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Trading Card Games FOR DUMmIES ‰ by John Kaufeld and Jeremy Smith 01_754161 ffirs.qxp 2/1/06 8:25 PM Page iii 01_754161 ffirs.qxp 2/1/06 8:25 PM Page ii Trading Card Games FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_754161 ffirs.qxp 2/1/06 8:25 PM Page i 01_754161 ffirs.qxp 2/1/06 8:25 PM Page ii Trading Card Games FOR DUMmIES ‰ by John Kaufeld and Jeremy Smith 01_754161 ffirs.qxp 2/1/06 8:25 PM Page iii Trading Card Games For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2005927726 ISBN-13: 978-0-471-75416-9 ISBN-10: 0-471-75416-1 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1O/RX/QS/QW/IN 01_754161 ffirs.qxp 2/1/06 8:25 PM Page iv About the Authors John Kaufeld has been running independent game stores since 1998. He is an officer of the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA, www.gama.org), a national trade group for manufacturers, designers, distributors, and retailers of everything in the “adventure games” product category. He currently works with GAMA as the Press Liaison for the Origins International Game Expo (www.originsgames.com). John Kaufeld has also written numerous books in the For Dummies series. Jeremy Smith is an associate editor at InQuest Gamer magazine, one of the premier publications in the hobby gaming industry. He has written for the magazine since 1996 and has been on its staff since 2001, when he moved from Rhode Island to New York to take on the immense task of playing games for a living. His chief task of compiling and editing the magazine’s price guide harkens back to his card-trading days at the University of Rochester in upstate New York, where he’d spend a weekend turning a handful of junk rares into a new car. Or something close to that, anyway. The writing part probably sprung out of his lifelong love for words, starting back in Minnesota from age two, reading words off the TV while watching The Electric Company. This continued later on when he represented Rhode Island at the National Spelling Bee in 1987 and 1988 and then worked as an editor for the university newspaper in Rochester. Jeremy’s previous interests in playing Dungeons & Dragons and collecting sports cards (go Red Sox and Patriots!) during the ’80s and early ’90s led to his entry into the trading card game arena, starting when he bought his first packs of Magic: The Gathering back in 1994 and told the dealer, “Hi! I’d like to pick up a new addiction!” How prophetic, indeed. In addition to his daily routine of charting card prices, building decks, and occasionally getting some real work done at InQuest Gamer, Jeremy also moonlights as a certified judge for Wizards of the Coast’s sanctioned Magic tournament program. This has given him experience in everything from running a tournament of more than 100 players by himself to training and men- toring new judges to making darned sure that the players all have a good time and come back for more. It has also taken him to exciting places like Amsterdam, New Orleans, and Kansas City to judge at major tournaments. Well, at least Kansas City had some great steaks. 01_754161 ffirs.qxp 2/1/06 8:25 PM Page v Dedication John Kaufeld: To Jenny, because I loved you the first moment we met, and every day is like meeting again. To Critter, Pooz, and The Mighty S-PAL (Sir Poops-a-Lot), for the smiles, the hugs, and the loving way you say “Daddy, is the book done yet?” To my friends and compatriots at John Wiley and Sons, for the opportunity of a lifetime. Thank you, one and all. Jeremy Smith: To my parents, Marilyn and Michael Smith, and my grandpar- ents, Helen and Julius Langman and Edith and Jack Smith, for all of their love and support, especially while seeing me turn a hobby that often took up way too much time into a great gig at InQuest Gamer and now into this fine For Dummies venture. Also, to my brothers, Adam and Joel, for always being there to sit down and play games with, and for putting up with me for, well, ever. Oh yeah, and that love and support thing too. And finally, to my great little nephew, Matthew, because he’s amazing! 01_754161 ffirs.qxp 2/1/06 8:25 PM Page vi Authors’ Acknowledgments John Kaufeld: My humble and sincere thanks go to Acquisitions Editor Melody Layne (and Andy Cummings, “the boss”) for giving me a new book when they probably should have run screaming from the building. Major kudos also go to Paul Levesque, the book’s Project Editor, for enduring the task set before him (namely, working with me). Thank yous also go out to Andy Hollandbeck and Anthony Gallela, Copy Editor and Technical Editor, respectively. Without them, this book would look like . . . well . . . never mind what it would’ve looked like. Some things are better left unknown. Jeremy Smith: Countless people have contributed to my experiences in the gaming world over the years, and a few merit special acknowledgement. First, to Richard Garfield and Peter Adkison, for bringing such an amazing game genre to life and turning it into a worldwide phenomenon. Without you guys, this book simply wouldn’t exist. And neither would the old-school trading card game for which I’ll always have a soft spot, Netrunner. Many thanks are also in order to InQuest Gamer magazine and Wizard Entertainment for giving me the opportunity to actually make a living and feed my gaming obsession all at the same time. Special props to Mike Searle, Brent Fishbaugh, Thorin McGee, and Matt Cabral for working with me every day and for, ahem, discussing everything from the best Magic card of all time to the most fetching leading lady in gaming. On the organized play side, thanks to all the judges and staff in the Wizards of the Coast DCI judge program, especially Andy Heckt, John Carter, and Sheldon Menery, for their tireless work in helping me and tons of other judges progress as ambassadors for Magic and the gaming world. Finally, a big thank you to everyone at Wiley Publishing, especially Melody Layne, for giving me the opportunity to work on this book and for seeing me through the whole process, and Paul Levesque and Andy Hollandbeck, for their editing help and insights. 01_754161 ffirs.qxp 2/1/06 8:25 PM Page vii Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Senior Project Editor: Paul Levesque Acquisitions Editor: Melody Layne Copy Editor: Andy Hollandbeck Technical Editor: Anthony Gallela Editorial Manager: Leah Cameron Media Development Manager: Laura VanWinkle Media Development Supervisor: Richard Graves Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Composition Services Project Coordinator: Maridee Ennis Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Joyce Haughey, Barbara Moore Proofreaders: Leeann Harney, Jessica Kramer, Dwight Ramsey Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 01_754161 ffirs.qxp 2/1/06 8:25 PM Page viii