Uuurrrnnggg... Dead Games, the fad of the 90's

1993 changed gaming as we know it, at least for a decade or so. Wizards of the Coast released the first "Alpha" series of Magic the Gathering, the first collectible card game. Heretofore card games on the market pretty much consisted of games played with a pinochle, or poker deck, or if you were really progressive you were playing Milles Bornes and Uno.

Magic the Gathering (MTG) introduced an entirely new gaming experience, and subsequently an whole new wooorrlld, of games that followed suit. The concept was quite ingenious, instead of having an out of the box game playing experience players could now customize their own deck of cards, and pit them against other players, and in the meantime chase down highly sought after cards that would make your opponent tremble in fear when it was thrown on the table. It caught on, and BIG, MTG is still thriving and new sets are being released regularly, with just about every gaming store in existence holding monthly if not weekly tournaments.

Because of the wild success of MTG, the entire gaming universe jumped on the collectible card game (CCG) band wagon, new gaming publishers sprouted up, and nearly EVERYTHING was turned into some form of a CCG.

What I'm about to say might be the most shocking thing you've ever heard. I have never played Magic the Gathering. I know, I should hand in my Geek Card. But I never got past the eerie and hostile nature of the majority of the cards (particularly the Black and Red cards).

I did however play my fair share of CCGs that showed up on the scene, all of which are now commonly referred to as "Dead Games." There are many I still dust off and enjoy playing from time to time, and others that, while I don't play them anymore, still hold a special place in my heart. Over the next several weeks, Firestone and I will be revisiting these games. Join us as we take this trip down memory lane and look at the games that time forgot, we'll look at the good, the bad, and those that shall not be named.