One of the most common reactions from someone new to our store is, “I had no idea there were this many games!” The truth is, we don’t even carry a fraction of what’s out there. Literally hundreds of games come out every month. A lot of them never make it past that first month. So, how do you choose a game?
The first thing I tend to ask is, “what kind of game do you
like to play?” This question can create its own confusion. “What kind of
game? Aren’t they all just board games?”
Well, actually, no, they aren’t. In fact a lot of them are card games, and we
don’t mean like Hoyle. There are even different types of card games! A quick
look says we have Card Games, Deckbuilding games, Collectible (or Trading) Card
Games, Living Card Games, Conquest, Cooperative games , Resource Management,
Dice games, Collectible dice Games, Miniature Games, RPG’s (role playing
games), Family, Kids, Party and Euro games.
Let’s break it down and talk about the different styles of
games. Let’s start with those card games. Some card games are just what you’d
expect. You take a deck of cards and play a game. Cribbage and Poker are
probably among the first ones you think of here. Maybe even Old Maid, Go Fish,
War or Snap come to mind. All of those games used the exact same set of cards.
Today’s category of Card games simply means that cards are the main vehicle for
how the game is played. Some examples are Flapjacks and Sasquatches, Love
Letter, Fluxx and Munchkin. All of your actions are taken from a set of cards.
All players are drawing form the same deck and playing from their hand. These
are a nice start to card games, because the cost of the game in front of you is
the full cost, unless of course, they come out with expansions, but you don’t
need those to continue to enjoy your game.
“Well, what about that Magic game?” You ask. Yep, that’s a
card game. It’s a member of a class called, Collectible Card Games, or Trading
Card Games. Let’s be honest for a minute, this game, this Magic game, is the
big boy on the shelf! It’s been around for more than 25 years, and frankly, it
sets the standard for all other Collectible Card Games. The big difference here
is that each person that’s playing gets to design their own deck to do what
they want. In Magic (or it’s more formal name, Magic: The Gathering) that’s
usually based around a color scheme. Pokemon ranks right up there with
longevity and popularity, and it’s also based around a color or “energy” type.A few others are YuGiOh, and Force of Will.
You can customize the deck you play with in so many ways! You can buy
individual cards, or you can take a chance on a booster pack. Booster packs are
a small package, between 8 and 15 cards that can be used to “boost” your deck.
The catch is, these are a random assortment of cards. The only thing you really
know is that they are from a set of 180-350 cards. Other than that, it’s pretty
much luck. The other option is to trade with other players for the cards you
think will make your particular deck better. CCG’s usually offer a great option
for 2 players, something that can be difficult to find in other games. They are
usually fairly quick to play, and a lot of stores offer organized play. “What’s organized play?” It’s just what it
sounds like. Stores, sometimes with the support of the company that makes the games,
will set aside certain days for players to meet up and play. That play may be
in the form of: casual, sit down and play anyone; League, slightly more guided
as to who you play and you typically gain points towards prizes for playing
and/or beating other league members; and tournaments, these are typically more
competitive than league or casual play. Tournaments will have assigned matches
and prizes based on wins or your final ranking. There’s a lot more to talk
about with this style, but I’ll save that for its own post! These can have a
fairly low entry point (ask us about free Magic decks for beginners!) and the
cost can go up as much as you’d like to spend, especially if you like
collecting, or decide to go super competitive, because there is a Pro Tour for
some of these games!
Moving on…”What? More types of card games?” Why yes! The
next one is a style known as a Living Card Game. “How does a card game live?”
These tend to be quite story based. The
extra cards tend to come out in smaller groups, all relating to a specific
aspect of the main story. Right now,
there are LCG’s focused around Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings,
Arkham Horror and NetRunner to name a few of the most common ones. For some of
the games, what deck themes win in large tournaments can change the focus of
the game for the next set! Players can really affect how their favorite games
go. These games can have a slightly higher cost to start if you try and go back
and buy all the extra packs that have come out, but you typically don’t need to
do that all at once! Plus, they tend to have less of a cost to keep playing
over the Collectible games.
Just one more! Are you still with me? This one is called a
deckbuilding game. It’s kind of a cross between a traditional card game and a
collectible/tradeable. The game box itself starts with all the cards you need.
But, everyone isn’t playing with the same cards. Throughout the game play, you
are going to pick and choose which cards you are going to use to play with.
Each person customizes how they approach the game, and that is reflected in
their card choices. Some great examples of these are Ascension, DC Deck
Builder, Dominion and Mystic Vale. These typically are going to run a flat
cost. A few of them have expansions, but you can keep playing over and over
with the single purchase!
Do the card games make a bit more sense to you? Did you find
a style of play that sounded interesting? I’d like to tell you that it’s that
simple, four types of card games and that’s it. But, there are always
exceptions! Some of those are games that combine more than one type of game.
CLANK! Is a Deckbuilding game that uses a board. Harry Potter: A Hogwarts
Battle is a Deckbuilding game that’s also a Cooperative game. Ultimate Werewolf and Werewolves of Miller
Hollow are card games that are party games; they are best played with a large
group. There’s a lot more I can say about card games, and I will, in future
posts. I know I said that LCG’s (Living Card Games) have a big story component,
but to be fair, Magic has a huge story component as well! I’ll plan an entire
post about nothing but the story of Magic (and it won’t be complete, there’s
just so much). But, for the next posts from me, we’ll look at a couple of
different categories of board games.
