Guide
Farsketched's tcg_exchange Beginner's Guide
This guide is in what I consider a possible chronological order, and not necessarily the only way of doing things. If you're looking for something specific, be sure to browse the headers!
STEP 000: PRIOR TO JOINING: What we're all about! There are two basic premises to understanding our version of TCG:
1. A TCG IS simply a trading card game, but with pixel graphics mocked up to be trading cards. These cards are themed, in our case primarily after anime characters. These cards make up a deck, typically of 20 cards. The objective is to earn cards as well as trade cards with other players to obtain more desired cards.
2. EARNING CARDS THROUGH AFFILIATES It's important to know that this TCG is heavily integrated with it's affiliates! The way in which you earn cards is by participating at our affiliated communities which are primarily anime-themed icontests or graphic related communities.
Note: You do not have to be a graphic maker to participate in TCG_Exchange, as simply voting in these communities' contests reward you card(s)! In fact, in this past week, I earned 23 cards by voting alone!
STEP 001: SIGNING UP & DECK BASICS: The lowdown on deck basicsAs you find your way over to the sign up page [ link], you will find the form to join requests that you name at least one deck that you are interested in collecting.
Our deck list [ link] should help you in this process of deciding which decks to focus on first!
A more detailed run-through on Card & Deck basics:
There are three types of cards in the game.
1. REGULAR CARDS: For the purposes of getting started you mostly will be concerned with the regular cards. These decks are each themed after one character, and each deck includes 20 unique cards of that character.
2. SPECIAL CARDS: These decks contain cards that are twice as big as normal cards. Due to this and being less common than regular cards, they are worth the value of two normal cards when you are trading these with another player. The special decks also differ as instead of being themed after a specific character they tend to have broader overarching themes. In other cases, these decks function as a puzzle and the respective cards together make up an image.
3. EVENT CARDS: And finally the third, and most rare card type are event cards. These cards can only be obtained through games and the lotto [link]. If your interested in learning more about them, the event card page on the TCG wiki [link] breaks down how these cards are/were obtainable and what they can be exchanged for.
A Final Sub-classfication:
LIMITED EDITION/RETIRED DECKS: You may have noticed on the deck list [ link], some of these deck names have asterisks (*) by their name. This is indicative of a limited edition or retired deck. A limited edition deck is one that is only released during a certain time frame, while a retired deck is a deck that was once distributed normally but new cards from that deck are no longer being created by the randomizer (meaning you cannot get these cards through the normal means of participating with affiliates). However, there are still ways to collect this decks, such as choice cards or through certificates and the card exchange (see Step 006: Alternative Ways to get Cards).
STEP 002: SETTING UP YOUR DECK POST: Including the neccessitiesA template [ link] for setting up your card post is available. The code can be customized but the template gives a good idea of some of the information that should be included.
1. YOUR NAME. Self explanatory! Also, you can find a template for a player badge on the same page as the card post template.
2. LINK BACK TO TCG_EXCHANGE.
3. YOUR CARD COUNT. This is for leveling purposes. For the first six levels, every 50 new cards you obtain will gain you a level. You can read more about that at the level up post [ link].
4. PRIORITY BREAKDOWN. Most people here use terms such as "current decks", "future decks", and "keeps" to organize their cards and give other players an idea of which decks are more desired so they can get these cards first is possible!
Note (Optional) I found it useful to just list decks that I was interested in as future decks even when I did not have any cards from these decks. It makes it easier for people to trade with you, than if you're just accepting one or two decks.
5. PENDING TRADES/HOLDS. A section where you place cards that you have offered to other players, or cards in which you have promised to hold for another player until they get a card you need. It is useful to separate this from your general "trading" section, so other players don't try to make new trades on cards that may not actually be available.
6. TRADE LOG & ACTIVITY LOG. It is really important to have a place to track every trade and claim that you make for organizational purposes. The logs do not have to be on your card page, but at the very least a link to your logs need to be included in a prominent place. Make sure to number all of your trades and claims! Rewards are given for reaching certain benchmarks (such as 50+ trades), so the numbering comes in handy!
