Author Topic: What do you like in a CCG?  (Read 4494 times)

Aldeberon

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What do you like in a CCG?
« on: June 01, 2007, 08:25:29 PM »
A while back, I wrote an article about CCGs, what I liked and what I didn't like and what I think are the top 5 CCGs, in and out of print. However, it doesn't do much good if no one reads it. So, here's a link to my article:

http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&groupid=296845&ck=

And a list of my top 5 CCGs. Do you argee, disagree? What do you think. What are your top 5?
Mine are:
1: VtES
2: L5R
3: Doomtown
4: Shadowfist
5: INWO

And I still play them when I can. Also, is there still room for CCGs or is the industry or has it gone beyond saturation?

Spriggan

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Re: What do you like in a CCG?
« Reply #1 on: June 01, 2007, 08:55:19 PM »
I may be the wrong person to ask because while I use to play a lot of CCGs I don't anymore because I'm just sick of all of them playing like Magic and there being so many cards out you can never keep track of them and having to always buy the newest to remain competitive.
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Fellfrosch

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Re: What do you like in a CCG?
« Reply #2 on: June 01, 2007, 09:21:36 PM »
Whine whine whine. Actually none of the ones he posted play like Magic, in my experience, though he didn't post any of the ones I consider to be true standouts of CCG design.

I don't have time to read your article right now, Aldeberon, but I'll take a look as soon as I can and come back with comments.

edit: Okay, I'm back, and I read your article. I thought you made some interesting points, though honestly it seemed more like a list of "these are games I enjoy" rather than "these are games that are innovative and well-designed." And that's not a bad thing--the whole point of a game is to have fun, after all, as you quite correctly stated in your conclusion.

I tend to look at CCGs differently from most people, and I recognize that--I love core game design and deck-building more than playing, and there are a few games in my top 5 list (such as Warhammer 40k) that I enjoy on an almost purely theoretical level--the Warhammer 40k card game is not the funnest game in the world, and I'll usually choose something else when it comes time to sit down and play, but I consider it to be a landmark of ingenius game design, and for that it will always have a place in my heart.

Here's my top 5, with a quick explanation of each:

1. Magic: People who don't love this game tend to hate it, for whatever reason, but it's a marvel of design and a dang fun game that continues to reinvent itself at an astonishing rate. For a deck designer, it's almost impossible to find a game that gives you more versatility and control.

2. Warhammer 40k: As I said above, it's just a remarkable piece of design work. Every other CCG out there (except Magic, which invented the genre and therefore wasn't copying anything) should hang its head in shame, because next to Warhammer 40k they all look like derivative hack jobs.

3. Lord of the Rings (Decipher): A brilliant combination of 2-sided story and multi-player mechanics, with a huge variety of factions, win conditions, and deck options. If it were as popular as Magic, so that I could readily find opponents, I would probably play very little else.

4. WARS: Another Decipher game, based on their Star Wars rules that you obviously hated. I, like you, chafe at the lack of multi-player options, but once I worked my way past it I found what I consider to be one of the best CCGs ever made. It's elegance of design rivals Warhammer 40k, plus it has more deck-building freedom and is a lot more fun. I wish it had caught on, but at least it's cheap to get on ebay.

5. Warcry: Another Sabertooth/Games Workshop game, this one is based on Warhammer Fantasy. I hesitated to include it here, but I wasn't sure what else deserved the slot, and Warcry wins big points with me for using the typical CCG tropes to represent tabletop wargame tactics. It does some things that bug me, but all in all it's a very cool game.
« Last Edit: June 01, 2007, 10:39:28 PM by Fellfrosch »
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