A Game of Gloat

June 27th, 2007

Over the past few weeks, I have—for the first time ever—become addicted to a CCG. And ironically, I’ve never even played it.

I never thought I’d get caught up in a CCG. I much prefer roleplaying games, rich with collaborative storytelling and infinite possibilities. The fantasy trappings of games like Magic: The Gathering have struck me as a fairly thin veneer on top of a stilted card game.

But I’ve been swept away by A Game of Thrones. This is no doubt due to my passionate love of George R. R. Martin’s astonishingly good fantasy series, perhaps the greatest fantasy series ever, ever written. On my birthday a month ago, I received a few booster packs from some good friends (along with other Song of Ice & Fire–related gaming goodness), and it lit a fire that nothing save getting every single card will quite be able to extinguish.

Obviously, at this point the pleasure I’m deriving owes much to the glee of gloating than the game, but it’s also quite fun to see the rules each card has, not just the artwork (which is, of course, uneven—some stunning, some astonishingly amateur). And even though I don’t know anyone else who collects the cards, Fantasy Flight Games has seen fit to release some pre-built, playable decks (I don’t know how competitive they are, but at this point it doesn’t matter). As a collector, I’ve gone ahead and acquired them, but I’ll certainly be shoving them into friends’ hands so we can try out a quick game.

Alas, it appears A Game of Thrones isn’t nearly as popular as other CCGs (none of which particularly appeal to me). Though a new expansion is coming in August, my local game store has decided to stop carrying the cards. Let’s hope the expansion will instill new vigor in the fan community and give me a chance to get out and play more.

But I find the simple act of collecting surprisingly entertaining. I now have notebooks with card sleeves to display every single one, bright divider sheets, boxes for storing the surplus, and careful indexes.

Entry Filed under: Collectible Card Games