Note: Only actual trades and claims should be numbered (things like the Card Shop, Card Exchange, Lotto, should be included but unnumbered). Also, if you receive a card as a gift from another player, it counts as a trade for them, but not for you.
STEP 003: EARNING CARDS: Participating in affiliated communtiesYou can view the affiliates page here [link].
1. JOIN THE AFFILIATED COMMUNITIES. To participate in tcg_exchange, you are not required to join any of the affiliates on the list, but most of these communities require that you are a member to vote or submit to their contests. However, since voting and submitting at this contests is the principle way of earning cards, you will gain more cards if you are a member of more communities!
Note: You should join the affiliates with the same username that you use to participate elsewhere in tcg_exchange.
2. PRIZES VARY PER COMMUNTITY. The most common reward is 1 card for voting and 2 cards for submitting an icon, but not all communities are icontests and not all communities follow these same rules. Some communities give additional prizes for placing, and some communities have the added bonus of being able to select a choice card if you meet the designated criteria to earn one! Be sure to check out the community descriptions made available!
3. PARTICIPATING & CLAIMS. Once you submit an icon/banner/manga coloring, etc., you vote in an affiliated community, or your submission places (if the community rewards for placing) then you can claim your cards at the affiliate post [link]. In most cases these communities post voting and results over the weekend, so to be sure you get your cards at tcg_exchange in a timely manner, try to remember to make your claims before Sunday. Each affiliate, has a link for claims, in which there is a form. It is important to include a link to your submission/vote/placing with your form!
4. RECEIVING YOUR CARDS. Some time after the results are posted for that week at each community, a moderator at tcg_exchange will respond with a set number of cards of which you can select a given amount to keep. Make sure to save the cards you select to your own server, and update your card post and activity log with the cards you choose!
STEP 004: Utilizing the exchange_trade communityexchange_trade is our community to post decks that we are interested in collecting. It includes a tags list [link] so you can easily browse the decks others are collecting.
1. MAKE YOUR OWN POST. Even if you feel like you don't have much to trade, it's still helpful to post what decks you're collecting so other players have an idea of what decks are actively being collected. Be sure to tag your post with the decks you're collecting. Besides adding your decks to the tags, this just lets other players notice that there is a new player, as people don't necessarily constantly check the player list.
2. MAKE USE OF THE TAG LIST. There are definitely other ways to organize yourself, but the tag list really helps when you are doing prize claims, and none of the cards are from decks you are actively collecting. You can simply check the tags and perhaps choose the cards from claims based on what others need (and maybe you can make a trade!).
STEP 005: TRADING: Organizing trades!As indicated in the previous step, exchange_trade is a good way to find people who need cards you have.
You can also manually navigate to different decks by checking out the player list [link].
1. FINDING CARDS YOU WANT. You can browse each of the member's page with the link above. In this way you can get an idea of what cards you're collecting are actually out there. For people who have cards you want, you may want to take note of the decks that they're collecting, so you can get the cards they need through claims!
2. KEEP IN MIND PEOPLE'S RULES. Most people appreciate if you take time to understand what their personal preferences that they've indicated on their page. For instance, some people accept cards in their "keep's" section, others just use it as a way or organizing themselves. Other people have a section for cards that are low priority but they'll only accept for players lower than level 5. Keeping these things in mind will help your trades successful!
3. OFFERING AND COMPLETING TRADES. In order to offer a trade, you need to include the actual image of the card you're offering. If someone else is initiating the trade, you need to respond with the image of the card you're giving them before the trade is considered finalized.
4. INCLUDE ALL TRADES IN YOUR TRADE LOG. Be sure to include a link to the actual trade. For the sake of numbering, each card counts as it's own trade.
STEP 006: ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO GET CARDS: Besides trades and claims!
