Trading card games, or TCGs as I will call them for the sake of my typing skills, have seemingly exploded out of nowhere following the great release of Magic: The Gathering back in the 90s, and only furthered with the creation of the Pokemon cards and the well-known and well-made-fun-of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. TCGs have a reputation about them like most things that the "nerdy" community has about it--that only geeks play it, that they're just things and they don't have value, and that above all else:
So while it may be true that mostly geeks play TCGs, there are a fair amount of people who don't. Various businessmen and actors partake in these games. The typical geek is portrayed as a fat person with glasses who lives at their mom's place. In reality, most geeks are actually in shape and are able to hold up on their own. Take that, society.
And while we don't worship the cards themselves, they do have a value in our hearts as players, and some cards more than others. That's why we place them in sleeves or protective binders. They're not just cards, they're a part of our mind and how we look at the game. Almost every card has a meaning and every card can be used in some productive way. It helps the game and they help our game.
Where people go to most, though, is that TCGs are children's card games, that someone who is in high school or older shouldn't even be thinking about them outside of a nostalgic reason. Most card games state they are for ages 10+, Magic even for 13+. So, by their own standards, these games are hardly made for kids at all.
I think where the problem lies is that people often associate the television shows with the TV shows, and from that standpoints I can understand where they are coming from. The Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! series are indeed targeting a younger audience to sell their product. That's just how it works.
I would also like to say that, hey guess what, adults watch those shows, too. Why?
Well, take for example the newest era of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game. A brand new mechanic has been introduced to the game that only Japan has seen so far, because they get the product and rules before we do out West. However, the new series, Arc-V, was released in Japan and has been streamed (with English subtitles thankfully) all around the world.
Thus, players in Western territories have been able to learn this new mechanic as well as get a glimpse of the kinds of card and decks we may be seeing in the future. Kids watch it because it looks cool.
With all this said, it shouldn't surprise anyone that there are often two separate tournaments for kids and adults. You wouldn't want an eleven year old going up against a thirty year old, would you? Of course not, but it's not just because of the age difference, it's because of the comprehension of the game.
I'm sure there are several 12 and 11 year-olds who know how to play a competitive deck very well, but, their mind is not as developed as someone who has been playing the game for as long as they've been alive. An adult's mind is able to see more of the possibilities with certain cards.
In fact, most of the best decks are rather convoluted, particularly for Magic and Pokemon. I can't even figure out how these decks are made half the time (mostly because I focus on Yu-Gi-Oh! but that's besides the point). Within Yu-Gi-Oh!, players have shaped a format, and probably will again once July 14th rolls around, by their creativity, something not seen for a long time.
I feel that the older someone gets with the game, the more creative they can get. It seems that nowadays there are fewer and fewer generic cards released in all TCGs that it does indeed take some decent level of experience and comprehension to make a cohesive deck. With the Internet as big as it is now, since it's taken over the world and everything, kids can indeed learn how to play a lot easier than when the games first started and they had to have someone spend essentially an entire day explaining the various mechanics to them.
That's another thing, these games take a heck of a lot of memorization. There are so many rules that it's tough to keep track of, and within those rules there are rules, and then there are specific rules for every single card in TCGs! Jeez. Much memory, so wow, am I right?
So then, are TCGs really created for children? Maybe at first, but, after all of this, I'd say that they are actually geared more toward adults. The players who play the game have grown with these TCGs and I'd say that the companies have certainly noticed this. Thus the games have been able to evolve into more intricate fashions and formats as the players have grown up, too. Not necessarily leaving the kids in the dust but definitely focusing more on their matured players.
Well...matured age-wise, since most adults still act like children.
Just think about how much of a children's card game something like Pokemon is when someone asks you how to play it, and when you explain it, their head explodes. Most kids don't even like TCGs because there's a lot of info and kids nowadays are reliant on electronics to teach them so they don't even bother.
Don't be ashamed to play the game you like, because, in the end, whose happier: you doing what you like or the person taking time out of their day trying to make you miserable?
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