Richard Garfield
Richard Garfield designed Magic: The Gathering (1993), the first collectible card game.[1] Tom Braunlich and Rollie Tesh met him on Bainbridge Island, near Wizards of the Coast, while they designed Decipher's Star Trek CCG. They told Wizards they would not copy Magic.[2] After Lucasfilm moved the Star Wars card-game license from Decipher to Wizards of the Coast, Garfield designed the Star Wars Trading Card Game (2002).[3]
The credits page of the Premiere Two-Player Introductory Game rules booklet (1995) thanks Richard Garfield "for a brilliant and inspiring new game genre".[4]
Meeting Decipher's designers
Braunlich and Tesh heard about Magic from another inventor and met Wizards of the Coast "a couple of times". They saw that a strong license with an original gameplay system "would have a natural."[5] Because they lived on Bainbridge Island near Wizards, they met Garfield and "assured them we weren't gonna copy".[2]
Braunlich said their aim was "to not copy what Magic: The Gathering was doing, but have a game that really captured the essence of these licenses."[6] See Inspirations for Star Wars CCG#Magic: The Gathering.
Star Wars Trading Card Game
Wizards of the Coast published the Star Wars Trading Card Game from April 2002. Garfield designed it. It used all-new mechanics and was not compatible with Star Wars CCG.[7][3]
SWCCG players Jonny Chu and Paul Todd Feldman playtested it at Wizards. Chu said the testers met Garfield. The players told Wizards they would not play the game.[8][9]
See also
- Tom Braunlich · Rollie Tesh
- Star Trek CCG · Star Wars CCG
- Inspirations for Star Wars CCG
- Star Wars Trading Card Game
- Decipher
- Transcripts: Radio Free Decipher/Episode 14 transcript
References
- ↑ Richard Garfield, Wikipedia. Preserved copy: Internet Archive.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Booster Pack #27 — The making of the Star Trek CCG with Tom Braunlich, The Booster Pack Network (10 August 2022), 9:06–10:30. Preserved copy: Internet Archive.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars Trading Card Game, Wikipedia. Preserved copy: Internet Archive.
- ↑ Introductory Two-Player Game Rules Booklet, Decipher / Parker Brothers (1995), credits page. Preserved copy: Internet Archive
- ↑ Broadcast 14 – Radio Free Decipher (16 April 1999): Rollie Tesh, Tom Braunlich (Part 1), Decipher; posted by Player's Council (aired 16 April 1999), 4:39–6:44. Preserved copy: Internet Archive. Transcript: Radio Free Decipher/Episode 14 transcript.
- ↑ Ben Lindbergh, The Force Is Strong With This 'Star Wars' Subculture, The Ringer (21 May 2018). Preserved copy: Internet Archive.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast Gets Star Wars CCG, ICv2 (1 January 2002). Preserved copy: Internet Archive.
- ↑ SWCCG PDS2: Jonny Chu Interview & HB X-wings, Bill Bisco, YouTube (28 April 2025), 17:52–19:04. Preserved copy: Internet Archive.
- ↑ SWCCG PDS2: DRTORCH Worlds Finalist 1996,1997,1999,2000 Interview, MWYHL 2Test, Bill Bisco, YouTube (29 May 2025), 3:27–4:10. Preserved copy: Internet Archive.