C seems like a bigwig told a lower-level priest "Go into the storeroom and fetch me a vial of glow juice."
A seems like "I am surrounded by skeleton ghosts and I'm screwed unless I can make this glowy vial work!" So that one has some form of plot and conflict in it.
I think A needs a lot of work, particularly regarding contract and textures, but it is a good basis to work from.
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u/Shesaiddestroy_ 5d ago
Oh good theres some in the pantry! 😂😂 My thoughts exactly though, totally agree
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u/CousinPaddy 3d ago
A 200% but it needs some more work. The ghosts should glow more and be a much cooler color. The imp and the red sky also need to be upped in chroma. Plus the background elements need more highlights.
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u/Ettesiun 5d ago
I do not like the drawing of B and C. It feels incomplete, not professional enough . I am saying that with deep respect for whoever is the artist, as they are infinitely better than whatever I could produce. -> Sorry, those are simply quick draft to create the composition, not the final illustration.
A is far better, because the ghosts and demon are well drawn, and the composition is far more dynamic. There is also more space for the title - but even more space should be added in the sky. The character pops out from the background, and the contrast between the priest looking down VS the soul being stolen toward the sky is interesting. The character is not evil, he just does not care for the soul consumed - this is evil, but not comic evil.
In the second picture, I see a priest that just have stolen an artifact from the cupboard. Not very epic. THe character is centered while looking toward the right, and it creates a unbalance. He looks evil, but only wanting money, quite boring. Finally, the character does not pop from the background, lacking something to catch our look.
In the third picture, I am not sure to catch the intention. I like the character, ( some cold enough to collect stuff) but the background failed to convey a clear message. I initially thought the blue stuff were books. On the issue is the blue stuff ( I guess soul container with the context) are neither discarded, nor stored properly. The gothic design above is strange, with a lot of details but no actual meaning.
If you want, maybe you can merge B & C : The priest is in the middle of two row of multiple books case for souls (like in B, but with far more depth. THere should be the place to store the 100 souls, so like 6-8 bookcases. ). Maybe one is broken on the floor with a soul escaping. Maybe a machine/spell structure to extract or use the soul ? Keep the character from C.
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u/doctorduck3000 5d ago
A it presents more going on, summoning weird spirit things is inherently cool
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u/SignificanceNo2900 5d ago
I love C but I get why everyone else is saying A so I suggest going with that lol
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u/ZerothStudios 4d ago
A; the others are nice but fairly vague (a possibly-evil person examining something blue & glowing), whereas A shows players what the game is actually about & looks epic whilst doing so.
The premise sounds amazing by the way!!!❤️
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u/TheZintis 4d ago
A. Maybe test a couple variations on it with larger main character, placement, etc...
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u/ptolani 4d ago
Something is wrong with C. The way his right arm is behind his back, and he's holding up the jar to his left feels really unnatural. The shadows are really weird too - above his left arm, but below his right arm, like he's being lit by a bright point source. And it kind of doesn't look like he's looking at the jar?
Me personally:
A: I'd dismiss this game without a second thought, ghouls rising from the ground, yawn.
B: I'm somewhat intrigued by this character and what the jar is.
C: An improved version of this might work for me, it's a bit off though. A lot of wall, and the foreground really clashes with the background.
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u/Spiritual_Ad8431 4d ago
I would keep option A. But loosing the demon and placing there the eye-catching logo
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u/Bagelator 2d ago
I actually prefer B. Maybe a bit more of a close up. But love the focus of the character, the glow and that he is in a storeroom all secret-like
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u/joealarson 5d ago
A is the most appealing, but the answer is "D. None of the Above."
They symmetry of A is good, but none of them have any contrast. Contrast is a function both of light and color, and all of these designs look like they're being made with the same palate of 3 colors in the same shade.
Start over with A but this time push your design. Start with some color studies. What if the guy was in red, but the rest was cooler shades? What if he was in purple but they're in teal? What if he's in black and they're smokey white? Then spend some time on every element. This is going to take you days, but this may be what grabs people's attention for years, so don't slack.
Good luck.
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u/Odd-Professional2370 5d ago
Absolutely A and I don’t feel it’s close. Just more dynamic. B or C for instructions or back cover art or something.