As one who looks forward, there's much I can't recall about my childhood. Something that has remained with me, though, is my enjoyment of Collectible Card Games (CCGs). I've played them for over half of my life; this is my CCG story (I explained the concept and appeal in an earlier post here).
The dust settles long after we fly down the country road. Our 4-mile bike ride ends on a short stretch of [what passes for] a busy road in Lancaster county, and my best friend ("Justin") and I walk into the comic book store with an undisguised eagerness seldom seen outside of youth. It's the summer of 1995. Tales of the Jedi issues line the shelves, heralding the arrival of Star Wars as a major comic force. In another section, several Magic the Gathering expansions are readily available. They look enticing . . . as the world's first CCG, Magic was the introduction for many to the genre. We buy a starter deck . . . and soon after we're hooked.
Justin and I returned to that store many times over the summer months to pick up a 'pack here and there' of Magic cards. My favorite expansions at the time were Unlimited, Ice Age, and Chronicles. We had no idea what we were doing, of course. We knew the rules- mostly- but the subtleties didn't click, and my top desires were those giant creatures, often green (see example at right). Out of ignorance, we disdained the powerful cards we had like Moxes (that, today, sell for thousands of dollars) in favor of these green commons. Our decks weren't great . . . but we had fun, and that was the point.Like many fads I experienced in my youth, our Magic craze fizzled over time, and I eventually gave away or pitched my cards (I shudder to think about the modern value that may have ended up in the trash). But I wasn't done with CCGs quite yet. My brother and I played Star Trek CCG a tad, and many others were on the horizon.
In the mid-late '90s, I dabbled in a market glutted with new CCG products based on Magic's success. Anything and everything* got a CCG at that time- it was the golden age for the genre. I even dabbled in the 'Christian' card game, Redemption. But college beckoned, budgets tightened, and I put gaming on pause- for a few years, anyway.
In 2002, I stumbled across a website that was selling the Star Wars CCG on clearance. Booster boxes that cost $70+ were going for $10-$20. I took the bait . . . and was back in a big way (by 'big' I mean 'expensive'). I found a friend at college who enjoyed the game, and we played every Sunday. Like with Magic, I didn't have (or try to have) top-tier decks . . . but again, we had fun. Those game days stopped at graduation- but I wasn't done yet.
2004 saw me get back into Magic and dabble in others like Lord of the Rings CCG. Again, other things took priority, and again (foolishly) I sold my cards. See a pattern here? Not the brightest bulb. Around this time I also got into Star Wars Miniatures- a miniaturized collectible game in the vein of CCGs.
In 2008, I lived in Germany and ended up meeting friends who had all played Magic at some point. I was back in for a third time; this time, it was for good. I also collected and played Star Wars Miniatures and Vs. System a good deal with that crowd.
Throughout my gaming days, I've been tempted by other CCGs (living or 'dead' (no longer produced)), but few have the player pool or corporate support of Magic. The dead ones in particular are often quite expensive (due to scarcity, not quality), and are best left alone. Reflecting back, it's shameful how many different ones I tried (see below chart for unnecessary detail).
*For a list of CCGs, see here. Boardgamegeek ranks all customizable games here.
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