Cards & Boards

By CHEE YIH YANG
alltherage@thestar.com.my

AS I grow older, the lure of trading card games (TCGs) and boardgames that clock longer than one hour (I’m talking “official” play times that game companies quote, so actual set up and gameplay is closer to two hours), has all but vanished.

However, gone are the days when I actually had free nights to open TCG booster packs, buy (and sell) single cards online, download the latest cool decks, and then tune my own decks accordingly.

This was why Fantasy Flight Games’ Blood Bowl: Team Manager Card Game worked so well for me. My deck was only 12-cards thick, plus five smaller “team upgrades”. I ran the local “league”, even introducing home-brew dream teams and Star Players. It’s awesome fun, and has no “upkeep”. OK, the score-keeping was time consuming, but hey, it’s easy thanks to spreadsheets.

Another genre that’s catching my eye these days is deck-building games, or DBGs in short. Everyone starts with a small selection of cards and slowly builds their decks up by acquiring new cards from the game with every turn (hence the genre’s name).

Deck-building games are arguably most suited for casual (or time-strapped) gamers – like those in my playgroup, as they do not require players to buy additional cards to buff up the decks, which is what LCGs (living card games) and TCGs are all about.

There’s the Legendary: A Marvel DBG based on the famous Marvel Comics franchise, as well as DC Comics one by Cryptozoic Entertainment. Cryptozoic is also making a Lord Of The Rings DBG based on the 2001 movie trilogy.

Marvel DBG

I was looking forward to the Marvel DBG, having read some of the comics before. I mean X-Men was always my thing, so any game that features them was always going to get my curiosity going.

Unboxing Legendary Marvel felt a little deflating though, as honestly, I was expecting a lot more from the artwork. The layout of the imagery with the text also looked messy. And, while this sounds like a minor gripe, sleeving and prepping over 550 cards for play proved to be tiresome, even with four friends helping out.

Gameplay was solid though this game is definitely an interesting introductory-level type of card game, with some obvious synergy and strategies to be found, once your decks start accumulating enough key cards.

In a nutshell, you start by choosing from a bunch of hero “decks”, which are mini-piles of cards that depict the heroes’ special abilities and whatnot. You start with a very small deck with means of recruiting hero cards (SHIELD Agents) and killing villains (SHIELD Troopers).

Villains are drawn and enter the play, into five spaces within a gameboard (“The City”). Villains “escape” if you don’t kill them with your cards. Each card has a victory point on it, giving everyone a quick way to tally up and see who did the best. The Marvel game has co-operative and solo modes as well, making it accessible for one to five players. The players win when the Mastermind card is defeated four times in the game.

Overall, the Marvel DBG is a decent enough game if you’re looking for something simple, like if you’re a fan of the comics but not a hardcore gamer.

DC Comics DBG

I have to say that my first impression on the DC Comics DBG was excellent: the Jim Lee-inspired artwork really makes the cards look awesome. Mind you, I’m not even a DC Comics fan, being more of a Marvel/X-Men fan.

The card layout makes a lot of sense too, with the names and game text clearly jumping out at the players. There are over 200 cards and the gameplay is simple enough, with key differences from the Marvel game. In DC, you control a Hero card throughout the game (including icons such as Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash and Aquaman).

You also have a starting “deck” of cards that enable you to buy more cards to add to your deck, and defeat villains, who then go into your deck as well.

Eventually, your decks are beefed up considerably thanks to the heroes, equipment, superpowers and villains that are won, bought and defeated. DC DBG requires two to five players, and is a typical winners-take-all card game.

Overall, the gameplay is simpler compared to the Marvel one, and seems to clock faster too thanks to the easier mechanics. After playing both games, I have to say that there is very little comic book flavour and “realism” in either, especially DC.

That said, I would readily recommend the DC Comics DBG to any DC/comic fan, super casual gamers, or even veteran gamers that are looking for simpler pleasures compared to the time sinks that are TCGs and LCGs. I found it to be a great way to spend less than one hour with four other guys. And did I say that the cards look awesome?

E-mail the esoteric gaming nut at yihyang@gmail.com if you have comments, questions, hot gaming news and tips, and trading lists and deck ideas. Check out blog.rage.com.my and follow him @arcturus_mengsk.

THOSE of you familiar with trading card games (TCGs) will definitely love the fun and dynamic aspects of such games. The frequently refreshed pool of cards, in the form of new expansions, is the key unique selling proposition and main draw for fans and collectors alike.

This does necessitate repeat purchasing, and is something of a blessing as well as a “curse” of sorts for TCGs. What starts off as something fun and exciting often degenerates into an expensive past time.

Sure, you don’t need to buy every expansion that comes your way, and can certainly control the spending in packs (expansions are sold in packs that have random card assortments), but the temptation of the new stuff can be pretty strong, and in competitive play new cards are always pretty much essential.

