The second reason my kids are great targets for the Neopets TCG is that they both like collectible card games. We have spent an unconscionable amount of money on the Harry Potter game, and while neither of my children ever got interested in the Pokemon CCG, my son has a modest collection of Yu-Gi-Oh cards that he trades with friends. They have even both played Magic and 7th Sea, though I never let them root around in my collection of Doomtown cards.
So when I decided to review the Neopets trading card game, I decided it would be best to review it from the standpoint of my kids. If they like the game, it is a success. If I actually look forward to playing it as well, it is a resounding success. Having watched my kids go head to head several times with the game, I can definitely call Neopets a success, though I am not all that interested in playing it myself.
Background
Before I go into the guts of the game, it might be a good idea discuss Neopets in general. Since Neopets are targeted almost exclusively at grade-school kids, many adults – especially those without children – may not be familiar with this little online game that makes my kids froth at the mouth.
Neopets are little critters, short and sweet. They resemble actual animals – Mynci looks like a monkey, Flotsam is a little dolphin, and Uni is without a doubt a unicorn. Other Neopets are less definable, but they are all cute. A whole mythology surrounds Neopets – my kids can tell me about the Soup Fairy, the Tax Beast, and treasure hunters that stalk the caves of Neopia.
Kids that go to the Neopets website can adopt a Neopet, name it, and nurture it. They can buy food, enter contests, buy little trinkets (like Neggs and paintbrushes), and otherwise occupy entire afternoons. They earn Neopoints to spend on things like virtual toys, flowers, and even homes. In fact, I believe my son has spent these Neopoints on concert tickets to see Chomby and the Fungus Balls (I’m not touching that one).
The TCG exists separately from the Neopets site, but they still tie into one another, and my kids know so much about the site that they loved flipping through the cards and saying, ‘Look! I got a Snow Aisha! If we can get our Aisha experienced, we might have one, too!’ Which is more or less gibberish to me, but I am glad to see them having fun.
The Game
The Neopets TCG is actually quite simple. The starter packs, which have become a staple for card games released by Wizards, contain enough cards for two players. The decks are small, and the game is quite simple, but the starters do include a single random booster pack so that kids can begin expanding immediately.
The basic game is just that – basic. Players have decks of 30 cards, three of which are Neopets. Two of the six Neopets in the starter box are foil exclusives, which are pretty if not particularly valuable, being stock cards. The game also includes a playmat and rule book, and comes with two standard dice for resolving contests.
The playmat, which is quite a bit more important than nearly every other CCG, has four arenas. These arenas map to the four stats found on every Neopet – Strength, Agility, Intelligence and Magic. Neopets may compete in any one of these arenas, winning prizes for their owners.
Once a player has drawn a card to start a turn, then untapped all their Neopets, the turn actually begins. Players may tap Neopets to add equipment or start contests. These contests are the central point of the game, and the greatest portion of the strategy in the game involves placing Neopets properly and performing contests in order.
Contests are ridiculously simple. The two contestants compare their relevant trait scores and add any equipment they have attached. Players may augment their Neopets with item cards, which increase traits and are discarded after the contest. Finally, each player rolls a single die, which is added to the total for his Neopet. The higher result wins, unless one player rolls a 6. If a player rolls a 6, he wins, unless the other player rolls a 6, in which case they reroll.
If a player wins a contest on his turn, he may either bank a card or draw one. Item and equipment cards have a small coin in the corner with a number inside. When you accumulate 21 points of coins in your bank, you win the game. Deciding which card to bank can also be tricky, because players may want to use them to win contests.
The whole thing is ridiculously simple. My children at eight and nine picked it up on the first game. I have to remind them now and then to draw a card or untap their Neopets, but for the most part, they can play completely on their own. Their interest wanes rapidly, however, when there is so little to do. Fortunately, that’s where the advanced game comes in.
