By Andres Salazar

The past couple of years have seen a massive growth of TCGs. For a number of reasons, games like the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Magic: The Gathering, and more recently, the official One Piece card game, have seen an increase in both the number of active players and card value. At this point, most major cities around have their own thriving card game scenes, with people meeting regularly to practice together and compete for valued prizes.

Getting into TCGs can be an exciting new adventure and can help you enter a new community of like-minded players. However, getting started with it all can be tricky; each game has a vastly different ruleset, building a deck takes time, some games might require special equipment like dice and some games might be from a series completely unknown to you. But, after getting through the tricky first steps, trading card games can be a wonderful hobby to partake in, with a great community surrounding it. For those who might need a little bit of direction, here’s your guide to getting started with trading card games!

Finding the Right Game

Perhaps one of the most daunting parts of the whole process, choosing a game to pick up is a hard enough decision; there are just so many out there. But, on the other hand, there’s a game out there for just about anyone: if you want to try the popular ones, the Pokémon TCG and Magic: The Gathering are some of the options with the biggest player bases out there. If not, Star Wars Unlimited and Lorcana are perfect for those who want to play with fan-favourite characters and locations. If not, other options like Flesh & Blood offer unique rulesets that keep playing, always feeling fresh.

The best way to go about choosing the right game is to go wherever your curiosity takes you; TCGs are famous for having complex and high-quality artwork, so the right choice could be the one you find the most visually appealing. Otherwise, the thing that catches your interest could be the game’s unique ruleset, such as Lorcana’s heavy emphasis on using multiple cards together to create strong combo attacks. What’s wonderful is that many local comic and hobby stores will often have days, or entire clubs, for you to go and try out all these new games, helping you choose the one that has the right balance of fun and competitiveness. Even better, TCGs are often even more enjoyable when you have a friend who will tag along and learn the game alongside you. The point of it all is that card games are wildly flexible, and there’s always one that suits everyone’s individual interests.

Getting the Essentials

The nice thing about TCGs is that the entry cost is generally low. If you watch online influencers and personalities, you might see all these flashy dice, extravagant playmats and specialized accessories that give the game some extra flair. While great ways to add to the gaming experience, the truth is that most of it is entirely optional. Most TCGs sell single-player starter packs, which usually contain a premade deck, a basic playmat to help you learn where to place the cards, and some small accessories to keep track of points and damage. Quite honestly, that’s about the only thing you really need to get started. Even better, many TCGs, like Disney’s Lorcana and Star Wars Unlimited, offer two-player starter boxes that let you and a partner learn the ins and outs of the game at the same time.

What’s wonderful about TCG starter kits is that, oftentimes, the decks and accessories are precisely designed and chosen with beginners in mind. While not necessarily the most competitively top tier cards, starter decks give you just the right balance of cards that are easy to learn, yet complex enough to implement some creative strategies. Once you get the hang of the starter packages, the premium accessories like themed dice and custom playmats are great options to reflect your personality and playstyle. Additional booster packs getting you more cards are also much more worth it after you’ve gotten the hang of the basics, as you’ll be able to see new strategies coming up as you open the card packs. Over time, you’ll find yourself using new and dynamic strategies that will get you the upper hand in play, all while showing off your new playmat that proudly displays your favourite characters and locations.

A game of Disney’s Lorcana being played Photo by Andres Salazar.

Learning to play

Once you’ve got the basic materials to get started, it’s about time the games begin. Luckily, learning the ropes is easier than ever; most major TCGs have official YouTube channels, with multi-video series focused on the ins and outs of the ruleset. This is a great place to start, as the videos are often short and concise, yet very detailed, making it wildly easy to get the hang of the gameplay. If there’s still some confusion, however, other independent YouTube channels, or even the game’s Reddit pages are excellent places to get some extra clarification from fellow players.

Generally speaking, the ideal would be to learn the game alongside someone like a close friend, or a significant other. But, if that isn’t an option, most cities have welcoming TCG communities, often in comic book stores. These communities are always happy to let anyone join their tables, as the games only get more exciting as the playerbase also expands. Even if you happen to live in the middle of nowhere, most TCGs can be played virtually, with online communities also constantly on the lookout for people to join. Simply put, TCG players are always eager to find other fans of the same game, even if it means going to creative lengths to find people to play with and platforms to play on.

Your turn!

Trading card games are great hobbies for a number of reasons: they’re a perfect mix of fun and competitiveness, they have a very welcoming community, and there’s so much variety that virtually anyone can find a game that’s interesting to them. While getting started with TCGs can be a bit confusing at first, there’s a number of ways to make the learning process more enjoyable. If you find yourself looking for a new activity to partake in, try getting yourself a starter deck, find yourself a person to get started with, and draw seven cards; it only gets more exciting from there.

Picture from the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Phantasmal Flames pre-release tournament at Showcase Comics, in Lethbridge, AB. Photo by Andres Salazar.