I am old enough to have collected Topps Star Wars bubble gum cards when they first came out in 1977. So, about ten years ago, I was quite pleased to find there was an app in the app store that brought the experience into the twenty-first century. I will admit I played it for a few years, built up quite a collection (for free) and then gave up with it. I would go back once a year, collect that year’s base cards and a few inserts and then quit again. Anyway, it has evolved over the years and is quite different to the original app. I couldn’t really find any user guides, so here is my attempt.
Aim
The aim of the game is to collect virtual cards. You do this by opening packs. There are literally thousands, if not millions, of different cards. Each year, a new set of base cards comes out. These are the bog-standard cards. There are usually a couple of hundred to get. They all feature a character from one of the Star Wars films or one of its many spin-offs. Some are just photos with a fancy background and picture frame. Then there are the limited edition inserts. These are usually original artworks and the most fun to collect. Each card has a value depending on how rare it is. These are ranked as Base (1 to 10), Common, Uncommon, Rare, Super Rare, Epic and Legendary. You may end up with hundreds of a particular Base card, while there may only be one copy of a Legendary card among all the collectors.
Collectors
Because you and all the other collectors are collecting from the same supply of cards. Most of your time will be spent sending and receiving trades. This is when you swap one or more cards for one or more different cards. You can get so far with the free cards, but to be a proper collector means paying out real money for what is essentially virtual cards.
Tips
Here are my tips for getting the most from the game. The last one, I have only just discovered, and it is a real game-changer.
- Free cards are free cards. At least they don’t take up any space online. You soon get to a point where cargo drops and workbenches are only useful if there is an event on.
- Pick an aspect of the cards and collect that. Chasing a certain character, film or art style makes it more fun. Lock the cards that you really like. If not, then you may actually trade one away by mistake.
- I think that the older a card is, the more it is worth. Five 2015 cards are not worth the same as five 2026 cards.
- Don’t be too precious when collecting base cards. There are so many of them out there that you WILL get them all eventually. As long as each trade gets you one card closer, it doesn’t really matter if there are sme dupes in it.
- When trading, make sure the other person is online. A little green dot by their name means they are online, and a yellow dot means they have been around recently. They are most likely to respond immediately. No dot means they could be asleep.
- Once you have a few Rare, Super Rare and Epics, the “take one and leave two of the same value” really works. There are people out there with loads of Epic dupes, so it’s no loss to them to trade a few for a new card. Rare, Super Rare, and Epic are where the collection points are, so the more you get, the bigger your collection value.
I hope you find that useful. If so, I will go into more detail about playing the game.