Redemption (card game)

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Redemption
The card back design has remained unchanged since the game's introduction in 1995.
Players	2-5
Age range	7 and up
Setup time	< 2 minutes
Playing time	< 45 minutes
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.

Contents 1 Game play 2 Distribution 3 Artwork 4 History and Popularity 5 Competition 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

[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.

Dominant cards can be played at any time and take effect instantly. These are the "power cards" of the game, and can often turn the tide of a battle. Site cards typically hold a Lost Soul and only allow "access" to Heroes who are either of a matching brigade, or who use one of their own unoccupied Sites of a matching brigade. Fortress cards typically sit in a player's territory and can store other cards, or have some form of protective effect on the player. Artifact cards reside in a player's territory, and have a sort of supplemental effect on a player's cards, or on a battle. Typically, only one Artifact can be active during a player's turn, although there are ways to circumvent that restriction. Covenant cards are a combination of an Artifact and a good Enhancement, and can be used by the player as either (but not both at once). Curse cards are similar to Covenant cards, but instead are a combination of an Artifact and an evil Enhancement.

[edit] Distribution

As with other Collectible Card Games, Redemption was first distributed in 1995 as a set of 2 starter decks (50-card decks A and B, now out of print) and a set of Limited Edition cards, followed by an Unlimited Edition reprinting. The game was developed by releasing expansion sets and other starter decks, including, in order of release:

• 1996 - Prophets
• 1997 - Women (now out of print)
• 1999 - Warriors (now out of print)
• 2000 - 2nd Edition Starter Decks (decks C and D, now out of print)
• 2001 - Apostles
• 2002 - Patriarchs
• 2003 - Kings
• 2004 - 3rd Edition Starter Decks (decks E and F)
• 2004 - Angel Wars
• 2005 - 10th Anniversary Starter Decks (decks G and H)
• 2006 - Priests
• 2007 - new set to be announced

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, in connection with other Christian products, and in other Cactus products including Gift Sets.

[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] History and Popularity

Soon after Magic: The Gathering introduced the idea of a Collectible Card Game, Rob Anderson realized that the Bible would be a "wonderful source for this type of game"^[1]. Redemption was soon designed and has since grown to be the top selling Christian game. Contributing to the continued popularity of the game include the ability, especially earlier on, to easily collect the cards due to the more common distribution and the relatively smaller set size (although as of 2006 there were over 1,800 unique cards). Also, compared to many of the Collectable Card Games, Redemption has continued to be easier to collect due to the lack of super-rare chase cards and the slower release of sets every 1-2 years.

One unique aspect that sets Redemption apart from other Collectible Card Games is that while each deck contains both good characters (Heroes of the Bible) and evil characters, the game is only won by using good characters. The evil characters do not have a chance to win the game.

Over the years, a rulebook has been developed and gives a reference for understanding the interactions between the card types and the cards.

[edit] Competition

Rob Anderson has maintained that "Redemption Tournaments exist to foster fun and fellowship" ^[2].

Tournaments
The nature of the game allows for and has resulted in a National Tournament structure (within the U.S.). Tournament levels range from Local to District to State to Regional to the National tournament. The National tournament is held once a year and is held in a different location each year. For official tournaments, prizes are provided by Cactus Game Design and they generally include Redemption booster packs and Tournament Promotional Cards.

Categories of Play
At each tournament, one might play Sealed Deck, Booster Draft (instead of multi-player Sealed Deck), Type 1, or Type 2. These categories have different deck building rules. Also, each category (except for Booster Draft) may be divided into two tournaments; a 2-player tournament and a multi-player.

Ranking System
Redemption has also implemented a Redemption National Ranking System (RNRS) allowing players who cannot make it to the National Tournament to be recognized. Points are awarded for placing in each level of tournament.

National Champions

[edit] References

1. ^ Redemption History.
2. ^ Rob Anderson Post.

[edit] See also

Collectible Card Game

[edit] External links

• www.cactusgamedesign.com
• Redemption Forum