If you watch The Big Bang Theory regularly, and even if you only tune in now and then, you may recall the first episode in which Wil Wheaton appeared playing an “evil” version of himself. The plot in that episode revolved around a fictional Magic: The Gathering-esque card game called “The Mystic Warlords of Ka’a,” which was the focus of a confrontation between Evil Wil Wheaton and the show’s regular character Sheldon Cooper.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment released a Facebook game based on this card game, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun. The core of the game is dueling, which you can do either against a computerized opponent in the form of one of the characters from the show (even Penny!) or against another person (which can be auto-matched or selected from among your friends who play the game). Duels are basically quick trick-taking games whereby each player “trumps” the other in turn by playing cards of higher value by one of two characteristics until one player can’t play. You start off with two basic “squads” of cards and can acquire more either through in-game rewards or, of course, by spending a few dollars of real money to get some better ones. As with real-world trading card games, each pack of cards will have a few rare or very rare cards along with a bunch of common ones. You can also buy individual cards.
The game has a social aspect, too, of course — you can visit other players’ “strongholds” to interact with them by dueling, trading, giving gifts, etc., or you can use your airship to raid them. And there are “campaigns” you can go on to achieve various rewards. I like that there are different aspects of the game that you can play, and that you can ignore the bits of it you’re not interested in if you choose. I haven’t fully explored it — mostly because I’m not keen on spending real-world money for virtual goods in general — but there’s definitely some depth there, and they’ve been steadily expanding functionality since it was first released several months ago. I highly recommend giving it a try — if you enjoy Magic and similar games, “The Mystic Warlords of Ka’a” will very likely tickle your fancy.
The Giveaway: In conjunction with the show and game, we’re giving away a really nice prize package that anyone who likes the show would, I’m sure, love to have! It includes the DVD sets for the first FOUR seasons of the show, a 16-month wall calendar based on the show, and a “Four Hairlines” t-shirt. Based on current retail price, the package is worth $168.70 all told. Use the form below to enter — if for any reason the form doesn’t work for you, you can enter here instead. All entries must be received by 11:59pm Eastern Time on Monday, December 12. The giveaway is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.
