Redemption (card game)

The object of the game is to rescue five Lost Souls before the opponent.[3] To rescue a Lost Soul, a player must initiate a rescue attempt by placing a Hero into battle. The opponent then places an Evil Character in battle to block the rescue attempt. Based on strength and defense numbers of the characters, players take turns playing Enhancement Cards to make their characters stronger. Eventually, one character wins the battle. If the Evil Character is defeated (by being discarded, converted, captured, ignored, removed from the game, etc.), the Hero rescues the Lost Soul. In general the game play of Redemption is very different from its counterparts. Unlike popular trading card games like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon, and Magic: The Gathering, Redemption has no built in cost system. That is, players are not required to meet any prerequisite functions in order to place cards into the field of play. Instead restrictions or penalties are placed on the special abilities of the cards themselves in order to balance game play.

The first release of Redemption was in 1995 as a set of 2 starter decks (50-card decks A and B, now out of print) and a set of Limited Edition cards, followed by an Unlimited Edition reprinting. In August of 1996, Cactus offered 750 complete sets of all published Redemption cards at about $150 a piece.[4] The game was developed by releasing expansion sets and other starter decks, including, in order of release:

* - Out of Print Cards

Several artists have contributed, including Mike Bennett, Jeff Haynie, Michael Carroll and Mark Poole. Some artwork has been taken from other Christian products and from classical artwork. Former art Director Doug Gray also made many of the images for the cards himself.

Soon after Magic: The Gathering introduced the idea of a collectible card game (CCG), Rob Anderson realized that the Bible would be a "wonderful source for this type of game".[5] Redemption was soon designed and has since grown to be the top selling Christian CCG. Additionally, recent final releases of several long-running trading card games, including Lord of the Rings[6] and Star Trek,[7] makes Redemption the oldest trading card game in consistent production, aside from Magic: The Gathering.

Contributing to the continued popularity of the game is the ability - especially earlier on - to easily collect the cards due to the more common distribution and the smaller set size (although as of 2006 there were over 1,800 unique cards). Also, compared to many of the collectible card games, Redemption has continued to be easier to collect due to the lack of super-rare chase cards and the slower release of sets every 1–2 years.

One unique aspect that sets Redemption apart from other CCGs is that while each deck contains both good characters (Heroes of the Bible) and evil characters, the game is only won by using good characters. The evil characters do not have a chance to win the game (though they can prevent the opponent from winning).

Over the years, a rulebook has been developed and gives a reference for understanding the interactions between the card types and the cards. The most up-to-date rulebook is the 10th anniversary rulebook. An exegetical guide is also available for more seasoned players.

Rob Anderson has maintained that "Redemption Tournaments exist to foster fun and fellowship."

Tournaments
The nature of the game allows for and has resulted in a National Tournament structure (within the U.S.). Tournament levels range from Local to District to State to Regional to the National tournament. The National tournament is held once a year and is held in a different location each year. For official tournaments, prizes are provided by Cactus Game Design and they generally include Redemption booster packs and Tournament Promotional Cards. Redemption Nationals is open to all player; there are no prerequisites for entrance.

Online Tournaments
Redemption tournaments are also held online through Lackey CCG and once through Redemption Table Simulator (RTS. Redemption Table Simulator (RTS for short) is the game utility that allows players of Redemption CCG to play across the Internet or a network as though they were playing across the table. RTS lays everything out in front of you as it would be on a game table. Online tournaments can be found through the Cactus website and function in the same way as face to face tournaments.

Categories of Play
At each tournament, one might play Sealed Deck, Booster Draft (instead of multi-player Sealed Deck), Type 1, or Type 2. These categories have different deck building rules. Also, each category (except for Booster Draft) may be divided into two tournaments; a 2-player tournament and a multi-player.

Ranking System
Redemption has also implemented a Redemption National Ranking System (RNRS) allowing players who cannot make it to the National Tournament to be recognized. Points are awarded for placing in each level of tournament.

In the March 1996 edition of Arcane (Issue 4), Andrew Rilstone gave the game a thumbs down, rating it only 5 out of 10 and saying, "Each card has a relevant quotation on it, and the rules warn us that if the cards ever contradict the Bible, you should stick with the Bible. Er... thanks."[8]

In the March 1996 edition of Dragon (Issue 227), Rick Swan wasn't impressed, saying, "Redemption plays like a stripped-down Magic: The Gathering game, too slight to sustain the interest of hard-core card players, but good for beginners."[9]

• Collectible Card Game

• Cactus Game Design
• Covenant Games
• Redemption Forum
• Redemption Connect!, a user-oriented Redemption deck-builder
• Three Lions Gaming