Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Indulging my Inner Geek

Well, it had to happen. Sooner or later we all knew I was gonna start talking about Magic cards. But this is game theory (well, the theory of games, not that John Nash stuff) so it's not totally geeky... right?

So I was reading a review of a Marvel-based Trading Card Game the other day, in which the reviewer stated straight-up that he did not think that Trading Card Games qualify as real games.

(An aside, for those who I have no idea what I'm talking about: A Trading Card Game or TCG is a card game in which each player collects cards by purchasing packs of randomly assorted cards. The cards have different rules that apply to them. The player then constructs a deck out of the cards that he has in his collection and uses that deck to play against others...)

Back to this review. The guy says TCGs are not games because you can't own the complete game and because you can't see what you're getting before you buy a pack of cards. In short, he thinks this sort of game is a scam that forces you to spend an inordinate amount of money buying things you wouldn't buy simply because the packs are filled with a random assortment of cards. I agree that most of these games are rip-offs, but I don't think that changes their fundamental nature as games.

The thing is, this model isn't that different from, say, Texas Hold 'Em. In Hold 'em, you have to throw down the ante to see the flop. In essence, you are paying money for the opportunity to get cards that will potentially help you win the game, but you pay before you see the cards. The could be useless and you won't know until you've already thrown your money in. It seems to me that the TCG model is really just a version of this same mechanic, only extruded out in a way that is most beneficial to the people making the cards. So yes, when people complain that TCGs favor those with more money to spend on cards, they have a valid point. At the same time, though, there is a precedent. The poker player with more money is at a huge advantage over his opponent(s). It doesn't make Poker any less of a game, just like it doesn't make TCGs any less of a game. All it means is that they're a type of game that involves gambling and gambling with real resources rather than plastic soldiers or chocolate coins. That some people don't find the reward equal to the risk just means that perhaps TCGs are not the games for then.

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