Redemption (card game)
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| Redemption | |
|---|---|
 The card back design has remained unchanged since the game's introduction in 1995. |
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| Players | 2-5 |
| Age range | 7 and up |
| Setup time | < 2 minutes |
| Playing time | < 45 minutes |
| Rules complexity | Medium |
| Strategy depth | High |
| Random chance | Some |
| Skills required | reading Card playing Adding & Subtracting |
| 1 Some rules allow more players. | |
Redemption is a Collectible Card Game based on the Bible. It involves Biblical characters, places, objects, and ideas. The object of the game is for your Heroes (good characters) to rescue Lost Souls by defeating your opponent's Evil Characters. The first player to rescue 5 Lost Souls wins the game. Redemption was published in 1995 by Cactus Game Design. Redemption's creator, Rob Anderson, continues to develop and produce the game and is the final authority on rulings.
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[edit] Game play
To rescue a Lost Soul, a player must initiate a rescue attempt by placing a Hero into battle. The opponent then places an Evil Character in battle to block the rescue attempt. Based on strength and defense numbers of the characters, players take turns playing Enhancement Cards to make their characters stronger. Eventually, one character wins the battle. If the Evil Character is defeated (by being discarded, converted, captured, ignored, removed from the game, etc.), the Hero rescues the Lost Soul.
Redemption divides the Characters and Enhancements (and other types of cards) into brigades. A certain color Enhancement may only be played with that color Character. The Heroes and corresponding good enhancements are divided into Blue, Gold, Green, Purple, Teal, Red, Silver, and White brigades. The Evil Characters and their evil enhancements are divided into Black, Brown, Crimson, Gray, Orange, Pale Green, and Gold brigades.
Other types of cards include: Dominants, Sites, Artifacts, Fortresses, and combinations of these (a Covenant is a combination of an Artifact and a good Enhancement and a Curse is a combination of an Artifact and an evil enhancement).
[edit] Distribution
As with other Collectible Card Games, Redemption was first distributed as a set of 2 starter decks (50-card decks A and B) and a Main Set of cards. The game was developed by releasing expansion sets and other starter decks, including, in order of release: Prophets, Women, Warriors, 2nd Edition Starter Decks (decks C and D), Apostles, Patriarchs, Kings, 3rd Edition Starter Decks (decks E and F), Angel Wars, 10th Anniversary Starter Decks (decks G and H), and Priests, a brand-new 251 card expansion set for release in the beginning of September. The Main Set included many re-releases of the cards from the first Starter Decks, as well as several other cards. Cards were included in booster packs in three different rarities: common, uncommon, and rare. The next set of cards, the Prophets followed the same distribution. Then, the Women's Set was released as all common cards. In all subsequent sets, Ultra-Rare cards have been released, which have half the distribution of rare cards. In addition to the regular sets of cards, exclusive promotional cards have been released at tournaments and in other Redemption Gift Sets and other Cactus products.
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An Example of A Card
[edit] Artwork
Much care has been put into choosing artwork for Redemption. Some well known artists have contributed, including: Jeff Haynie, Michael Carroll and Mark Poole. Other artwork has been taken from other Christian products and from classical artwork. Art Director Doug Gray also makes many of the images for the cards himself.
[edit] Tournament Structure
Redemption has developed a National Tournament structure. At each tournament, one might play Sealed Deck, Booster Draft, Type 1, or Type 2. These categories have different deck building rules. Also, each tournament may be a different level ranging from a Local to District to State to Regional to the National tournament. The National tournament is held once a year.
[edit] History and Popularity
Soon after Magic: The Gathering introduced the idea of a Collectible Card Game, Rob Anderson realized that this format would be perfect for a Biblically based game. Redemption was designed and has developed into the top selling Christian game. A couple of things have contributed to the continued popularity of the game. Especially earlier on, it was easier to collect the cards due to the more common distribution. Also, compared to many of the Collectible Card Games, Redemption has continued to be easier to collect (although as of 2004 there were over 1,500 cards). Another aspect is that in general, the game has developed more slowly because the sets were released about every two years.
One unique aspect that sets Redemption apart from other Collectible Card Games is that each deck contains both good and evil characters, but the good characters (the Heroes of the Bible) always win the game. As it has a Biblical theme, this makes it more family friendly.
Over the years, a rulebook has been developed and gives a reference for understanding the interactions between the card types and the cards.
All of these aspects have contributed to an active and growing game.
