Click the following to learn more about Mood Swings:
I write a lot of articles, but this one is extra special. You see, I finally get to reveal something I’m very excited to share with the world. About 28 years ago, I came up with an idea for a more accessible trading card game called Mood Swings. The idea behind it is simple. Trading card games are a lot of fun, but Magic, while amazing, can be complicated. Mood Swings is my attempt to make something simpler.
Here’s how it works. When you buy a Mood Swings game, you get a box with 45 cards. You’ll have everything you need to play the game out of the box. It’s a light strategy game for two to four people. Here’s a video that explains how to play. A two-person game takes 5 to 10 minutes. Mood Swings has all the things I love about trading card games—fun card interactions, adaptability, collecting, and trading—but in the style of a traditional card game, something you could buy off the shelf and play immediately.
While there’s no necessary deck building, it’s still a trading card game, which means each deck is not the same. You will get 45 cards (23 common, 14 uncommon, 6 rare, and 2 mythic rare cards), all randomized. If you go to your friend’s house and play their copy of Mood Swings, the cards won’t all be the same. You’ll recognize some of the cards, but others will be new to you. The game, as Magic‘s creator Richard Garfield likes to describe trading card games, is “bigger than the box,” meaning each game uses some of the pieces but not all of them.
In total, Mood Swings has 133 cards—48 commons, 40 uncommons, 30 rares, and 15 mythic rares. Each copy of Mood Swings will include 45 of those 133 cards. The game uses Magic‘s five colors, and the art on the cards are all sketches from published Magic art, but the cards each represent an emotion or mood.
For those who follow me (via my column, my podcast, my blog, or on social media), you might realize that I’ve been talking about making Mood Swings for almost three decades. It was a great idea that I simply couldn’t give up on. Good gameplay comes from iteration, and I’ve been fine-tuning this game for 28 years.
I like to call Mood Swings my love letter to trading card games. It combines everything I love about them in a small, simple package. I think it will excite longtime fans of trading card game and gamers who might have been too intimidated to play a traditional trading card game.
I can’t wait for you all to experience Mood Swings. To say I’m excited is an understatement.
Mood Swings will be available on MagicSecretLair.com starting June 1. I’ll share more about the game and its upcoming release at MagicCon: Las Vegas. I hope to see you there!
I’ll end by saying the words I’ve been dying to say for 28 years—Mood Swings, on sale, soon!