This was actually the first episode I’ve watched in awhile, and it’s probably the funniest of all that I’ve seen. I’ll probably have to try to make more of an effort to catch it.
Wil Wheaton wearing the Fruit Fucker 2000 shirt was great.
Were those actual Magic cards? Sure looked like it to me.
Don’t you mean Mystic Warriors of Ka’a ?
Brian
I wonder why BBT gets to use real names of comics, real video game names, real references to D&D (“Dungeons and Dragons” is a trademark, right?) … but not real Magic: The Gathering. Are Wizards of the Coast super protective of their brand?
Well, does MTG have Enchanted Bunny?
WotC has owned D&D for a few years now (and totally wrecked it, but I digress). I suspect the actual complexity of MtG was being toned down so the non-geek audience would easily follow the concept.
Yeah the front of the cards looked like MTG cards but the back was different.
I’m overthinking this, but if it was a collectable card game, how could Sheldon memorize card lists? Unless contestants have to submit thier list before the contest, or he studied previous games, what cards a person has in thier deck is unknow to others.
It could be a fixed deck game like Dominion or Race for the Galaxy though.
Brian
I have never played one of these games, but many of my friends did back in the day and I wondered the exact same thing. I figured either I didn’t really understand the nature of these games (still likely), or this was one of the reasons that they made up a fake game, so that they could bend the rules to their plot needs.
I thought the episode started out weak, with the writers maybe writing themselves into a corner or conundrums with Sheldon having a photographic memory and also a mean vindictive streak. The middle and end were great though, and looks like a setup for another Wheaton episode.
Three things could have happened.
Either the game required both teams to use decks with the same cards, or they both share a single deck.
The third thing, if it is like MTG, while you have millions of different possible variations in decks to play with (since you get to choose the cards to use), there are only so many decks that are competitive. So by seeing the first three or four cards they play, you pretty much know what the rest of the deck consists of. These decks are the dominant “archtypes” and they make up the “metagame.” Knowledge of the metagame can help you make a “metagame deck,” which is designed specifically to beat the most popular deck.
According to Wil Wheaton on his blog, they were custom made for the show. Actually had rules on them and apparently there was some geeky discussion of the games rules even though that was completely unnecessary.
I assumed it was a fixed deck game and don’t think they ever said otherwise.
The card are apparently played into a single central burn pile. That’s not a system that is going to work with a collectible card game very well.
To me, Wheaton just about ruined the episode, and his sub-par acting really stuck out. His “acting” career is reduced to voice-overs and guest appearances, with Trek conventions and blog writing for more ego stroking, and all I could think about during the episode was that he probably needed the $500. He was the worst thing about TNG, and now he’ll be the worst thing about BBT.
YMMV.
I like Wil. He’s a nice guy, quite friendly, and very funny.
Though my thing with Wil Wheaton is wondering how you can grow up as a working movie and TV actor and still end up with crooked teeth.