In case you missed it, earlier this week Wizards of the Coast announced that they will not be renewing their license with Lucasfilm over the gamng rights to the Star Wars franchise. While this is a blow to the SW:RPG and minis games that WotC is working on, tis may instead be a boon to other gaming companies, including FFG. The license itself is rich with detail and opportunities, and I think FFG should seriously consider picking up the license to do an LCG of the Star Wars game (as well as some real, serious board games in the setting).

I'm not going to speculate on how the game would work, but there are plenty of options, and the fact that they would have access to the movies would mean they wouldn't need to pay for art -- a big boon for a card game; just look at how much art for Warhammer: invasion is "recycled."

So, who else would love to see -- and buy -- a Star Wars LCG?

Star Wars LCG?!?!?!... Absolutely YES!!!!!

While I certainly would like to see a Star Wars LCG, it seems rather unlikely. The licenses for Star Wars are known to be rather expensive and I'd guess that WotC didn't continue the franchise because it didn't make enough profit. IMO it wouldn't be a wise move of FFG to get the license at this point. I think there are better options for their next LCG, if they do not already have one in the making.

How'bout a WH40K LCG?

Could FFG buy up licenses to some of the old CCGs? I've been playing CCGs since 1993 and a -whole lot- of awesome games came and went because either they couldn't compete with Magic or they couldn't afford WotC's licensing fees after the patents were awarded. I bet many of the old card games could come back as LCGs! Why not? How awesome would this be?!?!

star war lcg would be great and if done right might be the best sale lcg by far

Aykenger said:

jhaelen said:

Actually, they did make a CCG: www.wizards.com/Default.asp , but it wasn't a massive success after the first few sets afaik.

The WotC Star Wars ccg was pretty abyssmal. I never played DEcipher's version, but from what I understand it was a massive success.

The Star Wars property can be a successful one, and it does all come down to cost. If it is prohibitive, then yes there is no way FFG will buy it. But FFG isn't limited to just an LCG, they could create a board game or two. And with FFG's success at other property-based board games, they could do rather well. If any company would attempt to bring back Star Wars gaming, FFG would be my choice.

I hope for something new and more original than Star Wars. Something sci fi, but different.

Oh, I suspect the next LCG will be sci-fi themed, and probably based off of either 40k or Twilight Imperium. BSG is an outside chance, and only because they already have a BSG license and if they take the same track they did with Game of Thrones it could be a good game. Starcraft doesn't strike me as being an option. But whenever a popular license is let go, there is always speculation about who if anyone will pick it up, and FFG is a likely candidiate. They are something like the 5th or 6th largest game company in the world.

Well, the third ? box DOES resemble the same shape of the other LCG's... and the recent repackaging announcement for the current LCG's is timely. Whatever it is, I hope it IS a new LCG of some type. I'd be okay if it wasn't a sci-fi one (though I hope it is)... as the sci-fi element niche is filled for me with Race For the Galaxy.

Not like I lurk my own thread or anything, but I doubt my sci-fi niche could be filled, unless it were perhaps a Futurama line of games.

well besides have a star war lcg and maybe a board game or two why not do a star war miniatures would seem they could do a lot with it

just think you could be playing star war role playing n a year if ffg bought the licenses

How'bout a Star Wars LCG that uses the Clone Wars animated art? I enjoyed the Clone Wars series as well as the movie. The movie a little more I think. That art would look -amazing- on a card. Sticking with the border-less design like WH:I is important.

locohost said:

jhaelen said:

Really?!?! I really loved the look of Overpower and Wildstorms back in the day. You might not remember them.

Which of the old Star Wars CCGs did you play/like?

I think one of the big hurdles for success in any Star Wars game is deciding on the era or movie generation of fans. I'm sure many could argue positive and negative consequences to that choice. I also believe that's a big reason why the upcoming MMO "The Old Republic" chose to build their game around an era that isn't as familiar to most, to promote interest and reduce bias.

In other words, depending on what's selected you can quickly disinterest even hardcore fans that are bias or gravitate towards a given time line. With so many gaming options available it's not as difficult anymore to pass on something. In some cases the choice can even bring out anger or frustration from those defending their favorite. And, sure, occassionally you'll see the Lucas fanboys that love anything his name is attached to.

Personally, I'd love a Star Wars LCG, but I will admit my interest would be very limited if it weren't heavily centered around Episodes IV-VI. I can understand though that others that grew up with EI-EIII or really like The Clone Wars animated series may feel otherwise. Doing something similar as "The Old Republic" could be an interesting option and timely with the upcoming MMO release, but I'm not sure if it would have lasting appeal and something easily promoted to others unfamilar.

