subject: The Magical History Of The Original Trading Card Game [print this page] Collectible playing cards have long been the staple of many childhood games and fans of brands like Magic the Gathering and Cardfight Vanguard have helped rejuvenate the burgeoning marketplace for retro games and toys. In fact, a recent surge in popularity amongst twenty-somethings looking to recapture the care free days of their youth has led to a relative boom in the trade of Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic the Gathering. This trend is further compounded by the continuing popularity of fantasy role playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons. Despite the inherent complexity of these games, they are also attracting a new generation of devotees, who enjoy the social experience of the game and welcome the chance to step away from games consoles and computers. Indeed, despite the rise of online, in-play game chat and VOIP, many gamers feel that the interaction of collectible playing cars cannot be emulated and welcome franchises such as Magic the Gathering as en enjoyable break from the norm.
The history of collectible card games has its roots in the baseball card industry at the early part of the twentieth century, where manufacturers were trying to compete for supremacy. However, it's really only since the launch of magic the Gathering in 1993, the game in its modern form can be traced to. The complex sets of rules and gameplay have been developed over a number of years and although they're still very similar to those devised by the game's creator, Richard Garfield, have evolved as a consequence of players particular preferences.
Long and short games have been developed and any collectors will vary the rules depending on how long they have. Gameplay is determined by planewalkers. At the start of the game, a player has twenty life points which he loses when he is attacked. Once all of his life points are lost, a player must exit the game. Although the most common way of winning is by reducing all your opponent's life points to zero, a player can also lose if he is forced to draw a card from an empty deck, or if they acquire 10 poison counters. There are also other ways to lose a game, depending on the version being played.
The rise in retro games has seen something of resurgence in typically childhood based games, even though many of the most ardent fans are in their late twenties and beyond.
