Collectible Card Games--What's It All About?

 

If words like “Pokemon”, “Magic: The Gathering”, “Five Rings”, or “Yu-Gi-Oh” ring a familiar bell without necessarily meaning anything to you, you just might be the parent of a child who plays a collectible card game. Opinions vary, but these card games have had a major impact on today’s youth—and even on many adults! There’s no denying that this recent fad has grown into a powerful force in the gaming industry. Yet, the reactions of many parents to their child’s interest in these games is merely an indulgent smile hiding a uncomprehending vacancy in the eyes. Just what is a “Lugia” anyway?

 

This incomprehension is unfortunate—especially when you consider the good that can come from these games. Is there bad associated with trading card games? Certainly. No matter what the subject, you’re bound to find someone who doesn’t agree with or dislikes it. Critics are numerous and often vociferous. Certain trading card games should be reserved for a older audiences. Much like movies, television programs, or video games, the themes and material used to create some trading card games are more mature than others. Parents should be aware of this and take whatever action they deem appropriate.

 

At the same time, a lot of good can come from these games. Players learn valuable lessons that, believe it or not, can be applied in the real world.

 

A Little History

Card games have been around for a very long time. Documented use of cards first appeared in tenth century China. Since that time, cards have been used in any number of games.

 

The current trend of collectible card games started with the debut of Magic: The Gathering in 1993. Designed by Richard Garfield, this fantasy-based card game is still going strong. Magic: The Gathering is credited with creating the new genre of collectible card games (CCG). Since 1993, CCGs have popped up one after another. From entirely original concepts (such as Warlord or Magi-Nation) to cartoons (like Dragonball GT or Kids Next Door) to movies (like Harry Potter, Star Wars, or X-men) to sports (like NFL Champions or NBA Showdown)…the list is incredibly long and varied when you look at the source material for CCGs.

 

Despite all this variety, the game mechanics—both for playing and collecting—remain basically the same. Let’s first take a look at the collecting side of CCGs

 

Collecting

CCGs effectively hit two markets: collecting and gaming. Admittedly, many players are both a collector and a gamer. Still, there are those who get involved simply because they “gotta get ‘em all.”

 

CCG fans start out by purchasing cards. These purchases are generally for any of the following:

 

Starter kits. Starter kits come with a set of cards that can be used immediately for two people to play the game. The included cards are generally basic cards that allow for speed of learning. Rules of play also come in these kits. You may also receive other accessories—like a playing surface or dice.

 

Starter decks. Starter decks—or tournament decks—are a set of cards meant for one player. These cards are a designed more for those who wish to play a certain theme or strategy.

 

Theme decks. Most CCGs have themes, factions, or groupings that appeal to different playing styles. Theme decks answer the call for more style-specific cards.

 

Booster packs. Booster packs are the most common form of CCG distribution. Booster packs include randomly chosen cards and generally come in quantities of 15 to 20.

 

Those who get bit by the collecting bug, or those who are serious about their strategies, will also purchase single cards. Single card purchases are usually made for those hard-to-find or rare cards. Sometimes these cards can get fairly expensive. The Power of Nine card from Magic: The Gathering purportedly reached prices exceeding $1,000 at one time!

 

After the purchases are made for the cards, CCG fans will trade each other for other cards. Deals and bargains are struck or challenges made in order to get the desired cards. Often, cards are put on the line during a match or offered as a prize in a tournament.

 

Gaming

Let’s face it, there’s only so many ways that you can lay down a card—no matter how many different types of card games there are out there. CCGs share several common practices that determine game play.

 

The cards. The cards obviously play the major role in a CCG match. These cards have depictions of what they are as well as reference text that explains what the card does.

 

Card position. The manner in which a card is laid down says a great deal about what action the player is taking. Laying it face down, face up, at a right angle, or parallel can mean different things in different games (such as offensive, defensive, hidden, or many other meanings).