1. CARD SHOP. The card shop [ link] is a way in which you can receive two free cards (if you're under level 9, one card if you're level 9+). These cards are donated by higher level members. However, if there are no cards there, that means they have all been given out, and you must wait until the shop is restocked.
2. CARD EXCHANGE. The card exchange [ link] is a way in which you can get a specific card you want, by exchanging two of your cards in. You can do this once a week.
3. CERTIFICATES. The certificate redemption post [ link] allows you to exchange certificates for a designated amount of cards depending on the certificate level (which is broke down further on that page). Certificates can be obtained by reaching certain benchmarks like 50+ trades, gaining a level, the lotto, or through winning the weekly contests run by mmrobitussin which are posted at tcg_exchange.
Note: Many people prefer not to use certificates directly in exchange for decks that they are collecting, because if you master a deck without using any certificates you qualify for a no-cert mastery badge (the next section deals with event badges). However, if you use the certificate to get someone else a card they need in exchange for a card you need, you will still qualify for the no-cert mastery.
STEP 007: EVENT BADGES: Additional shinies for your page!You may notice at the top of many player's pages, little banners rewarding certain achievements! Besides the event badge, you also receive a set number of choice cards, random cards, and a pre-determined certifcate! The event badge page [ link] gives much more details on the specifics regarding event badges!
The main ways event badges can be earned:
1. DECK MASTERY. Anytime you complete a deck, you are eligible for a badge. Additionally, if you complete a deck without using any certificates, you are also eligible for a No-Cert Mastery badge. Besides individual masteries you can obtain a badge at being the first to master a deck, and after collecting 10+, 25+, 50+, 75+, 100+, and 150+ decks.
2. EVENT CARDS. Collecting all of the cards in a set, or collecting 10 of the same card makes you eligible for an event badge!
3. TRADING. After trading 50 times, you will be eligible for your first trading event badge. After that, you will be eligible for an event badge at 200+, 500+, and every 500+ trades after that!
4. CONTRIBUTING. After contributing 50 times, you will be eligible for your contribution event badge. After that, you will be eligible for an event badge at 150+, 400+, 1000+ and every 500+ contributions after that!
STEP 008: COMMITMENT LEVEL: What it means to stay active!
1. AFFILIATE ACTIVITY. As stated before, the amount you participate with the affiliates is completely up to you, although it's directly proportionate to how fast you earn cards. To maximize the cards you earn if you don't have much time, an idea is to log in on Saturday afternoon, because at this point most of the communities have already posted voting, and in 20 minutes or so you can earn quite a bit of cards! But even this isn't necessary.
2. RESPONDING TO TRADES KEEPS THE GAME GOING. While you may not have time to participate in the affiliates for any given week, it's encouraged to try to respond to trades at least once a week. Other players may need your cards to declare their mastery, so this really helps other players out!
3. HIATUS. If you are going to be gone for an extended period of time, there is a post to notify the mod's of your hiatus [ link]. It is also helpful to place a notice on the top of your card page, so other players know that you're currently not active. Some people choose to just go on a semi-hiatus, where they still respond to trades, but don't keep active elsewhere.
STEP 009: CONGENIALITY.Courtesy, patience, and fun :D
1. BEING POLITE. Pretty straightforward, play nice! Not everyone will want to go through with every trade. Also make sure to try to read what people say in regards to what they're actually accepting, and try to offer people higher priority cards whenever possible.
2. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE! I have found the mods here are exceptionally fast considering the amount of work they do to keep this place running, but if things are taking a couple days, just remember that things come up and they'll get to your claim, badge, etc. asap!
Note: If the last card you need for a mastery, is pending at the Card Exchange or Certificate Redemption, you can still claim the mastery, while providing a link to the pending card.
3. ENJOY THE GAME. I think that you will find everything is pretty organized through the tags and sidebar navigation at the main community. After a while, you'll get the hang of it! Feel free to ask people questions if you're unsure of something, there is even a post to ask the mods questions [ link]. You should now know everything needed to do well in the game now, so have fun collecting :D
This guide is in what I consider a possible chronological order, and not necessarily the only way of doing things. If you're looking for something specific, be sure to browse the headers!
