Alive And Well With Living Card Games!



Today I would like to talk about one of my new loves, Living Card Games! 



Ah Living Card Games, where should I start! First off let's go over exactly what a Living Card Game is!

Card Games can be separated into three different types of games. The first, and resoundingly more popular, being Collectible or Trading Card Games (CCG or TCG).


In these games, cards are purchased at 'random' and there is usually a strong secondary market of individual cards, each of which having their own value. This causes the hobby to be split in two, half being playing the game and the other half in collecting and maintaining a collection of the cards!

The second less-popular, but still super fun option, is called a Deck Building Game.


 There are plenty of examples of these out there in any flavor an aspiring gamer might enjoy: Ascension, Legendary, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, The DC Deck Building Game. Now in these games, it is a box set with expansions available, much in the same way board games are distributed. There is usually no collectible aspect to these games (barring any promotional material) nor do the players prepare decks beforehand. Instead, part of the game is in building the deck and (in most cases) the contents of the deck will help determine who wins!

Now I know I glossed over those two, but fear not, each will be getting dedicated talks in due time but today I want to expound on my favorite of the three.

Living Card Games!


Oh, where to begin!? First off, Living Card Games are card games where the player prepares a deck beforehand, much in the same way as Collectible Card Games. However, the similarities stop there. Living Card Games are non collectible, meaning there is no secondary market for the cards individually. See, every release is contained in box sets or small releases in which one purchase gets you every card. So in essence by getting any new releases (once a month-ish for about $16). You will have the full allotment of every card in the game! So instead of the hobby being split in twain between collecting and playing, you can focus simply on playing! No such thing as unobtainable expensive deck in a game where everyone has every card, and coming from a TCG background and as a collector, that is a breath of fresh air for me.

Plus the design space for these games is wide open, despite the already-staggering amount of games released so far! Games can be asymmetrical meaning that both players are trying to achieve totally different goals in a game, plus any intellectual property can be adapted to fit! All in all they provide a fun and budget friendly way to play competitively. Oh! I forgot to mention, there are events held at the local, regional, national, and world level for a healthy chunk of these games as well.

So if you are looking for a comparatively-inexpensive way to play a game competitively then these are worth serious consideration. At the bottom of the article I'll include the link to Fantasy Flights website since they are the pioneer of this style gaming, that way you can read up on your favorite titles as well!

Well that about wraps up today's chat about the merit of Living Card Games and how they might fit in your game time. Please feel free to suggest the next topic in the comments below or to me in social media and tune in next time to hear all about the next game!

So from our table to yours, happy gaming!


Fantasy Flight Games! Check out all the sweet Living Card Game stuff!
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/index/



Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 13, 2016 at 12:02 PM

    For those of us have families and haven't the thousands of dollars that MTG requires...a LCG fits that slot in my life nicely. Pick them up, you will be surprised how many of us there are. Literally dozens!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bryan FaganJanuary 14, 2016 at 12:42 PM

    Thanks for the information!

    ReplyDelete

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