Other / card collecting

Enough with football, soccer and basketball. We’re going obscure today as we take a look at one type of game in the world of professional mind sports: trading card games. The world of professional mind sports is as fascinating as it is competitive. The term “mind sports” is an umbrella designation and includes an array of different games and genres:eSportschesspokerstrategy games board games I hope to continue to explore this engrossing world of games in the future with more posts. Trading Card Games Our launching point into this world will be with a genre near and dear to my heart. Trading card games, also known as collectible card games (ccg), have always been alluring to me. I’ve played all three of the games we will discuss today to varying degrees. One appealing facet to trading card games that separate it from other games like chess or poker is the collecting element of it. I’ve always enjoyed collecting things ever since I was a small child. Sports cards, video games, music, I’ve always loved collecting them. I partly blame the marketing of the 90’s always trying to get us to collect one toy or another. It’s this side of trading card games that has always set it apart to me from other games. Today we are covering the three titans of trading card games and what makes them interesting. For the sake of brevity, I’ll avoid going into the rules and mechanics for each game, but I will provide some starter resources. Luckily they have video game version of that allow you to play the game without having to collect cards or find other people to play with. Now grab you deck and choose your card because this battle has begun~! Yu-Gi-Oh Brought to you by the gaming conglomerate Konami, Yu-Gi-Oh (YGO) was a cartoon and gaming staple of my childhood. For me, it always paled into comparison to the next entry on the list (based solely on personal preference), but if we are talking about popularity, it’s second to none. YGO set the Guinness World Record as top selling Trading Card Game, having sold 22 billion cards. YGO sales has helped make Konami the leading company of trade card sales. For me growing up, Konami was always associated with gaming almost exclusively. They’ve now almost abandon video games completely, except for Pro Evolution Soccer. Instead they focus now mostly on casino and pachinko machines. However, in the trading card world, Konami is still a trusted brand backing the YGO license. YGO is a strategy card game—similar to Magic the Gathering—something we will discuss in a bit, but perhaps not as in-depth and complex. That’s neither a good nor a bad thing and depends merely on your preference. Unlike Magic and Pokemon, YGO uses a board where players place cards. The game involves you battling your opponent using a variety of monsters and spells. Of course, there is the widely popular anime series that fans can watch. It’s a great way to get into the YGO world if you are keen on it. The YGO World Series is held every year in Japan. Players must qualify in regional tournaments to be invited to play in the World Series. Unlike the other entries, YGO doesn’t offer cash, but instead winners get prizes and a very rare forbidden card that can be sold for lots of money. During the Play Station 2 era, I played a lot of YGO Duelist of the Roses. The video game was a great a pretty good mix of the anime and card game, especially for that era of gaming. Konami ported YGO to almost every console and handled on the market. Anyone interested can easily check the game out on mobile with Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links.Getting Started with Yu-Gi-OhHow To Play Yu-Gi-Oh in 3 Minutes! (video) Official Yu-Gi-Oh Rule Book & Beginners GuideYGOPRO - Learning How to Play Magic: The Gathering If you are talking competitive trading card games, you are probably talking about Magic the Gathering. For trading card game lovers in the America, Magic is the name of the game. For many, look no further for the-be-all-end-all of trading card games. Magic boats a player base excess of 20 million. Players take the role as “planeswalkers,” powerful wizards that are able to pass through time and space, summoning powerful creatures to fight for you. Each player starts with a set of life points and take turns summoning and attacking each other creatures and wizards until one of them is defeated by draining all opponent’s life points. Magic is known for its iconic magic colors. These different forms of magic allow players to summon and play different cards. Decks are using a blend of two different colors of magic and lots of strategy goes into balancing decks. Like many trading card games, Magic relies on a mix of skill and luck. A lucky card pull could be all you need to defeat your opponent. The original rules for Magic included betting or placing antes on games in the form of cards from your deck with the winner getting to keep all the bet cards. Professional competitive Magic is held all through the world. Amateurs and casual tournaments can be found at almost any comic and gaming shop. Magic: The Gathering World Championship are held each year. Players from all over the world compete for cash prizes in excess of $100,000. The DCI, the Magic governing body, oversee all official tournaments. With lots of money on the line and a game steep in lore and tradition, Magic: The Gathering is a must for any trading card fan. Getting Started with Magic Official How to Play Magic: The Gathering (video) Free to Play: Magic Duels Playing Magic: The Gathering: How and Where to Get StartedPokémon Trading Card Game I saved my personal favorite for last. These cards were ones I actually grew up collecting myself, although I never really got to play with anyone as I didn’t know anyone else who had the cards. Overshadowed by the more popular cartoon and video game series, the Pokémon Trading Card Game encapsulated all the sights and iconic figures from the show and games and delivered in a trading card game. As you might suspect, players take the role of a Pokémon trainer and use their Pokémon to battle each other. This is done by drawing and playing Pokémon into the playing field. Players will take turns attacking, blocking, using items and summoning Pokémon to defeat each other. The card game uses the classic rock-paper-scissors asymmetrical balancing where one element is strong against another while being weak against something else. Anyone familiar with the games and show will be right at home with the trading card game. The developers of the trading card game found Play! Pokémon, a governing committee tasked with oversight of Pokémon league play. This governing body organizes a wide array of different matches and tournaments. Players can compete in local and regional matches, winning prices like booster packs, badges, and other collectables. Additionally, major international competitions are held around the world with thousands of dollars on the line. Besides the nostalgia, there is something else that makes Pokémon special compared to the rest. It has a deep and expansive world and lore. Pokémon spans decades now with many different generations of Pokémon. There are multiple TV series, lots of movies, and even more video games. If you are wanting to get into a trading card game with massive world building and lore, look no further because nothing beat Pokémon. Getting Started with PokemonHow to Play Pokémon TCG Tutorial (video) Getting Started With The Pokémon Trading Card GamePokemon TCG OnlineUse Your Head I hope you had fun taking a glimpse into the fascinating world of competitive trading card games. Mind sports are a great way to exercise one of the most important muscles in our bodies: your brain. I hope this is just the first of many more publications about the topic. Be sure to let me know in the comments if you have ever played any of the above mentioned games or if you collected any other trading cards. Until next time. _______________________________________________________________________________________