Magic: The Gathering video games
Encyclopedia
Several video games based on the Magic: The Gathering
franchise exist for multiple systems. Some have attempted to translate the card game
to electronic play nearly exactly; others have taken more liberties and drawn more from the setting than the actual rules of the card game. Benefits of successful video game versions of the card game include convenience, practice, and challenge. However, artificial intelligence
for a game such as Magic is an extremely hard problem, and such software usually must be continuously updated to stay current with recently released card sets. Video game versions often expand on artwork, and may include unique cards that rely on randomly generated numbers or variables, effects which would be difficult or annoying to duplicate in real life.
of Shandalar, where the player must travel the land and fight random enemies to gain cards, and defeat five wizards representing the five colors. The player must prevent one color from gaining too much power, and defeat the planeswalker
Arzakon, who has a deck of all five colors. Adventure game
and role-playing game
elements are present, including inventory, gold, towns, dungeons, random battles, and character progression in the form of new abilities and a higher life point total. Two expansion packs were published, Spells of the Ancients and Duels of the Planeswalkers.
The game is notable as being the last game the esteemed game designer Sid Meier
(Civilization
, Railroad Tycoon
) worked on while employed by Microprose
, though his involvement was short. Meier left before development was complete to found Firaxis Games
.
. It is set on the continent of Corondor, where a planeswalker named Ravidel forces the most powerful mages to fight each other, so that he can eventually destroy them and conquer the land. The game received a poor critical reception due to its unfair AI, unfriendly interface, and unbalanced gameplay.
in 1997, somewhat similar to BattleMage. It is possible that as few as four machines were made. Acclaim's Mountain View, California-based coin-op division went out of business shortly after creating the game, so it never went into full production.
Gameplay is a cross between real time combat and strategy, with characters representing one of the five colors. White had healing and soldiers; Blue countermagic and water creatures; Black death and undead creatures; Red fire and mountain creatures; and Green elves and forest magic. The game was controlled with a trackball
, and supported up to two players.
expansion; its database was updatable over the Internet, and continued to be updated by Wizards until the release of Judgment
and Magic Online, which Wizards considered as superseding the Interactive Encyclopedia.
The Encyclopedia included a strategy information section and deck builder with pricing. It also included a free online play mode, albeit one lacking rules enforcement.
and all subsequent expansions with the exception of the Mercadian Masques block, which will be made available on December 5th 2011, and excluding Unhinged and Unglued, which would be almost impossible to implement online. Updates become available as new sets are printed. Games are held in chatroom-style sessions, and virtual cards can be won or purchased with real money. Magic Online offers a variety of both casual games in which players can use cards they own for fun, and competitive online tournaments in which players use purchased/traded tickets and booster packs to enter into events, both Limited (decks built with cards opened from boosters) and Constructed (decks built from a player's collection).
game released in 2003 for both the PC and Xbox
platforms. It was another attempt to do a real-time battling game, with wizards frantically running around casting spells. The Xbox version of the game offered downloadable creatures, arenas, and enchantments, though the PC version did not.
and Microsoft Windows
developed by Stainless Games Ltd and published by Wizards of the Coast. It was released first on XBLA June 17th, 2009, with a PC version released shortly after. It was announced on February 18, 2008 by way of a press release. Three expansion packs have been released on XBLA. A PS3
version was made available on the PlayStation Network in November 2010.
video game for the PC based on the card game that includes elements of positioning and map control. Tactics was developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment
. The game was released for PC on January 18, 2011.
of the same name
, published by Wizards of the Coast
. It was released on June 15, 2011. The game is a follow up to the 2009 Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers.
, which was designed to emulate real-world play over the Internet. It allowed players to connect to each other and play, but all the rules-enforcement was done "by hand," just as in the real world. DragonStar studios got Wizards of the Coast's permission for the product, and it had no copyrighted art in it. Magic Workstation
is similar to Apprentice in that is gameplay only, but adds more graphical support. It is not officially sanctioned by Wizards of the Coast, and mentioning it on their official forums is a violation of the Terms of Use.
Another piece of software in a legal grey area is MtG Editor, a tool which creates images of self-designed Magic: The Gathering cards. Its creator, Mr. Weikopf, was sent a cease and desist
letter concerning distribution of the software.
