Every Friday night a hard-core group of Magic: The Gathering devotees gather at Altered Reality on Third Avenue in Timmins to play the game that started as a childhood pursuit but has transformed into a grown up passion.
“I love the game because there are so many variety of games you can play with Magic cards,” said one of the players.
He's a bit shy about his grown up passion so we'll just call him Edward.
Edward is one 10 people who gathered to play Magic: The Gathering Friday night
The card game is a world-wide phenomena that keeps mushrooming.
Magic cards were first published by Wizards of the Coast in August ,1993.
According to Owen Duffy, who wrote about the popularity of the Magic Card craze in the Guardian in July, 2015, over 20 million people world-wide now play the game.
Click here to read Owen Duffy’s article in its entirety.
Edward has been playing Magic: The Gathering on Friday evenings at Altered Reality since 2009.
Altered Reality is the former Book Bin. The marquee outside still says Book Bin, but owner Michael Young said the name has changed to Altered Reality.
“It will take awhile to save up the money to pay for signage change,” explained Young
“Do you know what they are asking for to put up a sign nowadays?”.
“It’s unbelievable,” he sighed.
“Magic cards really cast a spell on those who grew up with them,” adds Edward. “The original generation that started play with Magic cards in 1993 are still collecting and playing Magic: The Gathering.”
The game is played by two or more players who select from a variety of games. The most popular uses a deck of 60 or more cards. They can be played with cards, on a smartphone or tablet, or other computer programs.
The play in the card game represents a battle between "planes walkers" - wizards who cast spells, use tools and weapons, even creatures to triumph over their opponents.
New cards are released regularly. Fans have even organized an international tournament system that includes professional players.
A market in rare or powerful Magic Cards has developed. Some Magic cards can be valuable due to their rarity and usefulness in competition. Cards can be valued as low as a few cents to thousands of dollars.
Since 1993, more than 18,000 individual Magic: The Gathering cards have been mass produced in the 10s of millions and distributed all over the world.
Edward explains that the deck used to play the Magic Card games has 60 cards and each player draws seven cards to start the round.
In the game cards are drawn that enable your opponent to cast spells.
“You need a land card to place a spell,” explained Edward
“There five colour cards as well,” he adds.
On most Fridays the Magic Card league draws between 10 to 30 players according to Tim.
Scott Sugden, 33, living in Montreal, thoroughly understands the appeal of the game to people like Edward and the other regular Magic: The Gathering players in Timmins.
He started playing as an 11 year-old in August, 1993 when the game first came out
“I’ve played magic cards for a long time,” said Sugden who has a PHD in immunology and is a medical research assistant at McGill Medical Centre.
“I still play whenever I can, which these days is not often” Sugden added. “Bottom line is; the game is fun. Even if you strip away all the "flavour" (i.e. Dragons and swords), the game itself is complicated and nuanced."
“Friday night’s the time to play "officially", Sugden noted. “Wizards of the Coast organizes world-wide, rank matches every Friday night called "Friday Night Magic."
“In terms of girls playing, there are a few, but it's generally a "boys club," Sugden acknowledged.
While obviously pleased that Magic: The Gathering's popularity has created a large pool of loyal fans, one of Edward's fellow players bemoans the growing numbers of aficionados because it has harmed the once lucrative Magic card market.
“The values of the cards are decreasing because too many collectors have amassed too many cards that are in mint condition,” he theorized, much like an economist trying to explain a drop in metal prices.
Despite the sagging value of Magic cards, there is some great news on the horizon.
“A movie is in the works,” said another of Edward's friends. “It will be released over the next three years.”
In 2014, the producers of the Game of Thrones series were asked by 20th Century Fox to write a script for Magic: The Gathering.
For more information on Magic cards click here: http://magic.wizards.com/
