The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Overview

I was asked to review the Sailor Moon CCG Two-Player Introductory Starter Deck. After this they’ll probably never let me review again, but (deep breath) here goes...

I have to be brutal. This game bored me. I asked myself, what is the point? Both players play Sailor Scouts, and effectively battle each other. But that doesn’t represent the Sailor Moon world at all. There is no characterisation and no story. It is functional, but fails to invoke the sense of fun and adventure of the source. Then I considered, being old (29 years) and cynical, it is probably just me, so I brought in two playtest teams (see below) to get an independent opinion.

Product

This is an Introductory Starter Deck. It includes two 30 card decks, a rule book, and 12 health counter beads. Naturally, I immediately wanted to get more cards and explore the game further. I shouldn’t criticise this as it is a CCG and that is probably an outcome the producers of the game want. The health beads are uninspiring. They are made from cheap coloured glass and have nothing to do with the Sailor Moon world. And one of them was much smaller than the others, like the runt of the litter.

Game Overview

Two sides battle off . Each side represents one group of Sailor Scouts which battle by throwing monsters at each other. Once you defeat enough monsters, you win.

Play

Each character has attacks and special abilities. To activate them an amount of “Power” is required. There are three types of power, mind, body, and soul. So part of the play is to collect power. Also, you can add new Scouts/Knights to your side, power up levels, add special items, and finally, attack the monsters.

There is also Jan-Ken-Pon, which I know as Paper-Scissors-Rock. If you don’t know this game, I guess you’ve been living under one (a rock, that is). Rules are provided for this. It is quite surreal to see the simplest of games put into words. However it is about the only aspect of the game play that is cute. Cute is an emotive word, perhaps, and it is good that there is at least something emotive, or at least not totally sterile, about the gameplay.

Art

The art is good, I guess, but far from inspirational. There are nice grabs from the cartoon, with quotes and references to the episode, but I would prefer references for the images. The card layout is quite good, reasonable simple and easy to pick out the necessary information.

Playtest

The first playtest I did with my brother. He is 16, and has been a Sailor Moon fan for some years. I think this game may have put him off Sailor Moon. He was more bored than I was. We found it difficult wading through the mechanics to get to the game. It was like eating cardboard. The game offered us no motivation to want to attack each other.

The second playtest I did with the two daughters of one of my close friends. The girls are 7 and 8 and they loved it. They did not, however, play the game. The just loved the cards, and immediately started making up their own story with the cards that were provided. I think their mother is now very annoyed with me as the girls insist on buying more cards. Many, many more cards...

Conclusion

So who really is the audience for this game? Do the producers of this game want people to collect or play? I suspect it is the former. For younger children I would recommend this game as another way they can enjoy Sailor Moon. But don’t expect them to actually play according to the rules. For fans, if you are hard core collectors, then, by all means, collect, but if you are looking for a product to invoke the Sailor Moon world, this isn’t it. I understand the roleplaying game is much better.

Titus (Negaverse Yoma Monster) asks, ironically as far as I’m concerned, “are you all having as much fun as I am, folks?”

Sailor Moon CCG Two-Player Introductory Starter Deck
Sailor Moon CCG Two-Player Introductory Starter Deck Capsule Review by Donal Ellis on 25/09/01 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average) The Sailor Moon CCG failed to invoke the sense of fun of the source. An adequate product, and typical of CCG introductory sets, but far from impressive. Product: Sailor Moon CCG Two-Player Introductory Starter Deck Author: Mark C. MacKinnon Category: Card Game Company/Publisher: Guardians of Order Line: Cost: $AUS19.00 Page count: 48 Year published: 2000 ISBN: 9 791894 335231 SKU: 90031 Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Donal Ellis on 25/09/01 Genre tags: Anime	Overview I was asked to review the Sailor Moon CCG Two-Player Introductory Starter Deck. After this they’ll probably never let me review again, but (deep breath) here goes... I have to be brutal. This game bored me. I asked myself, what is the point? Both players play Sailor Scouts, and effectively battle each other. But that doesn’t represent the Sailor Moon world at all. There is no characterisation and no story. It is functional, but fails to invoke the sense of fun and adventure of the source. Then I considered, being old (29 years) and cynical, it is probably just me, so I brought in two playtest teams (see below) to get an independent opinion. Product This is an Introductory Starter Deck. It includes two 30 card decks, a rule book, and 12 health counter beads. Naturally, I immediately wanted to get more cards and explore the game further. I shouldn’t criticise this as it is a CCG and that is probably an outcome the producers of the game want. The health beads are uninspiring. They are made from cheap coloured glass and have nothing to do with the Sailor Moon world. And one of them was much smaller than the others, like the runt of the litter. Game Overview Two sides battle off . Each side represents one group of Sailor Scouts which battle by throwing monsters at each other. Once you defeat enough monsters, you win. Play Each character has attacks and special abilities. To activate them an amount of “Power” is required. There are three types of power, mind, body, and soul. So part of the play is to collect power. Also, you can add new Scouts/Knights to your side, power up levels, add special items, and finally, attack the monsters. There is also Jan-Ken-Pon, which I know as Paper-Scissors-Rock. If you don’t know this game, I guess you’ve been living under one (a rock, that is). Rules are provided for this. It is quite surreal to see the simplest of games put into words. However it is about the only aspect of the game play that is cute. Cute is an emotive word, perhaps, and it is good that there is at least something emotive, or at least not totally sterile, about the gameplay. Art The art is good, I guess, but far from inspirational. There are nice grabs from the cartoon, with quotes and references to the episode, but I would prefer references for the images. The card layout is quite good, reasonable simple and easy to pick out the necessary information. Playtest The first playtest I did with my brother. He is 16, and has been a Sailor Moon fan for some years. I think this game may have put him off Sailor Moon. He was more bored than I was. We found it difficult wading through the mechanics to get to the game. It was like eating cardboard. The game offered us no motivation to want to attack each other. The second playtest I did with the two daughters of one of my close friends. The girls are 7 and 8 and they loved it. They did not, however, play the game. The just loved the cards, and immediately started making up their own story with the cards that were provided. I think their mother is now very annoyed with me as the girls insist on buying more cards. Many, many more cards... Conclusion So who really is the audience for this game? Do the producers of this game want people to collect or play? I suspect it is the former. For younger children I would recommend this game as another way they can enjoy Sailor Moon. But don’t expect them to actually play according to the rules. For fans, if you are hard core collectors, then, by all means, collect, but if you are looking for a product to invoke the Sailor Moon world, this isn’t it. I understand the roleplaying game is much better. Titus (Negaverse Yoma Monster) asks, ironically as far as I’m concerned, “are you all having as much fun as I am, folks?”