Top 5 Modern Card Games

Top 5 Modern Card Games

I always wanted to make a blog, but never had any ideas of what to talk about. Then I came up with the idea of listing and posting about great games. This is my first post, so take it easy on me. If you dont see your favorite game listed, leave it as a comment and we can try to work it into future lists.

5: Carcassonne by Rio Grande Games. Created by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede this game has won a bunch of awards, has at least 11 expansions, and was made into an Xbox 360 game that can be bought through Microsoft’s Marketplace.
It is a very simple tile game where each player takes turns laying down tiles that build roads, fields, churches, cities which all surround the great medieval French city of Carcassonne.
Each player takes turns placing down a new tile and attaching it to the rest, hopefully in strategic location that grants them the most about of points. You get points by completing roads, cities, cloisters and other things. The smarter you place your tiles the more points you get and so your chances of victory greatly increase.
If you ever wanted to build medieval French hillsides into rolling expanses of civilization check out the Carcassonne page at: http://www.riograndegames.com/games.html?id=48

4: Munchkin by Steve Jackson Games. Steve Jackson has made a lot of games. I mean a lot. From GURPS to Illuminati to Car Wars he has a good arsenal of games under his belt, but Munchkin seems to be everywhere now. It is a card game pure accumulation, whether it be wacky treasure, monster corpses’ or levels, the more you have the better you are doing. The first player to make it to level 10 is the winner.
And talk about product support! It seems Steve is cranking out an expansion every other day. Each expansion adds a whole nother aspect or flavor to the game.
If you like to backstab your friends and take their treasure on your was to a winning a game check out the Munchkin page at: http://www.sjgames.com/munchkin/game/

3: Settlers of Catan by Mayfair Games. This game is one the list because everybody I know who is into games has or is playing it. It sold over 11 million copies! That is huge. Really HUGE! Admittedly its not just a card game, you do get hexagon tiles pieces, but its won so many awards it should be listed. Designed by Klaus Teuber Settlers of Catan is a game where as a player you are new to the island of Catan and it’s your job to help colonize the place.
You have to deal with pirates and robbers, harvesting commodities, like wood for buildings and bricks for roads, and trading with other players to get the resources you need. The first player to build a substantial portion of the colony wins. And very much like our Number 5 pick Carcassonne, Settlers has a bunch of expansions as well.
If you like would like to be a pilgrim and want to make a like a little island paradise of your own check out Settlers of Catan page at: http://www.mayfairgames.com/

2: Adventurer Card Game by Shadowcircle Press. This game is new to the market. Very new as a matter of fact. It only came out a few weeks ago, but I had played it at a bunch of conventions that the designer, K.R.Bourgoine, was demo’ing it at.
It, very much like it is described on its website, is a fast paced, simple adventuring card game where your goal as a hero is to acquire as much treasure as you can to beef yourself up so that you can be the first one to defeat the evil vampire in his castle. In this rules-light game you have to deal with hungry zombies, frightful traps, vampire bride ambushes all the while trying to find a little wooden stake so you can take out the Count once and for all.
It’s great because it is everything you need in one simple little box and personally I cant wait for the expansions to come out.

The game is in limited release off its website and there are rumors that K.R. is giving away free prototype cards with each purchase: http://www.adventurergame.com/

1: Magic the Gathering by Wizards of the Coast. The game that started it all! Or at least the Collectors Card Game (CCG) scene. The brilliance of a collectable game like this is overwhelming. Nobody likes to loose and with this game, the more cards you buy the more options you have to increase your chances of winning.
I actually have friends who have traveled around the world playing in tournaments for this game. People who you would have thought would never leave there little town, let alone transverse the globe. They also made a significant income playing a game they loved. I have never heard that about Monopoly players.
In Magic the Gathering you play a wizard with spells, the spells being the cards in the deck you have assembled from all the cards you bought and your only duty is the defeat the other player before he defeats you. That’s it. Its that simple. Well not really. The sheer volume of cards you can buy or could have collected over time is staggering. While I know that playing has a lot to do with collecting the right cards I think that it also a game of intelligence.

Think you have what it takes to travel the world as a professional player? If so all sorts of Magic the Gathering products and information can be found at:
http://www.Wizards.com/Magic/