The advanced game introduces four new card types and rules for moving Neopets between arenas. Experienced Neopets may be swapped for existing Neopets, becoming virtual juggernauts among their weaker foes. Villains block arenas for both sides, allowing players to stop their opponents from scoring free wins. Heroes appear for one turn, use their nearly godlike traits to ensure a win, and then vanish to the discard pile. But probably the most interesting advanced card is called ‘Something Has Happened.’
The Something Has Happened cards allow for events that are not tied to the rather rigid rules of the rest of the game. You might swap out Neopets for free, remove equipment from other Neopets, or otherwise throw a curveball into the game. While my kids failed to recognize the potential for these cards, I finally found something about the game that actually intrigued me.
Even in its advanced form, the Neopets TCG is very simple. Deckbuilding is a piece of cake, though I do hope my kids will get past the ‘include every card I own’ phase and try to exercise some judgment and strategy. The different elements of the various Neopets add a little strategy, but it mostly means that it would be silly to include water equipment cards if you don’t have water Neopets.
Art and Design
Collectible card games are often miniature art galleries. I have purchased Magic cards simply because I loved the art, and I actually started playing 7th Sea just because I liked the paintings I saw on the sample cards at the counter. Art is fairly critical to a CCG’s success, and fortunately, Neopets delivers on target.
The art on the Neopets TCG cards is pleasing, if a little simple. It all reflects the cartoony, flat-shaded feel of the website. The art is not overly dramatic, but it is, at time, pretty cool. The cards are easy to read and pretty to look at.
The design of the cards is likewise good. The traits are located in color-coded boxes that make them instantly accessible, so that my kids could tell at a glance who won contests. There were, sadly, two design points that I felt should have been addressed.
First, the stats on item cards are not placed so that they can stack easily with Neopets. My kids regularly have to move their Neopet card to read the stats on equipment or items, which slows down the game. It doesn’t slow the game much, but for a generation know for short attention spans, that slowdown can reduce accessibility. In all fairness, my children don’t mind this at all, I just bring it up as an area in which the game could have been improved.
The second design flaw on the cards is the stars behind the card name. I had trouble reading a few of the cards thanks to the decorative stars behind them. I wouldn’t have minded the stars if they weren’t frequently obscuring the copy, but when you combine decorations with silly fonts, if can be tough to figure out if that card says ‘Kyrii’ or ‘Kurit,’ a mistake which caused my kids to openly mock me when I mispronounced the name of a Neopet.
Support
One thing that defines a quality game in my mind is good publisher support. I want to be able to find checklists and rarity without any hassle, and I love when publishers provide forums and articles for games I’m playing. The Neopets TCG is surprisingly well supported, more than nearly any game I have played. All the checklists you could need are right at the Neopets website, and the link for the site is printed right on a special card included in every booster. Not only do the special cards sometimes contain checklists on the back, but each one has a code that can be input at the Neopets site to earn special Neopets prizes. My kids were delighted to win 1200 Neopoints, a mug for their pets, a bottled faerie, and three virtual TCG cards. The tie-in is genius, and my kids went nuts when they scored the ultra-rare Rainbow Negg.
Summary and Observations
My kids love this game. They have played it for two days, and they are instant addicts. The booster packs are filled with villains and heroes, many of whom they recognize. They have played several games and spent more than an hour trading back and forth. From the standpoint of children’s games, this one is a hit.
I cannot profess the same enjoyment in the game. My kids like the art, but I found it generic and simplistic. The strategy in the game is light and over simplified, and the luck factor is just exacerbated by the die rolling that determines contest winners. I would play with my kids, but only because I like to play almost anything with my kids. I would certainly not spend any money on this game if I were not a parent.
Style: 4 – As pretty as one might expect from a game, but the art will not appeal to most gamers with sophisticated tastes and high expectations.
Substance: 4 – The game appeals to my kids, who are now instant fans. It holds no appeal for me personally, since I prefer my CCGs to be more strategy and less luck. I would have lowered the score even further, if not for the incredibly great support and website tie-in.
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