Dead CCG Trades

I added another page to my blog entitled Dead CCG Trades.  This page will be a permanent repository for any posts regarding trades of dead CCGs.  More importantly, it will link to my have and need lists for trading, so people can determine if we have any trade potential.

Due to the magic of the internet, I'm no longer having to play all my card games solitaire.  Right now I'm involved in two play-by-forum games and they are each a blast!  I spoke of the three-player Galactic Empires game already.  The second game I'm in is a two-player Quest for the Grail game and it's a hoot.  Fans of the Arthurian romances should really check this game out.  I mean, just look at the art on some of the cards...

Play-by-forum game; Round 7

My favorite knight

CCG Necromancy: Ideas for a Dead CCG League

I have to admit it: I love CCGs.

OK, the business model of forcing players to buy heaps of crap cards in order to get a few good ones is pretty despicable, I admit.  And I don't like how CCGs reward people for spending more money; it was always annoying to be defeated by the guy who could afford to sift through seven booster boxes for the ultra-rare.

All that aside, some of my best gaming memories come from CCG play.  Well designed games like Mythos and INWO could be dominated with common cards, while offering tremendous replay value with just a modest card collection.

Recently I discovered the concept of play-by-forum on BoardGameGeek.  It's very slow, but the prospect of actually playing out-of-print CCGs with actual opponents is priceless.  And not to mention fun.

The great thing about dead CCGs is that generally you can get loads of cards for pennies on eBay.  The problem until I discovered forum-play was that I had huge collections of cards but no opponents.  My recent forum game has got me wondering: would there be any interest in a dead CCG league?

A dead CCG league could offer players the chance to get opponents in exchange for cards.  For example; I've acquired thousands of Illuminati: New World Order cards over the years.  I could easily pick out a few hundred spares, enough to make a couple good decks, and trade with another league member who has no INWO cards.  In exchange, that league member sends me cards from his/her dead CCG of choice which I have no cards for.  We can then set up forum games on BGG, since we both have cards for both games.

Just something I'm kicking around in my head.  I posted a call for players for the obscure Quest for the Grail CCG on BoardGameGeek.  I was amazed I got a reply in less than 30 minutes.  If such an obscure game can generate interest so readily, then perhaps a dead CCG league is not such a far-fetched idea?

Dead CCGs and d24s

Galactic Empires set-up

So, almost a year ago I ordered a 24-sided die, just to see what the monstrosity was like.  It's a bit unwieldy for war-games, but I've thought of another use.

In the old CCG, Galactic Empires, a player is eliminated after taking 25 points of damage.  A d24 is therefore perfect for noting the number of damage points a player's Sector has taken (the 25th point doesn't matter...it's too late).

The pic above is my current Galactic Empires set-up.  I'm playing my first non-solitaire CCG match in 15 years.  I'm playing by forum so it's slow, but it's great to play a CCG again as it was intended, against opponents.  You can follow the game over at BoardGameGeek.

An old article in a Companion Games house publication inspired me to create this little resource track, with the red and green tokens from other projects.  Basically you just count up the number of resources required by all the cards you have in play, and place red tokens on the proper amount.  Then count up the resources generated by Terrain (and other) cards, and put green tokens at those places on the track.  Then, at a glance, you can tell whether you're at a surplus or deficit.

Anyone need two-dozen d24?

When I ordered the d24, the company sent me 25 dice by accident!  I tried to return them, but they said it was their mistake.  So what do I do with 24 d24 that I don't need?  Maybe I can run some Galactic Empires games at a con and give out d24 "damage markers" as prizes.

By the way, if anyone is interested in Galactic Empires, there are opponents out there.  With the internet you can find them and play.  And heaps of cards are available on eBay for cheap.

Dead CCG Solitaire: More Galactic Empires

It's a Festivus miracle!

I recently posted a sealed booster solitaire variant of the old Galactic Empires CCG and got some great feedback on the rules.  Additionally I actually took the rare step of playtesting the variant myself, at least for a few rounds.  It turned out OK, but I've been thinking of ways to make it better.

Now, posted on my downloads page, is the newest solitaire variant for Galactic Empires.  Unlike the last set of rules, these ones don't need sealed boosters but instead require a small bit of deck construction (but still easier than for multi-player game).  I think this game's an improvement because unlike the first set of rules, instead of sitting around waiting for enemy ships to maybe stumble across your Sector HQ, you actually build a fleet to attack any of four rival HQs.  In the new version you play an empire just entering a sector of space bordered by four hostile powers who have all established HQs there.  The mission is to discover any uncharted worlds (Terrain) which can provide enough resources to allow the player's empire to gain a foothold in the sector.

If you give it a try, please let me know how it works.  I've yet to try it myself...

Dead CCG Solitaire: The Galactic Empires Five Booster Challenge

I knocked out a quick little solitaire rules variant for the old Galactic Empires collectable card game; the three-page rules sheet resides on my Downloads page.

The basic premise is that the solo player starts with one ship and a playing area of 64 cards, representing different coordinates in the sector being explored.  Most of the cards start face-down, with the object of the game being to move one's ship around exploring, flipping up these cards in the process.  Some may end up being terrain, which will give more resources to power additional ships, which are also hidden face-down.  Of course, many of the face-down cards represent the dangers of space, like Hazard and Monster cards.  And even worse, ships from other empires randomly roam the playing area, and may destroy the solo player's valuable terrain, his ships or his Sector HQ, resulting in a player loss.

I have yet to play test this, but already have a few ideas to make it smoother by using additional boosters.

If you have a few old GE boosters lying around (boxes are plentiful on eBay), give it a try.