Collectible Card Game


A Collectible Card Game (CCG) is a type of board and computer game. Unlike traditional card games, collectible card games use special cards that are similar to trading cards. In large collectible card games, there can be thousands of different cards. It is not possible to purchase all existing cards at the same time; Instead, players are expected to purchase cards in small sets and build their individual decks. The actual game between players is played using different rules, which can vary greatly from game to game.

Common features of the CCG

There are a large number of CCGs from different publishers. Each CCG has its own structure, its own rules, its own maps. However, they do have some things in common.

  • For the most part, TCGs are strategy games with an element of randomness.
  • Players make their own decks of cards. There are a huge number of cards in the TCG, far more than can fit into the deck.
  • Cards are sold as random sets. Therefore, in order to build a competitive deck, you have to not only buy these sets in the store, but also buy, sell, and trade cards from hand to hand.

Details

In addition to the general rules described in the instructions, each card has its own effects and features, described right on the map. In addition, the cards are decorated with drawings, usually corresponding to the meaning of the map.

In TCG, the player builds his own deck (for beginners, formed sets are sold - "starters"). Deck building allows you to diversify the game and allows the player to use their own strategy and tactics. Since the number of different cards in the TCG can be orders of magnitude larger than the standard deck size, and they themselves often have unique properties, the number of possible decks becomes almost infinite. However, there are usually few truly competitive decks, especially within a single edition.

In addition to starters, there are also "boosters" — sets of randomly selected cards. For example, in Magic: The Gathering, a booster pack consists of 15 cards of varying rarity. Given that TCGs typically have dozens of card varieties of each rarity, it's easy to see that rare cards are much more expensive and can be hard to get.

While some games use dice rolling, the main element of randomness is, of course, provided by the cards themselves, which can be broken down into thousands of options. A "misalignment" can allow you to win one game against anyone, even the strongest professional. True skill is considered to be the ability to build decks that are minimally prone to "misalignment".

These games are called collectibles because the number of cards is much greater than the number of cards used by one player, and it is impossible to purchase all existing cards at once. In addition to the gameplay itself, it becomes important for the player to get cards that are considered rare. It can be said that the process of exchanging, buying, selling cards is one of the components of the pleasure received from TCG by players and the income received by manufacturers. Many players build themed collections; For example, in Magic: The Gathering, it's common to collect cards of the same type of creature — elves, angels, beasts, and many others.

In many CCGs, it is customary to issue a limited edition of special iridescent foil cards. They are usually valued at one and a half to two times more than ordinary ones and are very often collector's items.

History

Collecting baseball cards is a traditional hobby in the United States, dating back to the mid-19th century. From baseball cards to the CCG, there is only one very important step: codified rules and features written on the cards. And this step was overcome by the Allegheny Card Company, which released a set of 104 cards with images of baseball players. The game proved unpopular and is now known only to collectors.

The concept of the TCG was again developed by mathematician Richard Garfield with the release of Magic: The Gathering in 1993. In 1997, Wizards of the Coast was granted an umbrella patent covering virtually all types of collectible games (current and future). Patent-related litigation between Wizards of the Coast and Pokémon USA has been resolved out of court, with details sealed.