24/7 Player

Something pretty exciting has been released to the world of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. The Duel Terminals, after success in Japan, have been brought to official tournament stores in the United States. These terminals are arcade style machines that play and teach the trading card game as well as dispense cards to players. Play on the machine can be at one of two levels. Players may choose to skip playing and just get their card. The cards are specially treated so they can be scanned and used inside the game. The terminal cards can also be used as actual cards and, once these unique cards are released in non-terminal products, will be legal for use in tournaments. They hope to bring in foot traffic to the stores that have them as well as increase the enthusiasm for the card game itself.

Speaking of tournaments, the Pegasus League has finally kicked off! As mentioned in a previous announcement, this League is designed in one- or two-month cycles that feature challenges in deck building and creative playing methods. The first format will start on January 1, 2010 and run through February 28, 2010. Like most challenges, there is a list of legal sets as well as banned cards. That information as well as a FAQ can be found here.

Happy playing!

Posted on December 21st, 2009 at 5:09pm by RenoChan
Filed Under: Arcade game, Card game, Collectible card game, Game, Hobby Angels, TRADING CARD GAME, United States, Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, japan

Hey everyone, just some awesome updates in the Trading Card Game world!

First of all, Wizards of the Coast unveiled the third of three sets that are in the Zendikar block. Rise of the Eldrazi, codenamed “Prosper”, will be joining Zendikar (October 2009) and Worldwake (January 2010) to complete the block. The set is announced for April 23, 2010, with prerelease events held in participating WPN (wizards play network) locations the week before. This will be a 248-card set and previews will start on April 5th on magicthegathering.com.

The upcoming Pro Tour and Grand Prix schedule was also posted. The stops cover 16 countries and numerous states. Some of the big ones are Oakland, CA and Houston, TX for the States, as well as events in parts of Europe. All grand prixes will feed into the pro tours for the respective area, IE Oakland’s grand prix and others in the surrounding areas will feed to the San Juan pro tour. The promotional card is an old favorite from Kamigawa, Umezawa’s Jitte. This card will only be available while supplies last. The first stop is, in fact, Oakland, on Valentine’s Day weekend (February 13-14).

In the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, there has been an announcement from Konami about a new Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s league. The Pegasus League is already proving to be a test for any duelist’s deck-building skills. Konami will regularly select a new deck format for players to test their skills. For November, the challenge is for any deck built must contain four monsters of the following elements: Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind. Every time the format is updated, the changes will be posted on www.yugioh-card.com.

The final stop on the Shonen Jump Championships came to Columbus this past weekend. More than 800 players showed up to compete, and one man, Vincent Ralambomiadana, took the top prize. He was playing a French Twilight deck against second place Kevin Slapnik’s Destiny Hero / Zombie deck. Again, the top finalists from this championship have earned invitations to their respective country’s 2010 National Championships.

It’s been a busy few weeks in the world of competitive card games, so bust out those deck you’ve been meaning to play and have some fun!

Posted on November 17th, 2009 at 12:05am by RenoChan
Filed Under: Collectible card game, Games, Hobby Angels, Pro Tour, TRADING CARD GAME, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Zendikar, magic-the-gathering, magicthegathering.com, wizards-of-the-coast, yu-gi-oh!

Starting on November 17th, the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook and Player’s Handbook 2 will be available for $34.95. Now that seems like a lot of money, but for this special holiday collection, that’s the price of one book normally. Yep, two books for the price of one! On top of this, customers that purchase the bundle will also receive a promotional code for $12 off a one-year subscription to D&D Insider, the Dungeons & Dragons magazine. Hurry and get this for the gamer in your life that may not have played in a while because this offer won’t be around past the holidays.