 

Turns. Game play usually follows a pattern of drawing cards, playing the cards (by laying them down or changing the cards already played), battles between the cards played, and discarding.

 

Matches generally last until one players resources—cards or points—are exhausted.

 

What CCGs Can Do for Your Child

The classic games that you grew up with are still out there, and many children still play them. The nostalgic value of seeing your child playing these games—games that you understand and can play with them—may baulk at the idea of CCGs. Your concerned parent side, however, shouldn’t baulk at all (as long as your children aren’t delving into the games meant for older audiences).

 

CCGs teach kids valuable lessons. Even the cartoons will generally have some sort of moral behind them—teamwork, individuality, friendship, honesty, courage, morality, etc. But the games themselves also teach valuable lessons.

 

Strategy

All games have some sort of strategy behind them; CCGs are no exception. No surprise, right? The surprising part of CCG strategy is its complexity. Not only do players have to decide a course of actions, but they have to do so based on their opponents actions and the completely random drawing of cards. Strategies aren’t completely planned out before each match. There’s a lot of thinking on the fly, shooting from the hip, or flying by the seat of your pants.

 

Additionally, a very important part of CCG strategy is resource management. Players have a limited amount of resources—cards, points, and other things—they can use to win. Sometimes they may have to sacrifice one resource in order to further their strategy while at other times it’s best to hold things in reserve.

 

So how would CCG strategy apply to the real world? Think of your own job: Do you have to plan out a strategy and then follow it? Do you ever have to react to unexpected situations that may arise? Do you have resources that have to be managed? The correlations are there—and these are kids that are learning these lessons!

 

Negotiation

Collecting is a great venue for kids to develop negotiation skills. CCG fans can improve their collections by trading cards for those that they want. During such trades, these players will make offers and counter offers until both parties are happy. This means understanding what you have, the value of what you want, the maximum you’ll offer, the minimum you’ll accept, and how to get the best deal. Traders learn when to push a deal and when to back off; they learn how to say “no”; and they learn how to interact and react to other people. Granted, some collectors get “taken,” but even this is a valuable lesson.

 

Is there a real world application for these skills? Need we even discuss that?

 

Financial Savvy

A child’s interest in CCGs is a great time to begin teaching them financial responsibilities. Rather than pulling out your own wallet for booster packs, have your children use their own money. Provide opportunities for them to earn an allowance that they can spend on whatever they want. Then don’t buckle when they come to you asking for more money to buy that next booster pack. They’ll quickly learn how to manage their own finances in order to get the things that they want.

There’s one other lesson that collectors learn: knowing the value of what they have. Remember the Power of Nine card? While the chances of any given card ever reaching that value again, many cards do reach values of 10, 15, and even into the 30s. Consider that each booster pack comes with an average of 12 cards and sells for average of $3.00. That’s roughly $.25 per card. For a card to go from the invested quarter to just $5.00 is an incredible return on that investment.

 

Organization

You could walk into a CCG fan’s room and find a complete and utter disaster of clothes and toys strewn everywhere. But look at that fan’s card collection and you’ll probably see each card tucked carefully into a card protector and then organized into boxes or binders. While it may not be happening right now, eventually those organizational skills will be employed in other aspects of their lives.

 

Social Skills

Rather than sitting at home on the couch playing hour after hour of video games, CCG fans are out there interacting with each other. CCGs require another player—someone to pit your deck against. Playing these games brings individuals together in a setting where socializing can happen. And its not just one type of kid, either. From the more sports oriented to the more intellectually minded, all kids get caught up in the fun of the game. It’s not uncommon at all to see kids who would normally never socialize together play against each other in a CCG match.

 

More Than Just a Cute Game

CCGs are a relatively recent introduction to the gaming world, but they have taken that arena by storm. And by all indications, they’re not going to be going anywhere soon. But for parents who have a child involved with CCGs, that’s good news—especially when you consider all the great lessons that child is learning.

 

A “Lugia”, by the way, is a rare Pokemon card that regularly sells for between $25 to $50 on eBay.