Released in 2003, Ophidian: 2350 is a 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...

 (CCG) created by Ophidian Games and Fleer

Fleer

The Fleer Corporation, founded by Frank H. Fleer in 1885, was the first company to successfully manufacture bubblegum; it remained a family-owned enterprise until it was taken private in 1989....

. It uses a play structure called the Flow rather than the normal turn-based system typically used in the genre.

Backstory

Ophidian 2350 takes place in the year 2350, where a strange reptilian race known as Ophidians run gladitorial arenas for humans, aliens and demons alike. Combat consists of one team pitted against another, and though competitors often die, the gladiator

Gladiator

A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...

s' DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 is often taken before the match to resurrect the fallen warrior.

Gameplay

Each player's team is made up of up to four gladiators, usually one of each victory point (VP) level (ranging from 1 to 4), but a team can technically be made up of any combination that adds up to 10. A player can win either by defeating an opponent's gladiators, by defeating gladiators worth a greater number of victory points after four waves (rounds) or by amassing 15 points worth of cheer from the audience.

Each side of the table is divided up into an action field, where powerful gladiators can attack and protect others from attacks, and a support field, where less powerful gladiators and supporting minions usually reside. Between waves, cards can move between the two fields as needed.

Some of the game mechanics are recognizable from previous games such as Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...

 - cards are "set" when activated, being rotated ninety degrees to show that they have been used, which is identical to "tapping" in Magic. However, the turns of previous CCGs are not present in Ophidian, instead replaced by the Flow.

The Flow

The Flow is the system that replaces turns in Ophidian, and allows both players to be active at one time, one "with the Flow" and the other without it. All actions are either positive (denoted by a plus), or negative (denoted by a minus). Players can play only when they have the Flow, and whilst positive actions allow one to keep the Flow and play additional actions, a negative Flow action gives Flow to the opponent. It is also possible to expend cheer to change an opponent's positive action into a negative action, and thus force a change in control of the Flow. Certain actions (responses) can be played even without the Flow.

When both players have no further actions to take, the wave (round) ends, with both sides taking a breather. When the next wave starts, the Flow begins with the player who has the most damage on his or her gladiators (both alive and dead).