Posted on November 9th, 2009 at 9:52pm by RenoChan
Filed Under: Dungeons & Dragons, Games, Hobby Angels, Roleplaying, fantasy

Kids under 10

Pokemon: This card game was popular when I was growing up, and it’s still played today. You can find starter decks, booster packs, and everything else needed to play at most card stores and places like K-Mart or Wal-Mart. It has a really easy layout, it’s pretty simple to learn, and it’s not as “hardcore” as Yu-Gi-Oh! or Magic can be. It’s based on the popular cartoon, which still airs. For kids under 10 that are interested in card games, this is a good place to start. ~RenoChan

Oshi: This is a logic board game that is surprisingly simple to figure out. It’s recommended for kids 8+, and it definitely fits that. The point is to move your pieces around the board to push your opponent’s pieces off to get a certain number of points. The rules are on a single page, front only, and are pretty simple to catch onto. If you have a puzzle fan on your list, this is definitely worth it. It’s great for older kids and teenagers, too, so it’s something everyone could get into playing. ~RenoChan

Tweens

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Another popular card game based on a tv show. This one, however, has spanned a few different seasons, multiple plots, and quite a few years. It’s a little harder to learn, as there are harder play mechanics to remember, and it’s definitely better for pre-teens that might want to start playing card games. This card game sees new pack releases every month or so, which shows there is a constant support of the game by its makers. ~RenoChan

Odin’s Ravens: Another board/card game with a fun layout and easy gameplay. This game has an origin in mythology, with Odin and his two ravens. The story is that Odin has sent his ravens out to look over the world, and the ravens are now racing. It has a cute story that most kids should enjoy. The recommended age is 10+, but 8 and 9-year olds might enjoy and understand it enough to play. ~RenoChan

Teens

Magic: the Gathering: Personally, this is my favorite card game. It deserves the 13+ rating, as it is not only difficult to learn to play at first and some of the game mechanics can be tricky. The game gets updates every 3 to 4 months. It’s good for teens that are either tired of Yu-Gi-Oh! or other card games, or just want a challenge with a large fanbase. ~RenoChan

Scary Tales: This is a dueling card game from Playroom Entertainment with a fairy tale spin.  For each box you get (currently Red Riding Hood vs. Pinocchio and The Giant vs. Snow White are available) you get two decks to play against each other.  In each one is a companions and many items that can be used to try and defeat the other player.  If you opt to get more than one box, you can adjust the game in order to go from 2 players to 4. ~Cherith

PK Cards: PK cards is a fairly new game that has a lot of good play potential. It’s complicated to learn, but once a player gets a grasp of the basic rules, then it is a lot of fun. Pre-constructed decks can support two players, and the cards come with codes that allow players to use the site to redeem the codes for points which can be used to buy more packs. Enough points can gain a bigger prize like video game systems. ~RenoChan

Adults

Livingstone: Livingstone is about Scottish Missionary Dr. David Livingstone’s trip to Africa, where he researched the tribes and flora and fauna of the area.  It’s a different take on the farming board games that are popular right now, where the player stakes out specific areas of the board with tents.  But, you have to remember to send some of the money you make back to the Queen, as she’s the one funding your trip.  At the end of the trip (the game has a quick turn around) if you haven’t spent enough money in tribute to Queen Victoria it effect the winning outcome. ~Cherith

Geist: The Sin Eaters: White-Wolf’s newest role-playing game about those who have died and returned from death.  But when you return, you come with new baggage: spectral creatures that live inside you and hold the keys to mysteries they’ll drive you towards.  It’s an inventive new setting being compared to Wraith, but with major improvements on the ghost genre.  Well worth the spend for gaming friends.  ~Cherith

Arkham Horror: Innsmouth Expansion: This is the sixth expansion for the large Arkham Horror board game.  If you know fans of the game, it’s definitely an expansion worth adding to their base game.  It adds a new city board, 16 new investigators, 8 new Ancient Ones, and two new Heralds.  There’s also personal story cards added to the deck for investigators, new monsters and encounter cards.  ~Cherith

