Obscure TCG’s that Rock
Trading card games (also called TCG’s for short) have soared in popularity since the release of the official first TCG Magic: The Gathering way back in 1993. Hundeds of TCG’s have hit the market since then – some just plan weird, most of them a lot of fun. We took a look at some awesome TCG’s and created this list, just for you!
Necronomicon (Online)
Necronomicon and Necronomicon 2 (not to be confused with the 1994 Japanese video game of the same name) is an online flash-based trading card game based around HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos. Lovers of horror-themed games and Lovecraft’s work will dig this. You can play it and it’s sequel on Newgrounds here.
Sim City the Card Game
SimCity for PC was first released in 1989, but Sim City the card game was released in 1995 – with accompanying starter decks for other cities like Chicago and New York released later on. Much like the video game, your goal is to create a city out of the cards you have in your deck. The game has been officially discontinued, but you can still buy decks and individual cards online. You can also download the accompanying rulebook here.
Plants versus Zombies: Heroes
Here’s another TCG that can be downloaded to your Android or Apple device. The format of the game is exactly what you’d imagine a Plants versus Zombies trading card game to be like. And that’s not all! You can also check into related games Risk: Plants versus Zombies, a board game version of it.
American Idol the TCG
Games based on TV shows are nothing new. Think of Family Fued, The Price is Right, Jeopardy! But as far as we can tell, those were all pretty straight-forward game shows. There are prizes, questions, participation. But then there’s American Idol the Trading Card Game, which we really can’t tell why it exists. The game contains 110 cards featuring judges and contestants – those who made it and those who don’t. (As far as we can tell, no, there aren’t trading card games available for every season, either… Why, creators of this, why?
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle
Here’s a fun card-based reworking of Vampire: The Masquerade, a hugely successful tabletop game originally created by White Wolf Publishing and released in 1991. Then came Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines in 2004, the game that took the world of the vampire to the PC. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle is the TCG addition to the vampire series. Overall, the series featured some truly incredible artwork that makes this a must-have for any serious collector. You can play an unofficially hosted version of the game online, here.
Deadlands; Doomtown
Okay, stop the presses. This has to be one of the coolest TCG’s we’ve found yet. Doomtown was made to be ridiculously elaborate, including “storyline tourments”. The game is centered around the old Wild West, and it even went as far as to incorporate poker hands into the game. The original version of the game was reportedly discontinued in 2000, but Doomtown: Reloaded brought it back to players in 2004.
