Why TCG Are so Addicting
This genre of tabletop gaming has been around for a long time. Among those existing in real life, the Pokemon TCG and Magic: The Gathering are the longest lived-ones. There’s also Yu-Gi-Oh! and the brand-new Marvel Snap in digital format. Then there’s Gwent, a spin-off of the Witcher series, and now, Genius Invokation TCG from Genshin Impact.
Why are these games so popular? What makes them so engaging to keep players enthralled for years? Let’s explore.
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It Requires a Combination of Skill, Strategy, and Luck
TCGs give players equal footing. Rules apply to both participants, but how they play within those rules differs. It takes skills, strategy, and luck to win games consistently.
It’s a skill to roll with the punches and go with the flow. Your deck might be focused on one of your cards, but there will be a time you don’t draw the cards you need the most at the critical moment. Adjusting to that is a skill borne from experience.
There’s also finding a good time to play cards. When would you use healing and restoration cards? Another skill to learn is predicting (to a point) your opponent’s moves. While you can not read your (human) opponent’s mind or see their hand, you can put yourself in their shoes and try to think about what they’ll do next.
Another prediction method is fixed strategies. However, that only applies if the other participant uses a popular one. Lastly, resource management is a skill, whether that’s your cards in hand, what an action costs, or other game mechanics. Efficient use of these is what influences victory the most.
Deck building is both a skill and a strategy. You’d want to draw the most beneficial cards, so you’ll add more of those to increase the chances of doing so. However, you’ll also need other support cards, and you might run out of space in the deck for other things. Finding the balance between offensive and defensive (and support) cards is a skill. The strategy lies in how you utilize the deck composition.
Luck also plays a part in your draws. If dice rolling or coin flipping is part of the game, it manifests there too. You can have dire, excellent, or neutral hands as anything that includes randomness. It can turn the tables or leave you hanging in the dust.
The combination of these three things makes each game different from the others. It’s also why even with the same deck, one still loses and the other wins. There’s an appeal to a game where you can never predict who will come out victorious.
It Makes Players Want to Collect Them All
Other players would love the collection aspect of trading cards instead. Whether they do it by playing the game or trading with others (like the name suggests), they’d rather have all the cards available instead of a high win streak.
Some cards have beautiful art or have limited (or discontinued) prints. These rare cards are more valuable than any other, making collectors desperate to have them. Though most play the game well, others are content with a good collection.
Still, it’s a legitimate way of enjoying the TCG. They can appreciate the art of the cards and or the way other people duel each other.
It is, Plainly, Fun and Enjoyable
Whether it’s the thrill of winning against a challenging opponent or a strategy paying off, they’re fun to play. Gwent is a famous example. It’s a minigame for the third game of the Witcher series, but players started playing it more than the main game.
The card game puts players in a never-ending war. They have to win 2 rounds of three by ending the round with more Strength Points than their opponent. Players can put unit cards to add to their points, but the opponent’s actions can eliminate those.
It looks simple, but again, the combination of skill, strategy, and luck plays a part in the games. There could be surprisingly deep strategies found with specific cards.
Genshin’s Genius Invokation TCG’s similarity in mechanics with the main game gives it a familiar feel. Yet, the subtle differences (due to the TCG’s limitations) also make it novel enough to make the experience feel dissimilar. Plus, as a permanent addition to the game, it provides an activity for players that doesn’t include the usual combat and exploration goals from the primary gameplay.
Some players have even skipped doing the daily commissions in favor of playing more games of the TCG. If HYV wanted Travelers to keep playing Genshin Impact, the TCG was a good idea.
Want More TCGs to Explore?
There are more TCGs than the ones already mentioned here in this article. Here are some other examples.
- Cardfight!! Vanguard
- Digimon
- Bakugan
- Dragon Ball Super
- Final Fantasy
- Keyforge
Some are physical card games, while others are digitized. Most have online game versions, though not all are official. You might recognize some of them as they are based on an anime or have an anime based on them.
Contrary to what the name implies, Cardcaptor Sakura isn’t based on a TCG. The protagonist is the only one with a deck, so she can’t have a card duel with other characters. She uses the deck in battle as a medium for summoning a phenomenon instead of deck vs. deck.
Enjoy TCGs, Whether Physically or Digitally!
Whatever your method of playing TCGs (playing to win, playing a niche deck, or collecting cards), have fun! You’ll win some and lose others, but either way, you get the enjoyment of your strategies coming together (or falling apart). It takes practice and experience, like any other game, to become good at it. Talent can only get you so far. That only gives a head start, but you need to cultivate and nourish it to become excellent.
It’s easy to be disheartened by losses, but getting that sweet victory and breaking the streak will be worth it. Enjoy the highs and lows of TCGs!