STEP 000: PRIOR TO JOINING: What we're all about! There are two basic premises to understanding our version of TCG:
1. A TCG IS simply a trading card game, but with pixel graphics mocked up to be trading cards. These cards are themed, in our case primarily after anime characters. These cards make up a deck, typically of 20 cards. The objective is to earn cards as well as trade cards with other players to obtain more desired cards.
2. EARNING CARDS THROUGH AFFILIATES It's important to know that this TCG is heavily integrated with it's affiliates! The way in which you earn cards is by participating at our affiliated communities which are primarily anime-themed icontests or graphic related communities.
Note: You do not have to be a graphic maker to participate in TCG_Exchange, as simply voting in these communities' contests reward you card(s)! In fact, in this past week, I earned 23 cards by voting alone!
STEP 001: SIGNING UP & DECK BASICS: The lowdown on deck basicsAs you find your way over to the sign up page [ link], you will find the form to join requests that you name at least one deck that you are interested in collecting.
Our deck list [ link] should help you in this process of deciding which decks to focus on first!
A more detailed run-through on Card & Deck basics:
There are three types of cards in the game.
1. REGULAR CARDS: For the purposes of getting started you mostly will be concerned with the regular cards. These decks are each themed after one character, and each deck includes 20 unique cards of that character.
2. SPECIAL CARDS: These decks contain cards that are twice as big as normal cards. Due to this and being less common than regular cards, they are worth the value of two normal cards when you are trading these with another player. The special decks also differ as instead of being themed after a specific character they tend to have broader overarching themes. In other cases, these decks function as a puzzle and the respective cards together make up an image.
3. EVENT CARDS: And finally the third, and most rare card type are event cards. These cards can only be obtained through games and the lotto [link]. If your interested in learning more about them, the event card page on the TCG wiki [link] breaks down how these cards are/were obtainable and what they can be exchanged for.
A Final Sub-classfication:
LIMITED EDITION/RETIRED DECKS: You may have noticed on the deck list [ link], some of these deck names have asterisks (*) by their name. This is indicative of a limited edition or retired deck. A limited edition deck is one that is only released during a certain time frame, while a retired deck is a deck that was once distributed normally but new cards from that deck are no longer being created by the randomizer (meaning you cannot get these cards through the normal means of participating with affiliates). However, there are still ways to collect this decks, such as choice cards or through certificates and the card exchange (see Step 006: Alternative Ways to get Cards).
STEP 002: SETTING UP YOUR DECK POST: Including the neccessitiesA template [ link] for setting up your card post is available. The code can be customized but the template gives a good idea of some of the information that should be included.
1. YOUR NAME. Self explanatory! Also, you can find a template for a player badge on the same page as the card post template.
2. LINK BACK TO TCG_EXCHANGE.
3. YOUR CARD COUNT. This is for leveling purposes. For the first six levels, every 50 new cards you obtain will gain you a level. You can read more about that at the level up post [ link].
4. PRIORITY BREAKDOWN. Most people here use terms such as "current decks", "future decks", and "keeps" to organize their cards and give other players an idea of which decks are more desired so they can get these cards first is possible!
Note (Optional) I found it useful to just list decks that I was interested in as future decks even when I did not have any cards from these decks. It makes it easier for people to trade with you, than if you're just accepting one or two decks.
5. PENDING TRADES/HOLDS. A section where you place cards that you have offered to other players, or cards in which you have promised to hold for another player until they get a card you need. It is useful to separate this from your general "trading" section, so other players don't try to make new trades on cards that may not actually be available.
6. TRADE LOG & ACTIVITY LOG. It is really important to have a place to track every trade and claim that you make for organizational purposes. The logs do not have to be on your card page, but at the very least a link to your logs need to be included in a prominent place. Make sure to number all of your trades and claims! Rewards are given for reaching certain benchmarks (such as 50+ trades), so the numbering comes in handy!
