A whole Multiverse of trouble.
If someone were to ask what the best card game that ever existed would be I would respond with a grin and say boldly “Magic the Gathering”. For those of you who have never heard of it (or have and simply paid no attention to it), Magic the Gathering is a card game consisting of 2 to 10+ players (depending on how intense of a game you want); each player represents a “Planeswalker” or a being who possesses extraordinary magical powers allotting them to deploy spells, artifacts, and (sometimes) dangerous creatures depicted on their own individual cards. Like many other strategic card games each player has a deck with a minimal amount of 60 cards, while it’s possible to create a larger deck with no maximum size it is frowned upon (and from my experiences it’s not exactly the greatest idea in the book). There are a variety of different deck types with different strategies for each one: Beatdown, Burn, Aggro, Goblin, Combo, and Control are some of the many available to create and customize to your heart’s content. The cards follow 5 basic colors or “Mana Types” (White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green).
Every deck of mine has had some kind of Graveyard play, either from sacrificing creatures and zombies to pump my other weaker creatures then bring them back or overwhelm my opponent with a horde of zombie tokens. (I love me some Zombies). Mana is the primary resource for playing spells typically drawn from lands, but it can also be generated by non-land permanents and spells as well. I have a feeling that if I continue to explain the rules of the game and it’s gameplay mechanics this would probably be the longest blog post in modern history, so I decided to provide a handy little link to quench your curiosity (http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com).
The massive amount of cards makes every game different and I predict that I will be at an old age and still be playing at the nearest Magic distribution center. As big as it may be there are many who believe that the game is stupid and appeals only to immature teenagers and 50 year-old virgins who fail to escape from their grandmother’s basement, I must assure you that not only is it fun and a great social tool, but also exercises your brain and increases your mental health. 😀
May sound like I’m releasing hot air (…or foreign characters–for you more technical beings), but it’s true. The game can be played by all ages…except maybe those who are younger than 16 or so only because of the artwork that some display, which could cause some uneasy feelings in parents.
My love for the game is more than just playing it, each and every card and character released has a story to it that connects it to the main plot line Magic the Gathering centralizes on.
*Pop quiz: which came first, the story or the cards?
You would be surprised what the answer is if you knew nothing about it. I was amazed too and it doesn’t seem plausible that all these cards originated from one massive story. Of course many cards were created to fit into it and therefore expanding the story even farther and deeper into it’s mythology, there’s no other game like it (BUT still not better than Halo, sorry folks.) and that’s why I am loyal to the game regardless of others opinions. More hours and dollar bills have gone into Magic than I can count, honestly I’ve seen pay checks quite literally transmogrify into these cardboard objects in order to satisfy my cravings and obsessive desires to become the very best (“…that no one ever was–to catch them is my request…”). 
For now my Magic antics has subsided at the moment, I miss attending tournaments every other Friday, but casual play here and there keeps me from collecting dust. Working does a terrible number on your priorities and the welcome into adulthood was anything from warm. (I think I can hear one of my fathers proverbs echoing in my skull.)
The Magic community I feel might one day gain the attention of the movie business which could mean Hollywood could someday redeem itself from their past spin-off failures if they did a good enough job, the problem with that is the exact plot of the film. It sounds completely ludicrous to make a movie based on a card game, but it wouldn’t be any different than making one based on a board game. (*cough* Battlefield *cough* Monopoly *cough*) The other problem would be to which storyline the plot would follow. Let’s say I were to do the movie I would graciously base it on Innistrad and the story surrounding the Planeswalker Sorin Markov and the rise of Avacyn the angel.
To avoid spoilers I will stop there.
I wouldn’t mind however if the possible plot would be all the Planeswalkers in the Multiverse joining forces to destroy the dragon Nicol Bolas who threatens to destroy their planes..or something more epic if they prefer. (In a diabolical scheme I would make J.J. Abrams learn everything about Magic the Gathering, train him in the art of the game, and convince him to begin production on the film.) Haters gonna’ hate.
I suggest to any curious fellow who has the chance to pick up a cheap deck or observe a tournament needs to do so, I’ve had loads of fun playing the game and it’s quite easy to learn, but years to master. Who knows…you might even make a living out of it. (<this guy tried to)
Better With A Pen 