Living Card games.

FantasyFlight has a few of them ,and when we bought into one we were very careful about which one.

In fact we own two but the second one will most likely remain in it's 'core' state for a long long time as we barely touch it and the theme isn't one that really drives either of us.

So what are they?

Well first, and foremost, they are money sinks. Like it or not, even preferring the format of them as I do as compared to collectible card games, they will make money magically vanish before you know it was even there.

I wrote a little complain the other day about how I'm always losing and that still holds true, I’m one of these players that can't seem to win on strategy and tactics, I need to buy all the best cards and let them smash a win out for me. That aside I wanted to write about this kind of game form the perspective as a mother.

So the first issue, cost, makes this game (for those responsible with their money) a little prohibitive. There is one thing especially for someone like me that could keep the cost issue in hand.

Proxy cards. The concept that instead of buying all the cool cards to very possibly try them out and find they don't work as you thought they would, one can make the card in question to play in a game.

There are a couple of ways to do this, first being to use the database on cardgamedb.com find the images, print them out and sleeve them for your use. They will look prettier than the even cheaper option, but you will use a bit of ink which I find to be ridiculously priced. Depending on how many cards you do this with buying the card might just be cheaper.

The other way, and one I’m most likely to employ, is to write the info you need and slip that into a card sleeve. It's not pretty, but it would work.

Either way I'm not suggesting playing the whole game like this, if a card works for you, and you plan to continue using it I suggest sourcing the chapter pack it comes in and getting it. Also it's not a bad idea to restrict how many cards you do this with, not hard for a person to make the UBER deck if they don't have to buy ANY of the cards. Personally I do have a deck I’m going to largely proxy but I’ll only play it with my husband who is the one who pays for all card purchases, and the deck I’ll play in public I’ll proxy just the one card, make it easily accessible so I can remove it if the opponent disagrees. All in all this is a way to be able to play cards that are expensive, thus making it a little more accessible to those who need to be cautious with cash flow.
One other way that one can play for free is with a program called OCTGN (i'll find the link and link it asap) It allows you to build decks and ply them on a virtual table what is all manual and rules are enforced by the players.

At this stage he going games/themes at this stage are

• Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game (2008)
• A Game of Thrones: The Card Game (2008)
• Warhammer: Invasion (2009)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game (2011)
• Android: Netrunner (2012)
• Star Wars: The Card Game (2012)

So as far as themes go some are more appropriate than others, my girls watch star wars and if it weren’t for the nazgul they could watch LoTRs, and Netrunner is part of the very cool world of Android. Game of Thrones, perhaps not and Cthulhu is the thing of nightmares.

Meaning that theme needs to be selected carefully, which is pretty much the case with all things media related.

Which brings me to the part of this article that makes these games (although my experience is solely with a Game of Thrones) unlikely to be particularly adaptable for the young'ns.

They are VERY language dependent. Now I can see them as a tool to be used in persuading kids to read to practice reading and so on, but for the pre readers like my wee ones, it's just not practical. I sometimes get my 4 year old to pass me tokens, and explaining the icons to her is a little bit of fun, if all of one icon or crest needs to be knelt then I can get her to do it, which teaches about same/different. But by and large it's just not something they can engage with. Although I’d LOVE someone to tell me I’m wrong.

This would be the first time I’ve written about a game that isn't adaptable, that can't be stretched to encompass the whole family’s enjoyment. But that's ok, they can't all be adjusted, it jut gives them something to work towards something to look forward to.

As for 'I have a five and a three year old my gaming days are over”

Due to the nature of this game it's true it's best played when the kids are asleep, or in the case of today, being babysat so we can attend our local stores 'Living Card Game Weekend' (I'll have photos later). That's not to say they'd be scarred for live if you played a card game in front of them, that assessment comes more from having kids that like to get involved in what mummy and daddy are doing and with this one it's not really possible so I’d rather wait until they're in bed than to be telling hem to wait or to leave us alone.

Now I’m not going to start a blog about 'A Game of Thrones' LCG, I know this is my second entry on the topic and mostly likely there will be one more (LCG entry in general) and that'll be the end of it at least for awhile. I may post photos up of my husband competing in regional, but well he's my man and it's his first competition so I feel that's reasonable.
Also.  I'd LOVE someone to tell me if they can come up with a way my wee ones can participate in this kind of game, i'm always open for ideas.

So to summarize, I’m talking a lot about this game at the moment because I'm playing it a lot.

It's not particularly cost effective although the return can be great. It is addictive however so be aware of that.

Not a game for the whole family this time, but something for the young ones to look forward to when they get a bit older.