Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
easy to learn and play, with huge community of 20,000 estimated players across the globe |
| Disadvantages: |
foil chase cards can be hard to get hold of |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
I am both a player and collector of raw deal, who has been playing since the product was released 2 years ago. For those reading this review, who havent heard of a collectable card game before here is a brief rundown taken from a website dedicated to the game:-
A CCG or Collectible Card Game, is a recent addition to the entertainment stage. It has only gained real acceptance within both the gaming community and in business in the past 10 years. Much like baseball trading cards, one of the joys of CCGs is searching for and obtaining valuable cards to improve your collection, and the success rate of your deck. Like trading cards, CCGs have built in rarity within the card distribution system, making some cards harder to obtain than others.
However, unlike trading cards, CCGs actually derive a large part of their value from the game effects listed on each card. The cards you collect can be used to create game-winning combinations. Collectible Card Games are different from traditional card games (like poker or bridge) because they are not played from a common deck. Both you and your opponent play with your own decks, which can be tailor made to fit your particular strategy or gameplay style. Thus, you have the ultimate control over the game result. In the past 10 years, some of the most successful games have been derived from licences of properties. X-Files, Babylon 5, The Terminator, Aliens vs Predator, and now the WWF, have all had successful games.
To start playing the game all the player really requires is a starter deck of his choosen superstar, as does his opponent(s), of which where are atleast 54 different superstars to date. Each depicting a superstar or group of superstars from the World Wreastling Entertainent Raw and Smackdown television shows. This will start of his playing collection of cards. In the packaging the buyer will find 61 cards, 60 game cards and 1 card depicting the superstar the deck is eg. The Rock or Hulk Hogan. This "superstar card" gives the player an abilty that can be used in the game and can be used to effect the game and also it gives the player how many cards he starts the game with in his opening hand. The rule book is included in the packaging and is very easy to understand. The game is very easy to pick up and within a few hours you and a friend will be playing to novice standard.
From there the player can expand his collection with booster packs of 12 cards in each. These packs include cards not found in the starter boxes allong with some that are. Also in every 20-40 packs there are foils chase cards which are ultra rare and are each for the different superstars. Every 3-5 months a new set is released and to date there are 9 sets of cards, each adding more superstars and cards to the existing set of cards, which devolops the game so that, according to a paraphased quote from barron vangor-toth the co-designer of the game, "to be more and more like the show on tv"
When the player has got himself a good set of cards and has tired of beating all of his friends, there is a tournament circuit where the player can win himself title belt cards that are not sold in packs or starter boxes, which can boost the players deck of cards. There is a huge comunity of players worldwide, which has been estimated at 20,000. The skill of these players ranges from the child who plays once in a while to adults who put a lot of time and effort into playing, not saying that there are not children who put in the time the adults do and visa versa. There is also are websites dedicated to the game and forums where the communties of players keep in touch with each other and swap deck ideas along with the trading of cards that they cannot get in their local pool of players.
I personally enjoy the game and I'd like to end my review with a big thank you to all the guys at Comic Images that produce the game and also to all the guys who run the tournaments and gaming events. I will not name drop, as I cannot think of and dont know all the guys who produce the game or run events out there. I wouldn't want to leave anybody out or embarass anybody out there, but remember guys without you there wouldn't be the great game and community behind it without you.
Right now you have heard about this cool new game and wonder to yourself where can I buy it or find more about it? To find more out about this game search out any comic book or collectables shops ie shops that sells merchandise from films and tv shows and they should be able to point you in the right direction, if not sell it themselves. Also a lot of these shops can order in products if they do not sell them. Further more, if you put squared circle raw deal into a search engine you should find the online community of players.
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
