278:
and officially applies only to the games published by that company, which is why other publishers use different names; other names have also been used before FFG introduced the term. Their term, however, became popular among the fans, and many non-FFG games can be unofficially referred to as LCGs;
105:, for example, defines a "Living Card Game" as a "breaking out of CCGs), they crucially lack randomness in the purchase and distribution of the cards. They are also seen as (and marketed as) costing much less than CCGs, and appeal to players who do not have time or resources to play CCGs.
144:
Some of games occasionally classified as ECGs were meant to be traditional CCGs with expansions containing randomized booster packs, but the booster packs were never released. Examples include
217:
from 1995. The genre has been popularized by the
American game company Final Fantasy Games, which published a number of ECGs under their trademark name Living Card Games (LCGs) since 2008.
310:
The term is used as "Customizable Card Games" is one of the synonyms for the "Collectible Card Games", but the term "Non-Collectible
Collectible Card Game" would not be practical.
524:
139:
as cards (only as sets; i.e. one can purchase a non-random deck or set of their choice, and then expand it with another non-random purchase of a deck or set, if available).
83:) or made from sets sold as a complete whole, eliminating randomness while acquiring the cards. Such decks can still be customized, since after non-random
406:
646:
116:
and trading dynamic compared to CCGs. The secondary market for the ECGs cards is smaller than that of CCGs, but does exist due to existence of
785:
525:"Android: Netrunner creator loves the fact fans have kept the cancelled LCG alive - and has "considered" designing more cards himself"
350:
58:
such decks are usually made from one or more sets sold as a complete whole, eliminating randomness while acquiring the cards.
852:
167:
245:
226:, which debuted in 2012; since 2019 it has been published by Null Signal Games and rebranded as an expandable card game.
160:
407:"Arkham Horror, Marvel Champions and Android: Netrunner studio says it's still committed to the living card game format"
101:
ECGs are often mistaken for CCGs. However, while these games are very similar to CCGs and can be seen as their subset (
292:
177:
According to Roger Travis, ECGs are more focused on the story narrative then regular CCGs, evoking comparison to
174:
Just like with CCGs, expansion packs or new standalone sets for successful games are released on a regular basis.
810:
587:
240:
87:
are released and purchased by players, they can customize their decks according to certain deckbuilding rules.
757:
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62:
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109:
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79:
where each player has their own deck of cards. Decks for ECGs are either pre-made decks (fixed
204:
178:
319:
However, deck-building genre appeared in 2008, roughly at the same time as FFG's LCG games.
618:
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837:
84:
496:
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811:"Fans have taken back Android: Netrunner, the popular card game discontinued in 2018"
132:
80:
51:
47:
301:, has debuted as an LCG but have been rebranded as an ECG due to publisher change.
762:
376:
211:
identified several games as belonging to this group, with the oldest one being
271:
76:
39:
253:(another common term related to board games that has also been trademarked)
733:"The Living Card Game as formulaic epic, part 2: cooperation and scenario"
193:
According to Roger Travis, the genre has been inspired by CCGs as well as
113:
455:
Scrye
Collectible Card Game Checklist & Price Guide, Second Edition
732:
708:"The Living Card Game as Formulaic Epic, part 3: Scenario Advancement"
707:
682:
250:
159:
Some games have been converted into ECGs/LCGs from CCGs; for example
131:
Most ECGs are sold as complete sets (instead of starter decks and
786:"Star Wars: Destiny is a fantastic game you may not want to buy"
351:"Expandable Card Games (ECG), Trademarks & Patents (3 of 3)"
50:
of cards but then expands and improves that deck by purchasing
470:"Holy Cow: Doomtown Is Pretty Neat - Shut Up & Sit Down"
65:(FFG), which markets them under their trademarked term LCGs.
171:
where converted from CCGs into LCGs by their publisher.
42:
where each player has their own deck of cards. Unlike in
683:"The Living Card Game: a New Mode of Epic Performance"
135:containing randomized cards) and are therefore not
758:"So what exactly is a deck-building game anyway?"
285:, a board game review website, has referred to
91:Expandable Card Games vs Collectible Card Games
8:
270:The term Living Card Game is a registered
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54:containing a random distribution of cards
518:
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621:. Fantasy Flight Games. 14 October 2008
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181:. They are also more likely to feature
36:non-collectible customizable card games
491:
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838:LCG Trademark of Fantasy Flight Games
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220:One of FFGs most popular titles was
128:implemented in some of those games.
756:Nakamura, Darren (June 11, 2010).
