Card Game Variants - Collectable Trading Cards (DD1000)

Trading cards have been around for over 100 years (some of the first found in cigarette packets) and were generally used for collecting. These tend to be based around sports such as baseball (although non sports card were manufactured) where each player on a team will have his/her own card, maybe with a signature or some sort of personal addition along with some kind of statistics.

Actual trading card games are different in that they combine the collecting of regular trading cards with strategic game play. These games use sets of specially designed cards that can be used in conjunction with that specific games rule set. 

These games are generally more competitive and tournaments are held worldwide to win a variety of prizes which could be cash or a special card of some sort.The very first TCG (Trading Card Game) is Magic: The Gathering which was first released in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. This is probably the best TCG in my opinion although I haven't played it recently. There is also a digital version of the game which is released annually that takes many existing cards from the actual game so it is more convenient for players to find rivals online.

Other popular games include the Japanese titles Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh which have spawned their own set of video games and anime series.