Magic: The Gathering

Created in 1993, Magic: The Gathering is commonly considered the world’s first trading card game. In a game of Magic, players represent wizards known as Planeswalkers who use spells assigned to each card to battle their opponents. While it was inspired by traditional fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, it does not share the same format as typical tabletop role-playing games and is considered more complex than most trading card games due to its substantially higher number of cards. As of February 2025, the game had more than 30.5 million players globally.

Senior Colin Chisholm (he/him) has been intermittently playing Magic: The Gathering for nearly four years. He first discovered it at a game store where he was originally drawn to the unique art, but soon came to appreciate the other aspects of the game. His desire to interact more with the game inspired him to help create the Magic: The Gathering club, which meets every Thursday in portable 3. 

“It’s just nice to have that space to get together and play,” Chisholm said.

In addition to being a fun pastime, Magic: The Gathering offers players a chance to sharpen their strategic thinking and problem-solving skills. The complexity of the game requires players to anticipate their opponent’s moves, making every match an exercise in critical thinking. The club’s small, tight-knit community serves as a supportive network for new players to learn trading card games and for experienced players to connect. The club’s atmosphere is a mix of collaborative and focused, Chisholm said.

“It’s generally kind of competitive, actually,” Chisholm said. “It’s mostly just trying to share decks and other stuff like that. It’s a community where there’s a lot of banter.”

While the club offers a local space for Magic fans to gather, the game itself has an expansive global community. Players around the world connect at large-scale events and online forums, forming an interconnected web of shared enthusiasm. Senior Franklin Carter (he/him), who has played Magic for over a decade, said local spaces like Zulu’s Board Game Cafe make trading card game communities accessible for anyone interested. He also said that smaller groups are helpful for new players who struggle with learning Magic’s complex rules and strategies.

“The main thing that’s needed for trading card game communities to grow is just places to meet, and there are plenty of spaces for casual and competitive Magic. Zulu’s is a great spot, and they do plenty of events for all sorts of trading card games pretty regularly,” Carter said. “A lot of the aspects of the game can be intimidating at first – the rulebook being about 300 or so pages, for example – but the community is pretty welcoming and some of the more popular formats right now are well-suited to newer players.”

Carter said that one of the best things about Magic: The Gathering and similar established trading card games is that they can be easily set up and played anywhere, which differentiates them from other board game formats. He played his first game of Commander, one of the most popular Magic formats, with strangers after spontaneously establishing a game.

“It’s impractical to lug around a box of Monopoly or Ticket to Ride, but a deck of cards is a lot handier to carry on,” Carter said. “There’s also a lot more possibilities as to what could happen in a game. As of now, there are about 27,000 unique cards in Magic.”

The game’s various formats and possibilities continue to expand its presence as one of the most well-known trading card games. Chisholm said he appreciates that both the club and the game itself have connected him to like-minded and passionate fans.

“The best thing is just getting the opportunity to play,” Chisholm said. “Getting to have the time that we can interact with it and talk about it.”

Pokémon 

Pokémon is one of the most versatile names in media, encompassing several films, mangas, anime series and mobile games. However, it first originated as a trading card game in 1996 and was popularized by its collectible cards and dynamic playing style. Senior Eric Wang (he/him) has been playing trading card games for ten years, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game is his favorite for its less complicated rules and iconic characters.

“I started with this game from the time I was young, and the characters are ingrained in American pop culture as it is also a large video game franchise,” Wang said. “I also think the game is easier to understand than other card games, so it is quite beginner-friendly.”

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, players assume the role of Pokémon Trainers and battle their opponents using a team of their own Pokémon, represented by trading cards. Standard gameplay includes typical Pokémon cards, Energy cards, and Trainer cards, which can be used to level up their Pokémon and deplete resources from their opponent. Most card effects rely on luck to determine an outcome, often using dice rolls and coin tosses as determining factors. Wang began playing after being introduced by friends, which sparked his passion for the game.

“A few of my friends started to play Pokémon, so I also got into it,” Wang said. “Slightly like positive peer pressure.”

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is one of the most well-known trading card games and maintains an active global fan base, with the game being the subject of numerous officially-sanctioned and informal tournaments. Play! Pokémon, a division of the Pokémon Company, oversees official tournaments on local, national, and international levels, while Wizards of the Coast, a role-playing game company, stages unofficial tournaments in malls and gaming stores across America. 

The game is most commonly known for its competitive multiplayer matches, but it is also uniquely acclaimed for its valuable cards, which many players buy in packs to collect as well. These cards are priced depending on their rarity, with factors like the card’s age and popularity in play determining its overall worth. The practice of pulling Pokémon cards involves purchasing packs in the hopes of finding a card with significant monetary value. Wang said that new players should be mindful of whether they are more focused on playing or collecting when starting the Pokémon Trading Card Game, as well as be advised that obtaining and collecting cards is often costly.

“Spend what you can afford to spend, and get a general idea of what you want to do with the cards: collecting or playing the games,” Wang said.