Note: Only actual trades and claims should be numbered (things like the Card Shop, Card Exchange, Lotto, should be included but unnumbered). Also, if you receive a card as a gift from another player, it counts as a trade for them, but not for you.
STEP 003: EARNING CARDS: Participating in affiliated communtiesYou can view the affiliates page here [link].
1. JOIN THE AFFILIATED COMMUNITIES. To participate in tcg_exchange, you are not required to join any of the affiliates on the list, but most of these communities require that you are a member to vote or submit to their contests. However, since voting and submitting at this contests is the principle way of earning cards, you will gain more cards if you are a member of more communities!
Note: You should join the affiliates with the same username that you use to participate elsewhere in tcg_exchange.
2. PRIZES VARY PER COMMUNTITY. The most common reward is 1 card for voting and 2 cards for submitting an icon, but not all communities are icontests and not all communities follow these same rules. Some communities give additional prizes for placing, and some communities have the added bonus of being able to select a choice card if you meet the designated criteria to earn one! Be sure to check out the community descriptions made available!
3. PARTICIPATING & CLAIMS. Once you submit an icon/banner/manga coloring, etc., you vote in an affiliated community, or your submission places (if the community rewards for placing) then you can claim your cards at the affiliate post [link]. In most cases these communities post voting and results over the weekend, so to be sure you get your cards at tcg_exchange in a timely manner, try to remember to make your claims before Sunday. Each affiliate, has a link for claims, in which there is a form. It is important to include a link to your submission/vote/placing with your form!
4. RECEIVING YOUR CARDS. Some time after the results are posted for that week at each community, a moderator at tcg_exchange will respond with a set number of cards of which you can select a given amount to keep. Make sure to save the cards you select to your own server, and update your card post and activity log with the cards you choose!
STEP 004: Utilizing the exchange_trade communityexchange_trade is our community to post decks that we are interested in collecting. It includes a tags list [link] so you can easily browse the decks others are collecting.
1. MAKE YOUR OWN POST. Even if you feel like you don't have much to trade, it's still helpful to post what decks you're collecting so other players have an idea of what decks are actively being collected. Be sure to tag your post with the decks you're collecting. Besides adding your decks to the tags, this just lets other players notice that there is a new player, as people don't necessarily constantly check the player list.
2. MAKE USE OF THE TAG LIST. There are definitely other ways to organize yourself, but the tag list really helps when you are doing prize claims, and none of the cards are from decks you are actively collecting. You can simply check the tags and perhaps choose the cards from claims based on what others need (and maybe you can make a trade!).
STEP 005: TRADING: Organizing trades!As indicated in the previous step, exchange_trade is a good way to find people who need cards you have.
You can also manually navigate to different decks by checking out the player list [link].
1. FINDING CARDS YOU WANT. You can browse each of the member's page with the link above. In this way you can get an idea of what cards you're collecting are actually out there. For people who have cards you want, you may want to take note of the decks that they're collecting, so you can get the cards they need through claims!
2. KEEP IN MIND PEOPLE'S RULES. Most people appreciate if you take time to understand what their personal preferences that they've indicated on their page. For instance, some people accept cards in their "keep's" section, others just use it as a way or organizing themselves. Other people have a section for cards that are low priority but they'll only accept for players lower than level 5. Keeping these things in mind will help your trades successful!
3. OFFERING AND COMPLETING TRADES. In order to offer a trade, you need to include the actual image of the card you're offering. If someone else is initiating the trade, you need to respond with the image of the card you're giving them before the trade is considered finalized.
4. INCLUDE ALL TRADES IN YOUR TRADE LOG. Be sure to include a link to the actual trade. For the sake of numbering, each card counts as it's own trade.
STEP 006: ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO GET CARDS: Besides trades and claims!
