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The game originated in the early 1990s in the mind of Richard Garfield, at the time a graduate student working towards a PhD in combinatorial mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania. A life-long tabletop gamer, he had approached a publisher to pitch an idea for a game about programming robots, only to be told that the company needed something more portable and cheaper to produce.
Magic was Garfield's response, and it involved one major innovation that set it apart from any game previously released.
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Magic's latest set marks a turning point for the game. Magic Origins focuses on five of the game's most popular recurring characters – a move that provides a jumping-on point for new players intimidated by over two decades' worth of accumulated storylines.
I played D&D, Gamma World, Traveller, and many RPG's avidly into college, but when I first saw Magic and its $20 price for a single card I discovered there were lines I would not cross. As an adult I have a civil engineering friend whom I've watched over the last decade and a half disappear and then emerge, going cold turkey, only to re-submerge for another year. For those who took up Magic, why did you take it up and do you still play?
Original Submission
(Score: 3, Interesting) by mth on Saturday July 11 2015, @03:13PM
I played Magic in highschool and university, mid 90's. Everyone in our highschool group of friends played it. We played RPGs too, but Magic is something that you didn't have to prepare for (no scenario needed), that could be played with just 2 people and that didn't take very long. In university, I played it mainly during breaks.
The costs weren't crazy, since everyone in our group had a limited budget, so no-one could buy their way to victory. You don't need that $20 card if your opponent doesn't have it either...
Nowadays I play Hearthstone, which is like a computerized streamlined version of Magic. I know there is an online version of Magic as well, but Hearthstone was designed for online play exclusively and it plays quicker as a result. Reactions in an opponent's turn are all automated, for example, so no waiting for your opponent to react. Also the removal of lands and a fixed deck limit of 30 cards means the games are shorter on average.