14:
375:Sprinks, Harry Ted (2023-09-10).
647:"Choosing your Living Card Game"
784:Zimmerman, Aaron (2017-02-04).
645:Yih Yang, Chee (July 6, 2015).
295:, as such. At least one game,
168:Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game
46:(CCGs), where a player buys a
1:
809:Theel, Charlie (2022-08-02).
588:"What Are Living Card Games?"
349:Marler, Chaz (May 30, 2015).
246:Digital collectible card game
731:Roger, Travis (2020-08-11).
706:Travis, Roger (2020-09-22).
681:Travis, Roger (2020-07-07).
497:"What is Null Signal Games?"
112:, such games have less of a
523:Jarvis, Matt (2023-11-09).
405:Jarvis, Matt (2021-08-09).
293:Alderac Entertainment Group
61:Many ECGs are published by
869:
458:, pp. 15–16, 684–685.
377:"6 Best Living Card Games"
94:
241:Dedicated deck card game
355:PairofDiceParadise.com
291:, an ECG published by
282:Shut Up & Sit Down
44:collectible card games
853:Expandable card games
474:shutupandsitdown.com/
183:cooperative mechanics
97:Collectible card game
619:"LCG Player's Guide"
450:Miller, John Jackson
276:Fantasy Flight Games
103:Fantasy Flight Games
63:Fantasy Flight Games
17:Expandable card game
209:John Jackson Miller
195:deck-building games
110:John Jackson Miller
298:Android: Netrunner
288:Doomtown: Reloaded
236:Deck-building game
223:Android: Netrunner
214:Heavy Gear Fighter
205:role-playing games
179:storytelling games
23:), also known as
501:Null Signal Games
162:A Game of Thrones
25:living card games
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653:. Archived from
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556:"LCGs Top CCGs"
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85:expansion packs
73:
71:Characteristics
12:
11:
5:
866:
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845:
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832:External links
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827:
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737:Play the Past
734:
727:
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713:
712:Play the Past
709:
702:
699:
688:
687:Play the Past
684:
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673:
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657:on 2015-08-01
656:
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592:Dragon Shield
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279:for example,
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147:Anime Madness
142:
141:
138:
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133:booster packs
129:
127:
123:
122:alternate art
119:
115:
111:
108:According to
106:
104:
98:
90:
88:
86:
82:
81:starter decks
78:
70:
68:
67:
64:
59:
57:
53:
52:booster packs
49:
45:
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37:
33:
30:
26:
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18:
818:. Retrieved
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804:
793:. Retrieved
790:Ars Technica
789:
779:
767:. Retrieved
761:
751:
740:. Retrieved
736:
726:
715:. Retrieved
711:
701:
690:. Retrieved
686:
659:. Retrieved
655:the original
650:
623:. Retrieved
595:. Retrieved
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563:. Retrieved
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532:. Retrieved
528:
504:. Retrieved
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477:. Retrieved
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414:. Retrieved
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384:. Retrieved
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358:. Retrieved
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66:
60:
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48:starter deck
35:
32:
28:
24:
20:
16:
15:
769:November 6,
763:Destructoid
661:20 December
651:TheStar.com
565:20 December
529:Dicebreaker
411:Dicebreaker
360:21 December
153:Calore Kids
150:(1996) and
137:collectible
118:promotional
820:2024-09-22
795:2024-09-22
742:2024-09-22
717:2024-09-22
692:2024-09-22
597:2024-09-22
534:2024-09-22
506:2024-09-22
479:2024-09-22
416:2024-09-22
386:2024-09-22
327:References
207:. In 2003
126:foil cards
95:See also:
77:card games
40:card games
381:Game Rant
272:trademark
75:ECGs are
847:Category
560:ICV2.com
452:(2003),
230:See also
200:Dominion
114:metagame
815:Polygon
625:28 June
189:History
156:(2000).
251:Meeple
258:Notes
197:like
34:, or
771:2021
663:2017
627:2013
567:2017
362:2017
203:and
165:and
29:LCGs
21:ECGs
274:of
124:or
849::
813:.
788:.
760:.
735:.
710:.
685:.
671:^
649:.
635:^
606:^
590:.
575:^
558:.
543:^
527:.
515:^
499:.
488:^
472:.
425:^
409:.
395:^
379:.
353:.
335:^
185:.
120:,
38:-
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773:.
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695:.
665:.
629:.
600:.
569:.
537:.
509:.
482:.
419:.
389:.
364:.
56:,
31:)
27:(
19:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.