Fantasy Flight Games recently announced that it was repackaging its Mutant Chronicles CMG into non-collectable packaging (see “Mutant Chronicles CMG Format Change”), and earlier this year announced that it was converting some of its CCGs into a new Living Card Game format, that did not use blind packaging (see “FFG Retools CCGs”).  Kingdom Hearts and UFS will retain their traditional CCG packaging; other games will be packed in non-collectable ways.  We spoke to FFG Vice President of Marketing and Communication Steve Horvath at Gen Con about the reasons for these changes.  

Why is FFG going away from blind packaging for its games?

Collectible games have been fantastic for years and we still have a very strong one in UFS, but for the newer games that are coming out, we think that people are starting to get burned out on the blind buy purchase model.  We’ve talked to hundreds of retailers all across the country and they’ve seen a lot of their customers that have been involved in CCGs or CMGs for years reach a breaking point where they couldn’t keep up any more.  But people still love the playing experiences that you have with those games.

So what we’re trying to do is replicate that play experience and the social aspects of it, the things that you really like, but get rid of the burden of the blind buy, so that you can buy the stuff that you want to play with, and play with it and have fun with it, and not have to chase down all of that stuff.  The economy is not what it was, and with gas prices, it’s harder for people to keep up.  People also have a little less time now, because they’re busier.  So they want to be able to buy what they want to buy and then play with it.  So that’s what we’re trying to provide. 

Is it fair to say that one of the outcomes will be a lower cost to get into a game?

Absolutely.  It’s a much lower entry point over-all to play a game. And where we think that’s going to be exciting for the retail community is that players are once again going to be able to afford to play three or four games at one time.  

I’ve been doing this for a long time.  Way back in the olden days of even 2000, people would play two or three collectible games at one time.  They just can’t afford to do that any more; it’s just not feasible.  This Living Card Game format will allow them to do that and won’t break the bank.  

If I’m playing three of these games, somebody else that comes into the store looking for a game is going to have triple the amount of chance of finding a player to play against, because everybody playing in the store is going to be able to play more than one.  So you’re going to double or triple your chances of finding an opponent.  And that’s what really makes a game succeed in the long run--having people to play against.  So yes, it will be a lower entry point and it will give people a chance to explore a lot more different games and have a lot more fun.