The first CCG (which originally stood for “Concerted Card Gouging” but was later changed to “Collectible Card Game” after the Great Acronym Wars of ’97) was created in 1835 when Abraham Lincoln handed out what were then called “freedom cards” to British soldiers still fighting a very confused portion of the French and Indian War. This game, which was called Robot Punch-Town for reasons unknown to anyone else, was later the cause of a time-traveling British man giving Frank Lloyd Wright a firearm to shoot Lincoln. Said gun was pawned off on another guy, Booth or Boots or Brook something, I don’t remember.
The world’s most popular CCG is Magic: the Gathering, which was created by Richard Garfield in the hopes of eventually being elected president due to the little-known Card Game Rule of presidential succession. The rule states that if at the beginning of the draw step the sitting president is unable to spend at least two colorless mana, they must relinquish the presidency. Fortunately, all presidents have sideboarded in Protection from Constitutional Chicanery, which requires 1 life to avoid being unseated. This is why Nixon was not impeached.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this string of ridiculous facts which in no way resemble truth. Down below is What Are You Playing, which may be as truthful as you like. Also, Counterspell should never have been costed at two blue mana.
​Andrew Ross (@dengarsw): I have so much I have to do before I just sit down and play games for fun. Because I have to get a jump on my taxes (filing from abroad is stressful), I’ll just listen to some classy music while I’m working. That song always makes me feel better about doing my civic duty.
For fun, I probably only have some time for Hearthstone. MJ’s HEX enthusiasm keeps drawing me to it, but the PvE side keeps me glued to fan sites as I try to decide which class/race I should pick. Ugh! I just checked some fan sites again! Maybe I’ll choose next weekend.
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): Same as last week for me, though my family’s all sick – if I get time to play, it’ll be Black Desert!
Eliot Lefebvre (@Eliot_Lefebvre, blog): Am I done with Final Fantasy XIV? All signs point to of course not, so I’ll be playing away there. Might also finally pick up Stardew Valley as something to play in the interim, as well.
MJ Guthrie (@MJ_Guthrie, blog): I’ll be splitting my time between Black Desert, ARK: Survival Evolved, and HEX. There’s much to do in each of them, and things to tame in all three! If all goes well, I can throw a little Dishonored into the mix.
Pierre, patron: XCOM 2 is still my gaming preference this weekend. It’s confirmed, it’s definitely an addiction to an amazing video game. However, I think when I’m tired of saving Earth from the alien occupation, I will answer the call of The Elder Scrolls Online. The new content is here: the Thieves’ Guild, the 64-bit client, and many other improvements and additions to an already really enjoyable MMO. Have a nice gaming weekend, everyone!
Thatchefdude, patron: This weekend I will be sitting soberly drinking some fine scotch as a farewell toast to what EverQuest Next could have been. I’m tempted to get back into EverQuest or EverQuest II this weekend to commemorate SOE’s glory days, but frankly I’m enjoying Black Desert and FFXIV too much for that… so the scotch will have to do.
Your turn!