Magic Set Editor, a custom card creation program created by Twan Van Laarhoven, is still under going development, and released a new version (0.3.8) on January 15, 2009. The program has grown to include various additional features, including statistical data on the set being created, random booster pack generators, translations for ten languages, and support for 28 games. MSE also supports exporting created Magic sets to both Apprentice and LackeyCCG.
Firemox (previously known as Magic-Project) is an open source Java program that matches players over the Internet and also enforces the rules. The card game rules are coded in a custom XML language. Moreover, the rules engine is independent from Magic: The Gathering, so further implementations of other card games are possible. Currently Firemox has around 6,000 Magic: The Gathering cards available.
Forge (previously known as MTG Forge) is an open source Java program with rules enforcement; it also attempts the more difficult problem of artificial intelligence
for a computer player. Currently it has over 8000 cards (as of May 17, 2011).
Lackey CCG is an engine that attempts to simulate many card games. It has a plugin which contains over 13000 Magic cards, some of which are different editions of the same card. Like older attempts, the rules of play are enforced "by hand". It offers simple networking, and has a constant server to host all games, but matching people with identical plugins is more difficult.
OCTGN is a collectible card game simulator which is designed to play Magic: The Gathering and other games. The software is modeled after the Magic: The Gathering Encyclopedia, and uses the same format for card data. Currently, OCTGN2 can be setup to support online, including sealed, games and users can import over 13,000 Magic: The Gathering cards to build a deck using the deck editor component.
Daring Apprentice is a 3d Apprentice-like Magic: The Gathering tabletop. It focuses on an intuitive user interface, but does not support internet play yet.
Wagic, The Homebrew?! (WTH?!) is a game with rules enforcement, that includes an artificial intelligence
and focuses on solitaire game versus the computer. Although a Windows, Linux, and Maemo version are available, it is primarily designed for the Sony PSP
.
MagMa (Magic Machine) is a project with rules enforcement. It includes AI
and almost 6000 cards (December 2010).
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
franchise exist for multiple systems. Some have attempted to translate the card game
Collectible card game
thumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
to electronic play nearly exactly; others have taken more liberties and drawn more from the setting than the actual rules of the card game. Benefits of successful video game versions of the card game include convenience, practice, and challenge. However, artificial intelligence
Game artificial intelligence
Game artificial intelligence refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behavior of non-player characters . The techniques used typically draw upon existing methods from the field of artificial intelligence...
for a game such as Magic is an extremely hard problem, and such software usually must be continuously updated to stay current with recently released card sets. Video game versions often expand on artwork, and may include unique cards that rely on randomly generated numbers or variables, effects which would be difficult or annoying to duplicate in real life.
Magic: The Gathering (Microprose)
Named after the game itself, Magic: The Gathering was published by MicroProse in February 1997. The game takes place in the planePlane (Magic: The Gathering)
In Magic: The Gathering, planes are parallel universes in the Multiverse Planes are often confused with planets by Magic players, because most planes are named after their primary planets...
of Shandalar, where the player must travel the land and fight random enemies to gain cards, and defeat five wizards representing the five colors. The player must prevent one color from gaining too much power, and defeat the planeswalker
Planeswalker
In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.-Magic: The Gathering:...
Arzakon, who has a deck of all five colors. Adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
and role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
elements are present, including inventory, gold, towns, dungeons, random battles, and character progression in the form of new abilities and a higher life point total. Two expansion packs were published, Spells of the Ancients and Duels of the Planeswalkers.
The game is notable as being the last game the esteemed game designer Sid Meier
Sid Meier
Sidney K. "Sid" Meier is a Canadian programmer and designer of several popular computer strategy games, most notably Civilization. He has won accolades for his contributions to the computer games industry...
(Civilization
Civilization (series)
Civilization is a series of turn-based strategy, 4X video games produced by Sid Meier. Basic gameplay functions are similar throughout the series, namely, buiding a civilization on a macro-scale from prehistory up to the near future...
, Railroad Tycoon
Railroad Tycoon
Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon is a business simulation game. There are five versions; the original Railroad Tycoon , Railroad Tycoon Deluxe , Railroad Tycoon II , Railroad Tycoon 3 , and Sid Meier's Railroads! .Railroad Tycoon was written by game designer Sid Meier and published by MicroProse and...
