For every great trading card game that’s born into the world, there are a hundred questionable ones.
I know that there are a great deal of bridge players who happen to enjoy the occasional game with another type of card deck, and I figured that it might make for a great post to the Prime column. (Feel free to agree or disagree with me via the comments, e-mail or postal owl.)
Let’s talk about some terrible TCGs.
The ones that might still be great to play, but ones that you might not want to bring to family game night.
Here goes… (And can readers mention any others they’ve played or spotted?)
Streaking Kittens
When the card game Exploding Kittens hit the market, its creators struck gold.
It’s fun, it’s original and it can also be played online with friends and enemies through an app. It’s also cute enough to hook any fans of The Oatmeal cartoons (or generally, fans of cats). It doesn’t take a lot of strategy to play, and it’s the perfect casual sitting-down-to-talk card game.
What could possibly happen next?
Streaking Kittens.
Imagine strip poker meeting Exploding Kittens and this is what you’ll get.
Fine, it’s great for friends, but not so great for a game night with your grandparents.
Funemployment
Funemployment is a portmanteau of the words “fun” and “unemployment” – and as we all know, these are two things that always go together well. (Or, well, not. Not at all.)
The best way to describe this is a direct link to the YouTube trailer.
It’s like playing the Game of Life, but with all your pieces superglued to the board so you can’t get anywhere.
It’s like playing Monopoly backwards.
It’s…actually not that bad.
Search History: NSFW Edition
This 2018 board-and-card game capitalizes on a fear that most of us have in the modern age of the internet: search history.
Come on, what’s the worst thing you’ve ever asked Google? Now, imagine that’s the next thing that shows up while you’re playing a card game. (Whoops.)
There’s a NSFW edition of this game, and a regular edition of it.
If you’d like to see just how creative this game can get, seek out the NSFW edition and invite your best (or worst) friends to the table.
Garbage Pail Kids
Almost everyone of a certain age remembers what Cabbage Patch Kids were. (If you don’t, take the time to look it up while the rest of us wait…)
Here’s a spin-off that capitalized on the popularity of weird characters and trading cards by creating a parody version that would appeal to kids and adults everywhere.
Instead, we’ve got Garbage Pail Kids.
It’s like Chucky walked straight into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe and this was the result.
Creative, but certainly strange.
Quickie: The STD Card Game
When it comes to truly terrible at both play and subject matter, there’s this wonderful glittering gem of a card game.
The point of Quickie is to “get rid of” all the STD cards in your hand.
Isn’t that kind of the point of everything you have to do when the word STD is said at all?
I feel like this game should have an expansion pack called Antibiotics. Just in case.
Pukey-Mon
Pokey-Mon gets points for sheer creativity.
It’s the gift that all kids everywhere don’t know they want for their birthday yet.
It takes the appeal of Pokemon, and mixes it with the fun of disgusting things. What’s more fun for kids – and well, adults who giggle at puns?
One example is Grossmeowth, a card that “uses poisonous kitty litter to gross out its enemy.”
Most of the character names are impossible to say without cracking a smile. (And yes, some are really, really gross.)
This one happens to be absolutely brilliant.