Thoughts
Hermitcraft TCG is doing a print run. I'm a little sad about that, because it seems to be geared towards people who are used to paying money
to collect cards.
I've never played a trading card game before, never even had Pokemon cards as a kid. But I was enjoying watching the hermits play, because it was pretty chill. Every hermit that was taking it seriously seemed to be able to find the cards to build the deck that they wanted.
When the only way to get cards to play the game is by gambling with your real-life money, that's kind of screwed up in my opinion. That's not a game that I could ever imagine myself having fun playing. Haha I win because I have more money than you and I bought 10 booster packs.
And here's the thing. I'm not saying it's impossible to make a collectable card game that doesn't do that. I'm saying Beef has completely and utterly sold out by encouraging people to spend literally hundreds of dollars to try to get signed, holographic cards. Beef's video is literally 'you have a chance to get a signed holographic card in every pack!' Instead of, 'here's a cheap, fun, game to play with your friends.'
To put that another way, it's not all about the card game itself. I'm having trouble getting over that. Part of the game experience is "how well" you can collect cards to build your deck. And the primary factor that controls how well you can collect cards, is how much money you're willing to spend.
One more time, I think that the fact that there are aftermarket stores where you can buy card packs for other collectable card games is screwed up. I view that aspect of it as a distraction or a necessary evil, with the real challenge being developing your deck strategy and playing the the game well. But Beef and the other Hermits are trying to create an aftermarket ecosystem. They see that as a feature.