Well, while TCGs look like they’re not slowing down anytime soon – Magic: The Gathering, for instance is still chugging along nicely almost two decades later – it was inevitable that a new breed of collectible card games is making their presence felt, and occupying gamers’ minds everywhere.

Easier, cheaper, better

Leading boardgames, role-playing games (RPG) and card games maker Fantasy Flight Games was one of the first to alter the TCG when they came out with their line of “living card games” or LCGs.

The core concept of LCGs is simple enough: Players share basic sets which have fixed assortments of factionally-aligned cards, sorted into ready-to-play decks. Expansions are also sold in fixed assortments, so there really is no need to buy packs and end up with tons of unnecessary duplicates.

Fantasy Flight’s LCGs now cover a gamut of the hottest fantasy franchises, such as A Game Of Thrones (based on the books, not the TV series), Lord Of The Rings and Warhammer Invasion (the fantasy franchise).

If anything, the cheaper-but-equally-fun proposition for LCGs is certainly compelling enough for them to have a loyal following.

“I’ve always been a big card game fan, but my wallet didn’t agree with the “collectible” nature of games like Magic: The Gathering. The LCG format shifts the focus from trying to collect all the rare, powerful cards to looking for combos within a fixed card pool,” said David Lian, digital consultant and partner of Warp Space Games. He has been playing A Game Of Thrones and Warhammer Invasion for one and a half years now.

“I love the A Game Of Thrones LCG particularly because of the theme, and its simple yet deep nature of gameplay. There are really a lot of strategic decisions to be made,” he explained.

His experience with TCGs, otherwise known as CCGs (collectible card games) back in the earlier days, was pretty much a mixed bag, due to a variety of factors. Availability and high “upkeep costs” were among the factors cited by him for eventually giving up on TCGs, and moving on to LCGs.

“I’ve actually played my other card games – Magic, Legend Of The Five Rings, and even the old BattleTech, Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings CCGs. However, the games I loved playing either got discontinued (such as Star Wars) or became an endless pursuit of never ending card cycles (such as Magic). It’s not much fun when the CCG market is driven largely by competitive play and even casual gamers insist on playing with only “legal” cards”.

“The great thing about LCGs is that old cards never phase out. The first cards produced are still legal for play today,” added Lian.

Deck-building games

Hot on the heels of LCGs are deck-building games. Companies such as Bandai have started making standalone card games based on popular franchises such as Star Trek and Resident Evil. Deck-building games are almost similar to LCGs, with the exception that it feels a lot closer to boardgames, more than anything else.

While LCGs allow and encourage the tweaking of decks in-between games, similarly to TCGs, deck-building games only allow the tweaking, and upgrading of decks during games. This concept is similar to boardgames, in which players attempt to “level up” and strengthen their hand during games.

The most successful and iconic deck-building game is Rio Grande Games’ medieval-themed Dominion card game. Recently, other companies such as Bandai have cashed in on this genre of card games by introducing a series of popular franchise-driven variants.

“The best part of deck-building games is being able to play straight out of the box, so there is no need to pre-customise decks,” said event manager Richard Chua.

“The games end up being fun and different due to the randomised nature of cards being drawn and differing player strategies, based on cards available to them. And for titles such as Star Trek, games may also be varied to the unique scenario-based play by factions,” he said.

Being a one-time TCG fan, he no longer plays them due to the high costs involved, and the random factor, which makes buying them exorbitant.

The future is bright

For now, TCGs will never get replaced wholesale, but LCGs and deck-building games will certainly continue to have a solid following as time goes on.

As Chua points out, franchised games such as Star Trek are also “accessible to non-fans who enjoy them purely for gameplay value instead of thematic fan experience.”

There is an increasing amount of effort by fans of LCGs at least, in boosting their popularity, especially via organised play and regular events. Local comic and games stores such as Comics Mart in Kuala Lumpur, run regular LCG leagues and events.

Warp Space Games is in the midst of starting up an A Game Of Thrones league, so interested players can contact Lian at david@warpspacegames.com, or browse www.warpspacegames.com for further information.

* Chee Yih Yang needs more time on the new Blood Bowl teams – almost there! E-mail the esoteric gaming nut at yihyang@gmail.com if you have comments, questions, hot gaming news and tips, and trading lists and deck ideas, for both Magic and World Of Warcraft. Check out his blog at http://blog.rage.com.my/category/cards-and-boards, and follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/arcturus_mengsk.

By CHEE YIH YANG
alltherage@thestar.com.my

THIS year looks set to be another exciting time with so much lined up across all fronts. From major sporting events (I’m looking forward to the UEFA Euro 2012 football spectacle more than anything else) to the usual plethora of new things to buy, I’m awfully pumped to go through this doomsday-less year!

