A former school teacher and an industrial worker sit down across from each other, “good luck” each says as they nod to each other. Joey, the former English school teacher, now comes to local events as a judge, and Timmy, the industrial worker comes out to relax every Friday. Both from very different backgrounds, as they’re sitting down and shuffling cards, they’ve come to play Magic: The Gathering at a Friday Night Magic tournament. Magic: The Gathering is beloved by many, and is arguably the best game to ever exist. With itself being much like poker and chess combined, Magic does indeed take “a minute to learn, a lifetime to master.” One of Magic’s greatest characteristics is its variety, with play ranging from casual gamers at the kitchen …show more content…
In his article about Magic and why he wouldn’t recommend it, Mike Hulsebus goes after the cost, claiming that in order to keep up with the game, a player has to invest money over and over and over again (Hulsebus). Yes, Magic: The Gathering costs money, yes, if someone wants to play with the cards from the latest expansions they cost money as well, but the last and most important yes, Magic is fun. A lot of people spend money on things that might not have any return value, but they enjoy. Take for example the movie theatre, people will flock to see a movie premiere, pay money, and get absolutely no return on investment. The same cannot be said of Magic cards, given time, as long as there is still demand for a card, its price will increase, because supply is diminishing. This provides an excellent return on investment for Magic players because they not only got enjoyable experiences and memories out of the cards, but they increased in value. Nevertheless, oftentimes the monetary value is irrelevant, because the memories people attach to certain Magic cards are irreplaceable, and even the most avid collector won’t be able to part a player from those precious memories. By far the biggest criticisms of the game involve its male-dominated culture. While the majority of players are still male, female involvement is rising. While historically the “bad apple spoiled the bunch” for Magic …show more content…
Magic teaches efficiency, it teaches how to sequence resources in such a way as to maximize them, it teaches a person patience, it may take one-hundred times to learn not to make the obvious play, but in the end, once it’s learned, patience will be rewarded. It also teaches delayed gratification, most directly shown in the suspend mechanic. The suspend mechanic allows a player to cast a spell for a hefty discount, but, the spell will not get cast until many turns later. Learn to suspend spells timely, and a player will learn to wait for important things in life. The list can go on and on and on, but it’s simple enough to say, that Magic as a game improves players as people. Lessons spellslingers learn on the battlefield transfer over to real