I just got back from my fourth screening of Sith, but this entry isn't going to be about that. I think it's time for some non-Star Wars musings. Everything has been so focused around that it's time to step back for a minute.

So over the weekend I played in the Territorial Open Championship (TOC) for the Lord of the Rings TCG. Yes, as if being a member of Hyperspace didn't confirm it, I am a true geek. I'm not sure how I got into trading card games, but I know it had to do with my eighth grade year and Star Trek. Mind you this was in the dark ages between OT and PT so I had to like something sci-fi and Next Generation was at it's peak.

Anywho, I came in 5th out of 11 people. I'm glad I did so well but I'm sad that there were so few. I remember back in the heyday of the Star Wars CCG (the original, not that dice rolling crap) thirty people, easiliy, would show up to an event like this. I wonder if RPGs are doing any better? I think the explosion of poker and the huge popularity of video gaming (especially online) has practically killed the trading card game market.

That's just sad, too. Speaking from a purely game oriented point of view, TCGs have some of the best strategy and story possibilities out there. I've also met some very close friends over the years thanks to these games. I'm not sure what I'd do if I didn't have some type of card game to play. I guess one of these days I'll have to start playing poker more just to keep up with the times, but for now I'm going to stay a non-traditional card gamer, dangit.

Oh, if anybody out there is from KY and wants to play the old school Star Wars CCG drop me a line. We're getting together a pretty good little player base in Lexington.

That's all for now from the Phantom Zone.