Here are this year’s predicted top trends and happenings in the gaming scene.

Go forth and spread

Social media has changed us so much that I think few even realise how our “world” looked and felt like before we had Facebook, Twitter, iPhone, BlackBerry and the Android.

There’s an incredible sense of “hyperconnectivity” now, which has changed our interactions for better (or worse).

Businesses and corporations were quick to take advantage of this, as everyone fought to entrench themselves in virtual worlds by creating branded communities.

Naturally, game shops in Malaysia took the same route, by seeding and growing their own online communities. Facebook seems to be the weapon of choice so far, as shops seek to ride on its runaway popularity.

This brings me to my first prediction: With rising competition, costs and the general need to be more efficient in running their physical stores, local game and hobby stores will continue to rely on more digital tools to enhance their respective businesses.

That said, both the physical and the digital presence will be symbiotic – think of them as being reliant on one another – but communities will need to grow in tandem with society’s shifting habits. With time continuing to “lessen” as we grow more digitally connected, being active online will become a huge asset for businesses to help them alert people on their latest products and upcoming events, as well as serve as sounding boards and feedback avenues.

I still don’t see shops taking the online shopping route yet, as the effort in maintaining such systems are too high (especially when you factor in the low turnover of gaming products), but everyone will continue to offer deals and special promotions to their followers.

Lack of loyalty

In my 17 years of collecting and playing trading card games (TCGs) and boardgames, I am glad to take note of one positive trend: Games are finally becoming simpler to play (again).

You might have your own take on this, but from the streamlining of Magic: The Gathering rules in the earlier 2000s, to the steady popularity of European boardgames such as the Catan series, I would like to go on record to say that the era of complicated games with 100-page (or more) instruction manuals are dead and buried.

This year ought to see more dumbing down of games in general, as game companies continue to try and make products that will better match the shifting consumer behaviour. Yes, I’m taking the whole, there’s-less-time-to-do-stuff argument once again. Who has the time to play a 10-hour boardgame nowadays anyway?

Magic is now simpler and cleaner than ever. Fantasy Flight Games used to make plenty of complicated games, but their steady stream of Living Card Games (LCGs) and standalone card games (Blood Bowl Team Manager) have rulebooks that would seem tame by 1995 standards.

And the “gamification” of other collectibles, such as LEGO, will continue, further contributing to this trend. More importantly, I see them as easy entry points for potential gamers that might just want to sink their teeth into meatier stuff, once they’ve gotten past the Minotaurs and Ramses’ Pyramids of the world.

Yes, this year’s Star Wars: Battle of Hoth LEGO set-cum-game and its brethren ought to do pretty well!

LEGO Star Wars Battle of Hoth

With steady increase in a variety of distractions, game companies have more or less accepted that gamers will no longer be loyal to any particular brand or product line. The varied and “quick fix” nature of a lot of boardgames are a classic example in this – there is never a better time play a variety of games than now. LCGs are another perfect embodiment of gaming today: Jump in anytime you like, via fixed sets, and spend much less money than you would normally invest on any TCG.

Licensing make-or-break

Frankly, the number of licensed games I’m seeing now actually makes me wonder about their long term viability. I’m zooming back to the late 1990s and the early 2000s, when game titles came and went, as game publishers back then attempted to milk many a valuable franchise.

This year, Star Wars returns to its card game and collectible pre-painted miniature form, as Fantasy Flight Games launches them to add on what looks set to be a very comprehensive list of franchised games. They already have the Game Of Thrones, Warhammer Fantasy and Lord Of The Rings LCGs, as well as standalone Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40K card and boardgames.
The upcoming Avengers HeroClix collectible minis game will also coincide with the release of the movie of the same name.

Don’t forget that Bandai just recently entered the market with its Resident Evil and Star Trek Deck Building games (kind of like LCGs). Well, you get the picture.
This year is pretty much make-or-break for all the new and old franchise game titles. Companies need to pay royalty fees to make them, and one can only guess how much some of these franchises are worth.

Star Trek Deck Building Game

There’s more gaming for us all, but how well will these games do? Will the gaming business prosper on as people flock to consume everything that the game companies are throwing at us? Or will there be another mini-correction waiting around the corner, consuming the weaker titles along the way?
Either way, us gamers look set to be pampered more and more, as more new releases hit us. Ride on!

q Yih Yang must have the new Blood Bowl teams ready for the Chinese New Year holidays! E-mail the esoteric gaming nut at yihyang@gmail.com if you have comments, questions, hot gaming news and tips, and trading lists and deck ideas, for both Magic and World of Warcraft. Check out his blog at http://blog.rage.com.my/category/cards-and-boards, and follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/arcturus_mengsk.

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