Need some information please

[Rhaevin80]

I am looking to get into a christian game. I used to play Magic the Gathering CCG, and it was very in depth and involved a lot of stradegy. I was thinking about getting into Redemption, but then came across this game. I see that Redemption is for ages 7 and up, and Mission is for 12 and up. Anyone played both? I would like a more advanced game, with lots of stradegy. I want a challenge with lots of options. Redemption has like 6 different expansions. How many does Mission have? Thanks for your time and info!

[Ezekiel]

Hi Rhaevin,

I was a Magic the Gathering player (still am occasionally) and it was because I didn't find the same level of strategy in other Christian games that I went about designing one for that kind of audience. The Mission is definately more involved than Redemption. The starter sets contain basic rules and cards (think Portal) and advanced rules that utilise the Booster pack cards for a much more involved game. Unfortunately there is nothing similar to expert theme decks as we didn't have the funds for another product.

However there is currently only one expansion set for The Mission and although I am trying to find someone who will take the game further and produce the second one (mainly designed already) I can't promise anything. The first set though by itself has a lot of scope for different tactics and ideas. Comparing it to Magic I would say that The Mission has a lot less variation for deck building due to the limited number of cards (205) and because Magic has flexible rules. The Mission however is far more flexible once the game is underway. Decisions you make about which cards to lay and how to use your various Christians allow more possibility than the mana/creature/sorcery set up of Magic.

In short I designed the game specifically with people such as yourself in mind and the game seems to have suffered because most Christian gamers find it too complex as they aren't used to other secular games. Christians that wouldn't tend to already play Magic or other secular games already. But if you are looking for a high strategy Christian game and don't enjoy The Mission then I have failed miserably. I hope I can keep this great game alive to continue producing more ideas and cards.

But you will have to make do with the starter deck cards until you can supplement them with boosters.

Nathan

[Rhaevin80]

Hey thanks for your reply! I really appreciate you taking time to help me out! I think I will go ahead and give Mission a try. I'll let you know what I think about it afterwards. Do you think this game will catch on or die though? Have you played Redemption since the new expansions? What are your views on it if you have? Thanks again!

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 11, 2004 04:04 PM: Message edited by: Rhaevin80 ]</font>

[Zachary Myers]

Hey guys this exactly the reason I like The Mission so much. Keep posting Rhaevin.

[Ezekiel]

This is purely my own personal opinion on Redemption from one gamer to another. I must also say that I haven't played with any of the newer expansions.

Effectively the game is a battle between heroes and villains of the bible with a power/toughness style dueling system. However there are no penalties or restrictions on playing cards like a mana set up. This makes balancing cards difficult as rarely would you play a "4/4" warrior when you can equally play a "10/10". The only advantage is that the weaker warrior gets to play extra boosting cards first. This can help but usually it seems better to go for numbers.

A lot of The Mission players are also Redemption players but I personally doubt many people who play Magic would play Redemption as well because to me Magic has a lot more to offer in a similar kind of set up. The only reason I can think of would be religious beliefs or because friends play redemption instead. I was a Magic player and heard of Redemption so gave it a try as my mother at the time didn't really like me playing Magic, although I was allowed. I found Redemption to be inferior in nearly every sense and so didn't collect for long. Frankly it will not be possible for a Christian company to compete with Hasbro (Wizards). Redemption is also a lot more narrow in terms of rules and so games are a lot more similar and most decks seem to be built around only a handful of themes and several of the cards are "must haves" for every Redemption deck. Equally there are scores of cards that no player would ever use as they are completely inferior to others. I personally do not like that style of ccg. There also seems to be more luck than I would like in terms of what cards you draw.

I purposely wanted to create an entirely different game. The Mission cycles cards rapidly giving a fresh hand every turn and allowing several actions by every character and it also has a "simultaneous play" structure to it. I have tried really hard to make every card useful in an attempt to divide players on skill (as well as a bit of luck) not on size of collection and luck of the draw. No card is all powerful. Every card has a purpose and a use. On playing for a long time the only card I find rarely useful is "Fasting". If I do a reprint and can afford to I want to improve that card. That was a mistake [img]redface.gif[/img] . Of course for there to be more variety there will need to be more cards but the first set should provide quite a lot of challenge and scope.

As for the likelihood of The Mission continuing... its really difficult to say. I am talking to several people at the moment to try and raise money for a reprint but it does seem that there are not that many hard core Christian gamers and those that there are tend to play other secular games (and I think "why not?"). I also would like to put a new slant on The Mission due to a shift in some of my Christian beleifs. I will start a new thread on some of the doctrinal questions The Mission might raise as well as some of the mindsets that go with it. We can throw ideas around as I really wanted The Mission to challenge people not merely to entertain. I for one don't want to spend my life entertaining Christians! That was never the purpose of The Mission. Anyway some of this ranting can go on another thread [img]smile.gif[/img] .

Hope that roughly answers your questions.

Nathan

[Rhaevin80]

Cool, you have been very helpful! From what I've heard about Redemption I feel it's not for me. I Will try to get some Mission cards this week and give it a try. Thanks again!

[rpgdirector]

Wow! It's nice to see the board alive and kicking again.