Breakfast Topic: Have you played those other games?
One of the things I got to do at BlizzCon 2009 that ended up being a whole lot of fun was sit down and play a few rounds of the World of Warcraft TCG at the Upper Deck Booth. I actually plan to write a bit more on that later, but for now, my main thought on it was that it was pretty fun. As a former Magic: The Gathering Player way back in the early 3rd edition days, I've always held a soft spot in my heart for a good solid card game, and I've been meaning for the longest time to check out the TCG as something more than a silly thing that refuses to give me a mount.
I have to say, if anything, that I probably enjoyed it too much. Not only did I catch onto the rules pretty quickly, but I was transported back to the old magic days, and I'm halfway tempted now to perfect a good solid deck and go out to my local gaming store in a couple weekends to see if anyone else plays. On the other hand, I'm trying to avoid that temptation, because I just know it'll eat up my life like Magic did back in the day.
I had actually hoped to head back and get in some play time on the minis game as well, but unfortunately, I just couldn't squeeze it into my schedule. Of course, once we finished up the Podcast on the second night, Kevin Kelly broke out the World of Warcraft Adventure game, and while I didn't actually play, I laid drowsily on my hotel bed and listened to everyone else figure it out. It actually seemed like it might be alright once you figured out the rules.
There's probably a stigma with the board and card games that have come out of WoW, just because some people probably figure they're just a way to make a quick buck off a popular product. Why play a game in meat space when you can log on to the MMO anyway? My answer, having finally played one, is that they're a hell of a lot of fun. The atmosphere and storyline of WoW work well for me, so taking that sense of style and structure into other mediums leads to enjoyment too.
Anyway, here's my question: What's been your experience with all the extra card and board game spinoffs of WoW? Have you tried them? If so, did you like them? If you haven't tried them yet, why not?
