An Introduction to Board Gaming - Part 2 - CCGs

The first part of my introduction to board games focused on German games - an incredibly popular type of game that has spread far beyond Germany and into households across the world. Players without time to play long, drawn out games of conquest that sometimes seem to drag on longer than a Tolstoy novel find themselves able to squeeze in numerous German-style games during a games session. Not only that, but the ease of teaching allows newer players to feel less intimidated when learning these games.

But I digress. That's already been covered here. Obviously German style games aren't for everyone, nor are they necessarily the only type of game that people play. With this week's article, i'm going to focus on the huge phenomenon of Collectable Card Games, or as they are often more simply known as, CCGs.

Collectable Card Games, while not board games (I know, maybe I should be calling this an Introduction to Board and Card Games!), are often a big step up in complexity from normal card games. Not only that, but many use playmats as 'boards', and while these aren't always necessary, they do help to generate an aesthetic atmosphere that is often not present in non-collectable card games. The illustrations on the cards themselves are also instrumental in creating a certain unique feel for the game. Here we will take a look at exactly what CCGs are, and how to get started in the densely populated and often intimidating world of collectable games.

An Introduction to…

CCGs

Basics – Why Collect?

All Collectable Card Games follow the same basic formula - Starter decks (these are often, but not always, 'fixed' decks in which the exact same cards are available in each deck with the same title, much like a traditional deck of cards) are sold, and usually each player will need one of these. Starter decks often contain more than just the main deck of cards that are used for play - playmats, dice and game counters are sometimes also included. Booster packs (these are sold much like traditional packs of trading cards - minus the bubblegum!) can then be bought which allow players to modify the starter decks. Booster packs contain a varying amount of cards depending on the game, but most games tend to have booster packs that contain a large amount of common cards, a smaller amount of uncommon cards and an even smaller number of rare cards. I can almost hear you screaming at me, "But why should I bother buying booster packs when starter decks contain everything I need to play?". The answer isn't necessarily an easy one. The unique selling point of CCGs is that first C - Collectable. Game publishers rely on the booster packs to continue earning revenue from the game, and players continue buying booster packs in order to increase their collection of cards and widen their strategic options within the game.

Deck Building

Deck building is a fun way to play with the cards without actually playing the game, and is an addictive and enjoyable pastime in itself. Different games allow players to modify games in different ways - for example, in Pokémon, decks must be 60 cards, and no more than 4 of each type of Pokémon, Trainer or Support card etc is allowed, but Energy Cards are allowed in any quantity. Another example is the Call of Cthulhu CCG - in this game no more than 4 types of any card are allowed in a deck (so 4 maximum of any card with the same title), and cards must be a minimum of 50 cards, with no upper limit. In the VS System, again no more than 4 of each character, plot twist or location is allowed -unless the character is marked with the Army keyword, which allows an unrestricted amount to be placed in the deck. VS System allows a minimum of 60 card decks, with no maximum. Once players have familiarised themselves with a game, it is often easy to build powerful decks or decks with combinations of cards that work very well together. It’s very exciting to put a deck together and then test it during actual play – it’s incredibly satisfying to see your own customised deck in action.

Tournaments

For those wishing a more competitive style of game, CCGs can often be played within the context of a tournament, normally organised by the company who publishes the game. For example, Wizards of the Coast (publishers of Magic: The Gathering) have a branch called the DCI, who handle and adjudicate all official Magic tournaments worldwide. Each player takes their deck and in some cases a smaller ‘sideboard’ deck. They have to use the same deck throughout the tournament, although changes are allowed between games by substituting cards from the ‘sideboard’ into the main deck. Each round normally consists of three games against an opponent within a time limit, with points being awarded to the winner. Most CCG tournaments are based on the ‘Swiss style’ meaning that players who gather a similar amount of points will be allocated to play against each other. In a wider context, attendance and success at tournaments will result in a player’s ranking increasing, and these rankings are available for viewing online, with players being listed globally, nationally and regionally. Tournament play does provide a very exciting experience and a chance to greatly improve the level of your game. If you do not mind its competitive nature, then it can be very satisfying, especially as you can see how you rate against players worldwide. The main drawback is that the high standard of decks being played will mean a greater investment and a need to purchase more rare cards, some with value of up to £15 each. However, once you have a deck, it can remain competitive for around a year, and the outlay is probably no more than for someone who takes a sport seriously.


In short, CCGs often require a significant time investment – not just to play, but also to construct decks in order to compete against opponents and their ever-evolving decks. The time investment is not all that is required – a big factor is the amount of money required to build up a collection of cards. There are many great CCGs still available – there was an explosion of CCGs in the mid to late 90s, of which only a few remain – and we’ll take a look at some of them one by one in order to give you some information on where is best to start:

Magic: The Gathering is probably the single most popular CCG in production and was first published in 1993. In this game, each player assumes the role of a duelling wizard attempting to reduce their opponent’s life score to zero. The two main types of card in the game are spell cards and land cards. Spell cards are played by paying a cost in ‘mana’, or power, drawn from the land cards. Spells and land fall into one of five ‘colours’, White, Black, Blue, Red or Green. Each colour broadly represents a type of magic – blue is water magic, green is nature magic, red is fire magic and so on. Magic is a good place to start looking at CCGs and its popularity means that it is never hard to find someone to play with. Local game stores will often host games to take part in or help you meet other players.

Pokémon is an excellent choice for the beginner, younger player or video game enthusiast. It’s very attractive visually and has very easy to learn rules with simple gameplay, which can be understood and enjoyed by anyone. The deck building is easy to pick up, and the game is widely available with many different and well tuned starter decks. Different starter decks from the same series (eg Emerald, Unseen Forces, Deoxys) are well designed to be balanced against each other, which makes buying boosters less of an issue. An excellent introduction to CCGs which is always immense fun to play, but far less complex than other CCGs.

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a wildly popular game, based on a Japanese Manga comic. A step up in complexity from Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! has players summoning monsters, traps and spells – sometimes secretly – to whittle their opponent’s life points down to zero. A very satisfying game, but prone to nastiness with regards to the secret traps or spells that are set (it is very frustrating to carry out a well thought out plan only to have it thwarted by a series of traps and spells, none of which could have been properly planned for). For slightly older players than Pokémon is necessarily aimed at (maths skills are also required on a larger scale than with Pokémon) who don’t mind the often frustrating nature of the trap and spell cards. Yu-Gi-Oh! also has a very good online version which can be played against opponents from all over the world from the comfort of your home PC. This eliminates most of the cost issues with traditional CCGs as it is much cheaper to play and to amass cards, which are collected and stored ‘virtually’ on your PC. However, please note that knowledge of the rules of the CCG is required before you play the Yu-Gi-Oh! Online game, as no tutorial is provided.

The Call of Cthulhu is a CCG aimed at older teenagers and adults - with sometimes suggestive or graphic illustrations accompanied by lurid text, it is definitely not a game. for younger players. Based on the dark and disturbing works of renowned, pioneering horror writer HP Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu is a game that is initially hard to grasp but immensely rewarding to play. There are many factions which can be mixed and matched to suit a player’s style, and it is easy to build decks that reflect certain themes or stories from Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Thematically very good, consistently well illustrated and brilliantly designed, this CCG is – in my opinion - one of the most compelling games currently available (collectable or otherwise). The biggest drawbacks are that it is often hard to find opponents, it is fairly tough to learn, and due to the large number of factions and cards available it can be quite expensive to get enough cards to build the deck that you want.

This brings us to the end of the second ‘An Introduction to…’ article. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them at the link below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

By Jason M. Brown, with additional input from Chris Walkley