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One aspect of card games that I think is severely underrated by some games is the need to have a product that teaches new people how to play a game, i.e. a starter product.

Not every game needs a starter product and many have managed to succeed without one, but I think that having a starter product available is better to help grow a game’s potential audience.

I wanted to talk about why a starter product is a good to have, what a starter product should have, and what makes a bad starter product.

Let’s get started!

First Impressions

As new games come and go, the need for a starter product becomes more and more important, in my opinion. It feels like there are several new card games coming out every year, and if you happen to be an enthusiast of the hobby, there is a chance that you want to introduce a new game to someone who may not be as invested into card games as you are.

This is where starter products and starter kits come in handy, in that they generally contain simple to understand cards that don’t need as much explaining and are immediately playable out of the box.

An experienced player can take a starter kit to teach someone who has never played how to play the game or someone who has never played that game before could take it to learn by themselves or with another friend who is interested.

This allows an gentle on ramp for new players to experience the game for the first time without being bombarded with a million keywords and terms that they have never heard in their life.

I am of the opinion that, for Magic, Commander is not the ideal way to introduce someone into the game of Magic. With four players all playing some combination of the almost 30,000 available card pool can make some players feel overwhelmed.

This is why Wizards of the Coast at least once a year releases a pair of starter decks to help new players learn how the game works. They also have the Jumpstart line of products which are also very new player friendly in taking two packs of Jumpstart, shuffling them up together and playing with them.

Starter Tool Kit

So what should a starter kit contain?

While there are a lot of extra things a starter kit could contain, I think there are two major components other than the cards or necessary game materials that a starter kit should contain at minimum: a game board or image of a game board and an instruction manual.

Having an image of a game board can help a new player visualize how a game is structured, but having an actual game board is much more helpful in giving a tactile object for a player to see how the game works.

In a similar vein, an instruction manual should tell a player how a game works, what a player does to win, and also how the available decks work and their general playstyles.

Now there have been games that combine the two, and while the logic of consolidating the two to save on materials makes sense, if the rules aren’t on the game board and are on the back of the game board, then the whole point is lost if a new player wants to check on a rule.

Another thing that I’ve seen done with instruction manuals and starter decks is to have a prearranged match set up with the two starter decks and the manual to go play by play to show how to play the game, which can be an effective way to guide a player slowly through a game to see the general structure of a game.

Starter decks generally have weaker cards that are also not very complicated, with a couple of rare or exclusive cards that may incentivize experienced players to buy even if they aren’t the target audience, with some starter decks also containing a booster pack or two to also add some more perceived value to the starter decks.

Fumbles

What makes a bad starter kit?

Well not having an instruction manual or game board/image of a game board can be a big detriment in getting a player invested in learning how to play the game.

Now some games do offer online instructions rather than paper instruction, but I think even having a small piece of paper or card that shows a simplified version how a game works while also having a QR code that leads to a website that has a more in-depth explanation can go a long way.

Another common issue that I’ve seen with starter kits is that the cards that are included tend to be more complicated than ideal for new players. If a card doesn’t have reminder text for a common keyword on the card or at the very least instructions in the manual on what the keywords mean, you can lose a player very quickly.

An issue that is less about the contents of the starter kit is the actual price of the starter kit. I am of the opinion that people have a threshold of what they consider what amounts to “an entry fee”. If your starter kit costs below that price threshold and delivers a strong experience, then there is a higher chance of a player staying with the game.

However, if the starter kit is at the higher end of that price threshold and delivers a subpar experience, then you have a higher chance of losing a player. For me personally that price threshold is between 10-30 USD, depending on what the starter kit has available.

Some companies also may not even make a dedicated starter product, instead opting for a product that fulfills a similar space while not being a dedicated starter product. For example, Flesh and Blood doesn’t have any starter decks, but does offer their Blitz Decks, which is a deck that is meant for quicker games and is often pointed to as a starting point for newer players.

In Conclusion

Starter products are something that I think any new card game should at the very least consider making.

It does a lot in helping newer players to not just your game but also potentially newer players in the trading card game space. It may take some time to correctly compose a deck that is new player friendly, but it may be the key to making someone casually looking at your game into a forever player.

Thank you for reading, see you next time!

Peace,

From, J.M. Casual

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