) worked on while employed by Microprose
MicroProse
MicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
, though his involvement was short. Meier left before development was complete to found Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games is a computer game developer. It was founded in 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds upon leaving MicroProse. The company focuses on strategy games and is based in Sparks, Maryland in the United States....
.
Magic: The Gathering: BattleMage
Magic: The Gathering: BattleMage is a real time strategy game published in 1997 by AcclaimAcclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
. It is set on the continent of Corondor, where a planeswalker named Ravidel forces the most powerful mages to fight each other, so that he can eventually destroy them and conquer the land. The game received a poor critical reception due to its unfair AI, unfriendly interface, and unbalanced gameplay.
Magic: The Gathering: Armageddon
Magic: The Gathering: Armageddon is an extremely rare arcade game published by AcclaimAcclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
in 1997, somewhat similar to BattleMage. It is possible that as few as four machines were made. Acclaim's Mountain View, California-based coin-op division went out of business shortly after creating the game, so it never went into full production.
Gameplay is a cross between real time combat and strategy, with characters representing one of the five colors. White had healing and soldiers; Blue countermagic and water creatures; Black death and undead creatures; Red fire and mountain creatures; and Green elves and forest magic. The game was controlled with a trackball
Trackball
A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down mouse with an exposed protruding ball. The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of the hand to move a cursor...
, and supported up to two players.
Magic: The Gathering (Sega)
Magic: The Gathering is a Dreamcast game published and released by Sega in June 2001, though in Japan only. It takes place in the town of Magic Heart, the surrounding areas of Murg, Camat Island, Lydar Forest, Yeluk, Tornell, and The Balance Tower. It includes cards from 6th edition, Alliances, and Tempest. The game included 10 cards unique to it, generally utilizing random mechanics that would be difficult to implement in real-life card play.Magic: The Gathering Interactive Encyclopedia
The Magic: The Gathering Interactive Encyclopedia is an application and database of cards released by Wizards of the Coast. At its time of release, it contained up to the Mercadian MasquesMercadian Masques
Mercadian Masques is the nineteenth Magic: The Gathering expansion and was released in October 1999 as the first set in the Masques block. It is notable for being the first set not protected by Wizards of the Coast's "Reprint Policy"...
expansion; its database was updatable over the Internet, and continued to be updated by Wizards until the release of Judgment
Judgment (Magic: The Gathering)
Judgment is the third set in the Odyssey Block for the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering.This is the second expansion set made that did not have an equal number cards from each color. The first expansion with such an imbalance was its predecessor, the Torment expansion set, which was...
and Magic Online, which Wizards considered as superseding the Interactive Encyclopedia.
The Encyclopedia included a strategy information section and deck builder with pricing. It also included a free online play mode, albeit one lacking rules enforcement.
Magic: The Gathering Online
Magic: The Gathering Online is a 2002 game developed by Leaping Lizard Software and maintained by Wizards of the Coast itself since version 2.0 in 2004. It focuses purely on gameplay, and includes no additional storyline. Included are cards from all expansions starting with MirageMirage (Magic: The Gathering)
Mirage was the fifteenth Magic: The Gathering set and ninth expert level set, released in October 1996. This expansion began the first official block set with one large expansion being followed by two smaller expansions all tied together through card mechanics and setting. This expansion also...
and all subsequent expansions with the exception of the Mercadian Masques block, which will be made available on December 5th 2011, and excluding Unhinged and Unglued, which would be almost impossible to implement online. Updates become available as new sets are printed. Games are held in chatroom-style sessions, and virtual cards can be won or purchased with real money. Magic Online offers a variety of both casual games in which players can use cards they own for fun, and competitive online tournaments in which players use purchased/traded tickets and booster packs to enter into events, both Limited (decks built with cards opened from boosters) and Constructed (decks built from a player's collection).
Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds
Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds is an AtariAtari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
game released in 2003 for both the PC and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
platforms. It was another attempt to do a real-time battling game, with wizards frantically running around casting spells. The Xbox version of the game offered downloadable creatures, arenas, and enchantments, though the PC version did not.
Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers
Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers is a video game based on the popular collectible card game of the same name for the Xbox Live ArcadeXbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
developed by Stainless Games Ltd and published by Wizards of the Coast. It was released first on XBLA June 17th, 2009, with a PC version released shortly after. It was announced on February 18, 2008 by way of a press release. Three expansion packs have been released on XBLA. A PS3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version was made available on the PlayStation Network in November 2010.
Magic: The Gathering Tactics
Magic: The Gathering Tactics is an online turn-based strategyTurn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
video game for the PC based on the card game that includes elements of positioning and map control. Tactics was developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment is a game development and game publishing division of Sony that is best known for creating massively multiplayer online games, including EverQuest, EverQuest II, The Matrix Online, PlanetSide, Star Wars Galaxies, Free Realms, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, DC Universe...
. The game was released for PC on January 18, 2011.
Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012
Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 (referred to in shorthand as Duels 2012) is a video game based on the popular collectible card gameCollectible card game
thumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
of the same name
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
, published by Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
. It was released on June 15, 2011. The game is a follow up to the 2009 Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers.
Independent and freeware adaptations
Various independent programmers have made software associated with Magic: The Gathering, albeit not always with the approval of Wizards of the Coast. One of the more notable early attempts was ApprenticeApprentice (software)
Apprentice is a program that assists in playing Magic: The Gathering over the Internet and maintains a searchable database of Magic cards. It was developed by Dragonstar Studios from 1996-1999 and based on an earlier program from 1995 by Tan Thor Jen...
, which was designed to emulate real-world play over the Internet. It allowed players to connect to each other and play, but all the rules-enforcement was done "by hand," just as in the real world. DragonStar studios got Wizards of the Coast's permission for the product, and it had no copyrighted art in it. Magic Workstation
Magic Workstation
Magic Workstation is a program created by Magi-Soft that assists in playing Magic: The Gathering over the Internet and maintains a searchable database of Magic cards....
is similar to Apprentice in that is gameplay only, but adds more graphical support. It is not officially sanctioned by Wizards of the Coast, and mentioning it on their official forums is a violation of the Terms of Use.
Another piece of software in a legal grey area is MtG Editor, a tool which creates images of self-designed Magic: The Gathering cards. Its creator, Mr. Weikopf, was sent a cease and desist
Cease and desist
A cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity and not to take it up again later or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
letter concerning distribution of the software.
Magic Set Editor, a custom card creation program created by Twan Van Laarhoven, is still under going development, and released a new version (0.3.8) on January 15, 2009. The program has grown to include various additional features, including statistical data on the set being created, random booster pack generators, translations for ten languages, and support for 28 games. MSE also supports exporting created Magic sets to both Apprentice and LackeyCCG.
Firemox (previously known as Magic-Project) is an open source Java program that matches players over the Internet and also enforces the rules. The card game rules are coded in a custom XML language. Moreover, the rules engine is independent from Magic: The Gathering, so further implementations of other card games are possible. Currently Firemox has around 6,000 Magic: The Gathering cards available.
Forge (previously known as MTG Forge) is an open source Java program with rules enforcement; it also attempts the more difficult problem of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
for a computer player. Currently it has over 8000 cards (as of May 17, 2011).
Lackey CCG is an engine that attempts to simulate many card games. It has a plugin which contains over 13000 Magic cards, some of which are different editions of the same card. Like older attempts, the rules of play are enforced "by hand". It offers simple networking, and has a constant server to host all games, but matching people with identical plugins is more difficult.
OCTGN is a collectible card game simulator which is designed to play Magic: The Gathering and other games. The software is modeled after the Magic: The Gathering Encyclopedia, and uses the same format for card data. Currently, OCTGN2 can be setup to support online, including sealed, games and users can import over 13,000 Magic: The Gathering cards to build a deck using the deck editor component.
Daring Apprentice is a 3d Apprentice-like Magic: The Gathering tabletop. It focuses on an intuitive user interface, but does not support internet play yet.
Wagic, The Homebrew?! (WTH?!) is a game with rules enforcement, that includes an artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and focuses on solitaire game versus the computer. Although a Windows, Linux, and Maemo version are available, it is primarily designed for the Sony PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
.
MagMa (Magic Machine) is a project with rules enforcement. It includes AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and almost 6000 cards (December 2010).