When I was a kid I collected Star Wars cards and football stickers. Now, forty years later I have started again. and instead of walking around with huge piles of "swapsies" and trading with my mates, it is all on my phone and i can trade with anyone in the world, at any time. The two main apps are from Topps and Quidd. Topps have been doing this for decades and were what I collected as a child. Quidd are the new kids on the block.
I'm not going to go into detail on what each of the apps does. Instead I will just compare and contrast their features.
With Quidd each fandom has a section and within that section you have sets of cards. So you only really see a dozen or so on screen at a time.
They both do animated cards and holographic cards and most have backs to them. One neat feature of the Quidd cards is that you can use them in your phones messenger app. Once activated you can drag them into conversations.
The downside with Quidd is that they seem to be pushing it more as a social media platform than a trading platform. There lots of options for making pretty pictures with your cards and stickers and sharing them with other users. To get to the trading screen you have to click around a bit.
One thing that Topps is missing is some sort of exchange. Lots of people want to trade from one Topps app to another. You have to do that off-line and hope you are not being scammed.
We would do cards, stickers, gifs (and animated cards). Obviously the cards would be usable as stickers in other apps. One neat feature would be to trade your virtual card in for a physical card. Here the virtual one gets destroyed and you get small/medium/large printed one to replace it.
Most sets should come with a pay option from the start. The main new feature would be an exchange. If you have a really rare card then why not sell it. It is going to happen, so you might as well cater for it.
Finally as the cards live on a blockchain somewhere, they exist even if the site goes down.
I'm not going to go into detail on what each of the apps does. Instead I will just compare and contrast their features.
Cards
While both apps break the cards down into separate sets, Topps displays them all in one long scrolling list, with an index down the side to jump to particular sets. You can filter it and order it in different ways. There is a faction thing which I never really understood.With Quidd each fandom has a section and within that section you have sets of cards. So you only really see a dozen or so on screen at a time.
They both do animated cards and holographic cards and most have backs to them. One neat feature of the Quidd cards is that you can use them in your phones messenger app. Once activated you can drag them into conversations.
Trading
This is one of the most important features and both apps approach it from different angles. Both apps have a scrolling notice board of users messages/trades. In Topps it is purely messages saying what you wish to trade. Clicking on it starts a trade with that user in which you can trade any cards. With Quidd, it is one card that a particular user wants to trade. Clicking on it starts a trade with that user for that card. Topps trading is a list of steps, what do you want to get, what do you want to trade away, are you sure, and the trade is done. With Quidd there is one screen with your cards and their cards on it. You add the cards to get and give in any order and click accept. Another neat feature of Quidd is that you can see the trades being built. You could add a card to get and then see the other person take it away.Users
Both apps let you build a friends list of other users. Topps has a half hearted attempt at chat between users. You can comment on a trade or @them in the message window, but it doesn't really work. In Quidd, you can chat in real time in and outside of a trade.The downside with Quidd is that they seem to be pushing it more as a social media platform than a trading platform. There lots of options for making pretty pictures with your cards and stickers and sharing them with other users. To get to the trading screen you have to click around a bit.
Shop
Both apps have a shop. This is where you get new cards. Both give you so many credits a day which you can in turn spend on packs of cards. Different packs cost different prices. Most have the option of paying in cold hard cash for them as well. That is where they make their money. Topps caused an outcry when they introduced crystals, which were their way of making people pay for things. All the really nice cards can only be brought for crystals.One thing that Topps is missing is some sort of exchange. Lots of people want to trade from one Topps app to another. You have to do that off-line and hope you are not being scammed.
Content
The Topps star wars app just does star wars. It does update for each new film that comes out and completing a whole set usually gets you an award card. These are extra desirable. Quidd does fandoms. The main one is Marvel followed by Rick & Morty. It has some HBO shows and a lot of cartoons. It does cards, stickers, little 3d toys and gifs. Its sets are graded easy to difficult. The harder the set, the rarer or more expensive the cards are. It has to be said, that if Quidd has two dozen fandoms, only about six are really active.Conclusion
Quidd is certainly the smarter and newer app. It does a lot of things that Topps could only dream about. the thing with both is that to get the decent cards you have to pay money. The cards may be rare but if the Topps/Quidd server goes down, they become non existent.Postscript
So, which of these features would I build into NeoCards? Probably the cards and messages screen from Topps. More often than not, you want cards from a particular set, not a particular card. Be good to have the option of both though. It would also be nice to scroll through all your cards with the option of grouping them by set. The main trade screen is a good idea, though Quidd does need a bit of streamlining.We would do cards, stickers, gifs (and animated cards). Obviously the cards would be usable as stickers in other apps. One neat feature would be to trade your virtual card in for a physical card. Here the virtual one gets destroyed and you get small/medium/large printed one to replace it.
Most sets should come with a pay option from the start. The main new feature would be an exchange. If you have a really rare card then why not sell it. It is going to happen, so you might as well cater for it.
Finally as the cards live on a blockchain somewhere, they exist even if the site goes down.
