The State of the Bestiary Is Stable

I still remember the absurdly heavy impact it made when it came out. People were sinking thousands of pounds into it and it as sucking money out of the rest of the hobby games industry. It was surreal to watch. Some other companies came out with their own collectible games which did well for a while, but when the bottom fell out of the market a few of them were left with huge inventories they couldn’t sell and were wiped out or financially crippled.

Meanwhile the publishers, Wizards of the Coast were so flush with money they bought the industry 5000lb Gorilla TSR, then were bought by Hasbro. Magic isn’t even a roleplaying game, but it’s effects on the Pencil n paper RPG scene are felt to this day.

It’s interesting that Garfield was a mathematician, as is the other real rock star card and board game designer Reiner Knizia. Game design is a complex problem and clearly a good grip on the mathematical, statistical and geometric aspects can’t hurt. I think I’ll have to pick up Richard’s book.

I bought a couple 2019 core sets and some boosters a month ago, first time I've owned Magic in twenty years. It's weird how it manages to sit in the back of the mind, just waiting for the curiosity to return.