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Absolute Beginners: Cardgames
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Back in the dim and distant past, kids in Britain played Top Trumps. Top Trumps was great, although the gameplay left a little to be desired. You called out a statistic and if your mate's card wasn't higher, you won their card. Pretty soon you learned not to call out 'Tonnage' if you thought your mate had the Tank Transporter. But wouldn't it have been cooler if the next time you played you could have added some cards, like say the Ark Royal, and wiped the smile off his face when you said 'Tonnage: 28,143 fully laden!'
Welcome to the world of Collectible Card Games.
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That Old Black (Red, White, Green and Blue) Magic
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In 1993, top designer Richard Garfield and goateed gaming entrepreneur Peter Adkinson released a fantasy game in which you could do just that. Taking their lead from Baseball cards, they packed boosters of Magic: The Gathering cards with different rarities, making some of the more powerful cards much harder to come by. The idea wasn't to scalp potential gamers though; they just wanted to open up the play environment so you'd be constantly playing against different cards you hadn't seen before. Good in theory, but even Dick and Pete failed to estimate the insatiable desire to collect; Alpha edition sold out at the show they released it at, and a hastily reprinted Beta Edition sold out a few weeks later.
Immediately after the success of Magic, everyone had a Collectible Card Game out. Some of them - Shadowfist, L5R - are still going strong, but most of them forgot the most important point (it's not enough to be Collectible, you've also got to be a damn good game) and vanished into the Bargain Bin of Doom.
Is Magic still the best? How many other games will allow you to quit your job and write 'Professional Card Gamer' on your passport?
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Gotta Catch 'Em All
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Yes, thanks to the success of Pokemon most British adults would be forgiven in thinking that CCG's were aimed strictly at the kids market. But most Pokekids were into the collecting, and surprisingly few ever played the actual game. Sure, if it features primary colours and Cartoon Network styling, it probably isn't aimed at the thirtysomething gamer.
But that doesn't mean it isn't any good, either.
Sadly, the younger the play base the more likely you'll be forking out £20 bills for Ultra Secret Super Rares. Trust us - it's great to pull one, just painful to buy one.
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How Do I Start, and Why Would I Want To?
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The best way to start is to take part in a demo, where we can show you how to play a game in a few minutes. You can decide for yourself if the game is worth the candle with nothing to lose but time.
Once you get into them, the different card permutations of even the most basic CCG will keep you and your mates hooked even if you never feel the need to track down every Black Lotus ever printed. But where CCG's shine over roleplaying and boardgames is in organised play; the vibrant tournament scene brings gamers together like no other segment of the hobby, forging new friendships, encouraging competitive play, trading cards and formulating new strategies.
All this, and prizes too.
If it all sounds a bit intense, don't worry. The orgainised play side of Collectible Card Gaming is entirely optional. Two people can enjoy a game or two with just a basic starter each; add in a few boosters, and you can start adding or substituting cards into your deck for a bit of variety.
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What Should I Play?
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Some games are better suited to beginners, so here are a few Fan Boy Three top tips to what game might be right for you.
Magic: The Gathering (8th Edition) - the original and still arguably the best
Duelmasters - quick to pick up, quick to play and almost certainly going to be bigger than Yugioh this Christmas. We hope.
Warlord - picking up the rules is easy, and the random die roll helps reduce any card advantage a more experienced opponent might have.
Any New CCG - the less expansions the better. Get in on the ground floor and that fall from the roof doesn't look too intimidating! Fortunately set revisions periodically give the old stalwarts a new lease of life.
Any Old CCG - if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Most of the old CCG's have been around the block a few times and knocked off the rough edges. If people are still playing them ten years on, they're doing something right.
Organised Play - if you think you might want to play competitively, make sure you choose a CCG with a loyal, local fanbase. After all, without other players, you might as well be playing Patience!
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Card Rarity
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There are usually three types of card rarity; common, uncommon and rare. Rare cards are usually found one to a booster, and are some of the most powerful and game influencing cards out there. Sometimes a card game will also include foil cards, Super Rares or Ultra Rares. Which are all just like rares (only rarer).
Don't be put off by the thought of having to spend serious money picking up those power rares. Unless you intend playing at a seriously competitive level you can quite easily build a playable deck out of commons and uncommons.
If you do need the odd rare to make that Goblin Swarm deck zing, we've got plenty to choose from in our Fan Boy Three singles folders. Most rares weigh in at around the same price as a booster pack, although certain power rares, Ultra Rares and Super Rares can cost considerably more. But remember - it's first and foremost a card game. How collectible you want it to be is up to you.
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Foil Cards
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Many card games now include foil cards in booster packs. These come in two distinct flavours: Parallel sets (where either the rares or the entire set exist as additional foil cards inserted randomly in boosters) and Chase cards (where the foils are usually unique and highly collectible characters.
With a few exceptions, our foil pricing policy for parallel series involves bumping the price up to our next price band. So a foil common from Fan Boy Three will set you back 50p, an uncommon a £1 and a rare between 50p and £1 more than a non-foil version.
Chase foils are always priced individually.
Parallel Series: Magic, Warlord, L5R, Lord of the Rings
Chase Cards: Yugioh, Duelmasters, Warcry, WWE Raw Deal
Decipher's spot foil cards are among the finest in the industry, and if you're lucky to find a foil One Ring, some of the most highly sought after. Remember those exceptions I mentioned...
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Set Revisions
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Collectible Card Games are frequently victims of their own success. Magic naturally started the trend; almost immediately what had been initially planned as a stand alone game became an unwieldy behemoth as different cards interacted with each other in ways even Richard Garfield and his development team couldn't begin to imagine. Card games solved this dilemma by banning 'broken' cards or periodically resetting the game environment.
Set revisions drastically limit the playability of older cards, except in 'Open' or 'Unrestricted' formats. But it does mean the playing field is regularly levelled allowing new players the chance to get on board without having to remortgage the house to pick up a playset of Black Lotuses!
At Fan Boy Three we usually stock a card game as far back as the last major revision. While we might conceiveably have some earlier supplies in stock, they don't usually make it onto these web pages (Magic is a wee bit of an exception). If in doubt (as always), ask us and we'll see what we can do.
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Tournaments and Organised Play
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At Fan Boy Three we have three levels of Organised Play (events where our customers get together and play).
Level One: Try before you buy. Learn the basics of a new card game at one of our demo events. Perfect for new players - we'll even give you 10% off RRP on the day you demoed.
Level Two: Tuesdays through Fridays there's at least one CCG event every night at Fan Boy Three. These are for honing your card playing skills, checking out new strategies, and are designed for a more casual level of play. These events are Pay2Play - usually £3 (which we put towards booster prizes shared between all the participants); sealed booster draft events are naturally more expensive.
Level Three: Once you're ready our weekend tournaments are the perfect place to hone your competitive edge. We regularly schedule pre-releases, sneak peeks and regional qualifying events. Britains best players think nothing of travelling the length and breadth of the country in search of a good venue, and ours is one of the best, so don't be too discouraged if they hand you an ass whooping the first couple of times off the blocks. In time you'll be handing them back that ass in spades.
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