Why Magic: The Gathering is the most important modern game.
Magic: The Gathering is the most important modern game because it has and will continue to push innovations in all board games utlizing its technical language.
When becoming a board game designer, it is Magic that has built a firm foundation for many new designers to borrow and draw inspiration from. To give a bit of context before I jump in, below is a brief and over-simplified explanation.
History: How did it come to be and how do you play?
Other videos/ articles do this much better so go watch them. I will give you details that correspond with the thesis.
Created in 1993
Pioneered the idea that players do not have to share the same deck of cards, nor do they have to have the same cards in the decks (think Uno, Spades, Solitaire, etc...).
Pioneered the idea that games can evolve over time with expansions and new ways to play with the same game pieces (think if the classic 52 card deck received a new suit/ expanded card every few years). This, I would say, inadvertently created the market for collecting cards and trading them with others to try new decks and strategies.
Playing the game was very simple in the first few sets. Players today talk about the complexity of the cards and the amount of knowledge you need to know to play your first competitive game, but it wasn't always like that.
Two players build decks of at least sixty cards from the pool of cards available via friends/self/stores. The cards available are divided into different colors (like suits from the traditional deck of cards) White, Blue, Red, Green, and Black. The decks can be one or more colors. For example, you can build a deck with only white cards in it, or you can build a deck with white and any amount of the other colors.
Along with the pool of cards available, you need to include in your deck the currency to pay for the cards (i.e., White currency for white cards, blue for blue, etc...). The finished deck would probably look something like forty cards to play and twenty currency cards. This was interesting because most if not all games prior separated currency from game cards (i.e., Monopoly, Poker). In Magic, for you to play cards from your hand, you must also have drawn the necessary currency.
The goal of the game, once the decks were built, was to lower your opponent’s health from twenty to zero using the cards you put in your deck (and pay for them with the currency). Both players started at twenty health and had a starting hand of seven random cards from their respective decks. Some cards simply said, “deal three damage to your opponent” and some cards were a bit more nuanced, allowing combinations of them to deal up to twenty damage in a single turn if you assembled the right cards together on the table. For the experienced MTG player, I apologize that I have highly summarized creatures, artifacts, enchantments, sorceries and instants.
The cards that didn’t immediately do damage, but awarded players for thinking outside the box, propelled the game’s popularity due to its many combinations of strategy and enjoyment of researching cards and how they interacted with each other in the deck-building process. Someone who paid a lot of money for the high damage cards could still be beat by a budget friendly deck that utilized specific and highly synergistic cards.
Innovations in Game Design
Magic: The Gathering's technical language, often referred to as the Comprehensive Rules, is crucial for both card development within the game and for game developers outside of Magic for several reasons:
Precision and Consistency: Magic's technical language provides precise definitions and rules for game elements. This precision ensures consistency across cards and sets, preventing ambiguity and reducing the potential for misunderstandings. The most consistent mistake I have seen board game demo games have been inconsistent interactions. Sometimes it’s how two cards interact with each other. Other times it is how actions that replace/ enhance cards affect the rest of the game pieces already in play. Having language that is hyper precise allows questions to be answered quickly and concretely during gameplay. The last thing you want your players to do when playing your game is looking through the rulebook every time they want to interact.
Game Balance: The technical language helps maintain game balance by establishing a clear framework for card interactions. This is crucial in a collectible card game where thousands of cards from different sets may be in play simultaneously. In other board games, expansions have become quite popular to design and create. If the language is not technical enough, expansions could throw the game out of balance and thus causing players to lose hope in winning too early if another player achieves the unbalanced mechanic/card.
Card Design and Innovation: Game developers can study Magic's technical language to understand how certain mechanics or interactions are implemented. This knowledge inspires innovation and creativity in designing new card games or expanding existing ones. Below are the mechanics that Magic pioneered that many games use today.
Cultural Impact
Magic: The Gathering has evolved into a global phenomenon, with major tournaments held in numerous countries around the world.
The game's international appeal is reflected in the diversity of competitive play, with prominent tournaments hosted in countries such as Japan, Germany, Brazil, and more.
The Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame, which honors players for their exceptional contributions to the game, includes individuals from various nationalities. Notable Hall of Fame players who are not American include Kai Budde from Germany, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Magic history, and Shota Yasooka from Japan, known for his strategic brilliance and consistent success on the competitive stage. These international players have left an indelible mark on Magic's competitive landscape, contributing to the game's rich and diverse global community.
It is my opinion that if you want to be a good game designer, you should first consider understanding Magic: The Gathering. I concede that no game is enjoyed by everyone and Magic is no exception. Many people, especially after thirty years of new mechanics and cards, think Magic is too complicated to play and no longer enjoyable. However, Mark Rosewater, lead designer of Magic, wrote an article, "Ten Things Every Game Needs" that focuses on what makes a good game and how Magic incorporates those principles. I use these principles when designing my own games and if I am asked to give feedback on a game, it will be my assesment on how the game lines up with these principles.
Of course great games are designed without the use of Magic as inspiration or a guide. I simply want to suggest that when begining your own journey in game design, Magic the Gathering is, in my opinion, the most important and influencial modern game and you should utilize the hard work the designers already did to build unique mechanics and interactions. You might just get inspiration and create a new mechanic yourself!
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