From Cabin Fun to Custom Card Game: My Journey with HOCKEY ALLSTARS
One night at a friend’s cabin, Sami and Clinton introduced us to a drinking card game called HOCKEY. None of us had heard of it, but as a sports fan, I was eager to learn the “official” drinking game. It turned out to be easy to pick up and a blast to play. This experience inspired me to create a custom deck of cards with added dynamics, aimed at making the game more unique and appealing to NHL fans. Before I dive into my version, let me explain the original game.
HOCKEY Rules:
- Setup: Divide into teams (HOCKEY requires an even number of players) and sit in a circle so that each player is between two opponents. Deal 5 cards to each player from a standard 52-card deck, and place the remaining deck face down in the center as the draw pile.
- Game Play: Play proceeds clockwise. To start, a volunteer flips a card from the draw pile to establish the burn pile. This initiates the game’s “face-off,” where the card’s number determines who plays first. The goal is to match your card with the one on top of the burn pile. Teams that successfully match cards gain possession of the puck (we use a bottle cap), and scoring occurs when a team matches cards again while holding the puck.
- Drawing Cards: If you can’t match the top card, play one card and draw another from the pile to maintain a hand of five cards. Failing to draw a card before the next player’s turn means you cannot draw again for the rest of the period, leaving you shorthanded until there are no cards left in the draw pile.
- Scoring and Drinking: At the start, each player selects a “drinking buddy” from the opposing team. When a team scores, they earn a point, and the losing team’s drinking buddy decides how much they drink. After all three periods, the team with the highest score wins. In case of a tie, a sudden-death overtime determines the winner.
We enjoyed the game so much that I decided to create a custom deck to enhance the experience. I envisioned a deck where the card numbers represent real NHL players, whose jersey numbers match the card values. I spent hours designing the cards, choosing players based on jersey numbers, popularity, team, and era to ensure the deck was visually diverse and interesting.
Using Affinity Designer, I recreated the players’ iconic jerseys in card form. The final product, printed on card stock at Staples, was both costly and time-consuming, but the effort paid off. This project taught me a great deal about graphic design, NHL history, game logic, and printing.
Check out the designs below!
I hope this glimpse into my project shows how much effort went into creating this deck. Thanks for reading and for your interest!