Puvaca, BojanAlmeida, João P.Duarte, AntónioŠebek, Stjepan2026-05-182026-05-182025Puvaca, Bojan; Almeida, João P.; Duarte, António; Šebek, Stjepan (2025). Mapping user needs in the competitive trading card game community. In IX Regional Helix'25 Transforming regions through innovation, sustainability and collaboration. Bragança. p. 80-82. ISBN 978-972-745-355-9. DOI: 10.34620/978-972-745-355-9978-972-745-355-9http://hdl.handle.net/10198/36696Trading card games (TCGs) have evolved from locally rooted communities to globally connected networks of players who rely on online platforms for strategy discussion. Despite the increasing availability of digital tools, most do not adequately address the specific and complex needs of competitive players. This paper explores how lightweight, qualitative methods can help uncover user expectations within this globally dispersed and specialized community. A survey was distributed across various online TCG communities, to collect information about their practices and feelings about existing tools. The data was analyzed using empathy mapping to highlight user perspectives, and affinity diagramming to group recurring needs, behaviors, and frustrations. These methods helped uncover gaps between what current tools offer and what players require. The findings are used for the development of a new platform that assesses the specific needs of competitive TCG players. Future work will include continuous user feedback monitoring and localization efforts to serve international audiences more effectively. This study provides a replicable approach for researchers and designers working with specialized global userbases where standard UX methods may fall short.engconference paper10.34620/978-972-745-355-9