The Prism: A Breakdown of Expandable Card Games

In a spare moment of time I was reviewing BGG's list of Top 100 expandable/customizable games, specifically looking at TCG-type games, games like Flesh and Blood, Magic: The Gathering, Android Netrunner, Pokemon, etc. The BGG algorithm does not exclude revised core sets, second editions, or alternate versions of games, which means the Top 100 is more like the Top 60. Of these ~60 games, it was a surprise to realize I had played a good number. This got me thinking: What are other ways of slicing and dicing such games beyond “the best” or “most popular”? What does the prism of expandable card games look like?

Before exploring the prism, a few quick notes. First, I am a gamer not a collector. I understand the secondary market has a strong grip on certain games, but I care most about the table top experience. What I don't care about are the various acronyms—TCG, UCG, CCG, LCG, etc. I use the term “expandable card game” as a means of encompassing that myriad of card-based games which release a base/core set of cards, then periodically release new cycles of cards which enhance and iterate on the base experience.  Fair enough? Third, there are too many such games for the average person to have played them all. I have played twenty five, which is a good number, but does not include some of the more well known games (e.g. Yu-Gi-Oh, Summoner Wars, and others). In other words this post is not a be-all end-all, just a conversation starter. And lastly, this is a living page. As I play more such games I will update it.  There are a couple dozen new expandable card games due for release in the next twelve months...

Here are the facets of the prism I chose to look at:

• Best Art

• The Crunchiest

• Most Overrated

• Most Underrated

• Least Deterministic

• Most Deterministic

• Most Customer-Friendly Business Model

• Complexity

Entry-Level

Mid-Level

Complex

• Most Unique

• Most Thematic vs. Most Abstract

• Best Multi-player

• Best Cooperative

Without further ado, on to the prism of expandable card games. We'll start with a banger of a facet.