My 2 cents.

Madduxx said:

Your 2 cents is well spoken. I totally agree with loving episodes IV, V and VI. I saw (and absolutely loved) all three movies in the theater when they originally released. Guess that dates me The IV, VI, VI Star Wars games have already been done. I, II, and III were also done in Young Jedi. Yes I played SW:YJ too and really liked it. I'm not sure doing those games again is a great idea. It -might- be, but it might not. Perhaps some fresh Star Wars content will be the ticket as you (and I) suggest. I'm basically a SW fanboy so I'll buy whatever SW game/movie/etc. comes out.

locohost said:

As I said, to me it looked like a fan-project done using the World-of-Warcraft graphics engine.

I have not played any Star Wars CCGs. I have played Magic, Jyhad, Illuminati, NetRunner, and Call of Cthulhu.

And that order represents how much I liked each of them: Magic: not at all -> CoC: a lot.

For a new LCG to interest me it needs a theme/setting and artwork that appeals to me, and game mechanics that are interesting and markedly different from those of any existing LCG/CCGs.

That's why I don't care about the Warcraft LCG (bad art & a setting I dislike).

Game of Thrones at least has good art, but it's just yet another generic fantasy scenario. I might get interested if I eventually got around to read the novels and happened to like them. Then I'll investigate the game rules and if I like them, too, I may start buying into the game.

jhaelen said:

I cannot overstate how absolutely FANTASTIC George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series is!!! I'm anxiously awaiting "A Dance with Dragons". GRRM is -the best- character creator/developer I've ever read. You'll find yourself supporting and cheering some characters while begging and praying for the horrible death of others in every chapter. This is something you really have to experience to understand how truly gifted GRRM is.

Yeah, not only is A Song of Ice and Fire the best fantasy book series I've ever read (and re-read, and relistened to on audio book) but the Game of Thrones card game is my absolute favorite ccg/lcg of all time. Saying GoT is just another generic fantsy setting is liek saying Star Wars is just another generic sci-fi.

If you like epic fantasy, read the books. If you like challenging card games with lots of options (and your set of likes/dislikes gives me that impression of you) try the card game. And if you like the books, definitely try the card game, as it will then become even more appealing to you.

JerusalemJones said:

And the crux is that I generally _don't_ like epic fantasy. I'm more into 'realistic' fantasy or sci-fi. To me, it's a good sign, though, that AGoT focuses on humans rather than relying on fantastic races. That's why the book is on my list of things I have to read at some point.

It's a bit off-topic, but it would help me, if you could point out other fantasy novels that you liked to judge if our tastes are similar or not.

E.g. books I like are:

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin, The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, and The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold.

JJ calls "A Song of Ice and Fire" -epic- fantasy which might be confusing you a bit. ASoIaF is a very big story with lots of interwoven characters and stories of deception, intrigue, cheating, stealing, love, hatred, murdering and adventure and touch of magic here and there. The characters aren't just along for the ride in the stories, the characters -are- the stories. It's really not much like anything Tolkien ever wrote. I'm not disagreeing with you JJ, just clarifying a bit

Thanks. To me, epic is scale, whereas the term High Fantasy would be something more like Tolkein, and Dark Fantasy for, say, Elric. Game of Thrones is not high fantasy the magic that exists is not blatant, nor abundant. The series has also been called historic fantasy, which can confuse folks for sure. A Game of Thrones (well, A Song of Ice and Fire, I'm going to get more exact about this) does have it's fantasy elements, and it's overaching story, but it is truly the characters that make this series, the detail tht Martin gives them and their world, and the plots within plots that abound in this series. The first time I read it I was enthralled by the story itself. Then as I talked about it with friends, and we tossed ideas and theories back and forth, I reread it and learned just how much deeper the actually story goes. And now I am absolutely hooked on the books. The only book series I love as much as these are David Gerrold's War Against the Chtorr series, and those are currently out of print.

The other thing about the card game is that it is not so much about beating down your opponent, but rather gaining power for yourself in order to win the game. The LCG also has what is, to me, the greatest concept ever in a card game, the Plot Deck. This is a separate deck of cards that you reveal one (your choice) every round, and it gives you your base resources, inititative and claim for the round, as well as providing a special ability for the turn. And the game has so many levels of strategy that it can appeal to any serious gamer, if they are into card games.

And, I'll give you that Star Wars is fantasy, but it is space fantasy.