Pathfinder the RPG: This summer Paizo released it’s hardback release of the Pathfinder RPG an entire update to the D&D 3.5 rules set with a lot of tweaks, original story and characters and rule changes.  If you know fans of D&D that might not have been interested in the new 4.0 release of the game, Pathfinder might be just the right gift for them.  ~Cherith

Stocking Stuffers

Booster Packs: Do you have a trading card player, collectable card player, or a sports card collector on your list this year? Booster packs are available for just about any game out there, usually for $2 to $5. These add more cards to a player’s arsenal or collection, and they’re pretty inexpensive. ~RenoChan

Dice Sets: What Dungeons and Dragons player doesn’t need a full set of dice? Not only that, but the 10-sided die is good for other games, the 20-sided die makes a perfect life points counter for Magic: the Gathering, and 6-sided dice are always at potential for getting lost. These sets are available all in a convenient box and some places even sell the individually, usually for 50 cents or less. As well as dice, companies make counter jars, which are just for keeping track of hit points, tokens, game pieces, and more. ~RenoChan

Miniatures: If you’ve got a D&D, Pathfinder or other RPG gamer on your list that likes to add to their games with maps and miniatures, there’s a lot of places you can find items to help those players supplement their gaming experiences.  Luckily for you, you don’t have to know the specific game the person on your list is playing (although the genre is helpful).  Just grab some generic pieces if you don’t know specifics and your gamers are going to be thankful.  ~Cherith

Index Cards and a Pen: Alright, so if money is very tight, and you still want to surprise the gamer on your list, buy them a pack of index cards, and print out the instructions for the “1000 Blank White Cards” game.  This is an inventive game where the only limits are the ones you think up.  It’s different every time, and you rarely go through all the index cards on the first play through.

Posted on November 6th, 2009 at 11:50pm by RenoChan
Filed Under: Arkham Horror, Geist: The Sin Eaters, Hobby Angels, Livingstone, Oshi, Playroom Entertainment, Role-playing game, Scary Tales, magic-the-gathering, white-wolf

Hey everyone. Just a little announcement about something super exciting that’s going on Thursday and Friday this week. It’s called the Magic: the Gathering Online Community Cup Challenge. The basics of it are: 4 press members and 4 online community leaders face off against 8 of the Wizards of the Coast staff members in 4 different online play formats. The formats are: 100 card singleton, a standard constructed, and two drafts, Zendikar and Invasion. It will be held at the Wizards of the Coast headquarters in Renton, WA. for almost the entire two days. If Wizards staff wins, the community will get a free promo card online, but if the Community wins, the community will get a special avatar and access to awesome events online.

And guess what? Yours truly is participating on the Community Team. All I can really say is that I’m so excited about this. I’ve been an avid Magic player in paper form for years… I think I’m nearing my 6th or 7th year (I’ve lost track). I’ve entered and ran tournaments, but this is something entirely different.

If you want to play with me on Magic Online anytime between now and tomorrow night, I should be on the server most of the time when I’m not at school. My username is CC_GamingAngelSam. If you want to just chat with all of us, there’s a room for you to come and meet us and even practice with any of the 8. Just type /join CCC in a chat window and enter; the chat will open straight up.

Here are some articles my teammates and the Wizards team have written that you might enjoy are below.

The official announcement made a couple weeks ago.
Pete’s “Playing Nice Together”. He even has the complete deck lists of what we’re playing. I love how my deck is literally called “Sam’s Mill”.

Meet the Wizards Team posted by Mike Gills of the team. Just a nice getting-to-know-you thing and here’s the one for the community members.
The image above was made by Thomas, another member of the team, as a badge for us on MyMTGO, the site he runs for all MTGO players.

Posted on November 3rd, 2009 at 2:16pm by RenoChan
Filed Under: CCC, Community Cup Challenge, Fan Pages, Games, Hobby Angels, Magic, Trading Card Games, magic-the-gathering, wizards-of-the-coast