1. CARD SHOP. The card shop [ link] is a way in which you can receive two free cards (if you're under level 9, one card if you're level 9+). These cards are donated by higher level members. However, if there are no cards there, that means they have all been given out, and you must wait until the shop is restocked.
2. CARD EXCHANGE. The card exchange [ link] is a way in which you can get a specific card you want, by exchanging two of your cards in. You can do this once a week.
3. CERTIFICATES. The certificate redemption post [ link] allows you to exchange certificates for a designated amount of cards depending on the certificate level (which is broke down further on that page). Certificates can be obtained by reaching certain benchmarks like 50+ trades, gaining a level, the lotto, or through winning the weekly contests run by mmrobitussin which are posted at tcg_exchange.
Note: Many people prefer not to use certificates directly in exchange for decks that they are collecting, because if you master a deck without using any certificates you qualify for a no-cert mastery badge (the next section deals with event badges). However, if you use the certificate to get someone else a card they need in exchange for a card you need, you will still qualify for the no-cert mastery.
STEP 007: EVENT BADGES: Additional shinies for your page!You may notice at the top of many player's pages, little banners rewarding certain achievements! Besides the event badge, you also receive a set number of choice cards, random cards, and a pre-determined certifcate! The event badge page [ link] gives much more details on the specifics regarding event badges!
The main ways event badges can be earned:
1. DECK MASTERY. Anytime you complete a deck, you are eligible for a badge. Additionally, if you complete a deck without using any certificates, you are also eligible for a No-Cert Mastery badge. Besides individual masteries you can obtain a badge at being the first to master a deck, and after collecting 10+, 25+, 50+, 75+, 100+, and 150+ decks.
2. EVENT CARDS. Collecting all of the cards in a set, or collecting 10 of the same card makes you eligible for an event badge!
3. TRADING. After trading 50 times, you will be eligible for your first trading event badge. After that, you will be eligible for an event badge at 200+, 500+, and every 500+ trades after that!
4. CONTRIBUTING. After contributing 50 times, you will be eligible for your contribution event badge. After that, you will be eligible for an event badge at 150+, 400+, 1000+ and every 500+ contributions after that!
STEP 008: COMMITMENT LEVEL: What it means to stay active!
1. AFFILIATE ACTIVITY. As stated before, the amount you participate with the affiliates is completely up to you, although it's directly proportionate to how fast you earn cards. To maximize the cards you earn if you don't have much time, an idea is to log in on Saturday afternoon, because at this point most of the communities have already posted voting, and in 20 minutes or so you can earn quite a bit of cards! But even this isn't necessary.
2. RESPONDING TO TRADES KEEPS THE GAME GOING. While you may not have time to participate in the affiliates for any given week, it's encouraged to try to respond to trades at least once a week. Other players may need your cards to declare their mastery, so this really helps other players out!
3. HIATUS. If you are going to be gone for an extended period of time, there is a post to notify the mod's of your hiatus [ link]. It is also helpful to place a notice on the top of your card page, so other players know that you're currently not active. Some people choose to just go on a semi-hiatus, where they still respond to trades, but don't keep active elsewhere.
STEP 009: CONGENIALITY.Courtesy, patience, and fun :D
1. BEING POLITE. Pretty straightforward, play nice! Not everyone will want to go through with every trade. Also make sure to try to read what people say in regards to what they're actually accepting, and try to offer people higher priority cards whenever possible.
2. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE! I have found the mods here are exceptionally fast considering the amount of work they do to keep this place running, but if things are taking a couple days, just remember that things come up and they'll get to your claim, badge, etc. asap!
Note: If the last card you need for a mastery, is pending at the Card Exchange or Certificate Redemption, you can still claim the mastery, while providing a link to the pending card.
3. ENJOY THE GAME. I think that you will find everything is pretty organized through the tags and sidebar navigation at the main community. After a while, you'll get the hang of it! Feel free to ask people questions if you're unsure of something, there is even a post to ask the mods questions [ link]. You should now know everything needed to do well in the game now, so have fun collecting :D