Bella Sara
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| Bella Sara | |
|---|---|
 Example of Series 1 card. |
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| Designer | Gitte Odder Braendgaard |
| Publisher | Hidden City Games |
| Players | 2-6 |
| Age range | 5+ |
| Playing time | Approx ??? min |
| Random chance | Some |
| Skills required | Card playing Arithmetic Basic Reading Ability |
Bella Sara is a trading card game with online interaction and is published internationally by Seattle-based game company Hidden City Games. The cards are marketed toward girls and have images of illustrated horses and friends with positive, inspirational messages on them. As with all collectible card games, cards can be traded or used to play games. Each card also includes a unique activation code which can be used to play online at the cards' website.[1]
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[edit] History
Bella Sara was started in Denmark by Gitte Odder Braendgaard, who intended to create an alternative to other popular trading card games, such as Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering, that would be more suited to girls and lack the element of competition present in the other games. After the game proved successful in Scandinavia, the cards were released on a trial run to United States consumers in Seattle and San Diego at the end of 2006. Sales during that trial run were high enough to convince retailers to take the cards national in March 2007.[2] Since then the cards have continued to grow in popularity with pre-teen or "tween" girls because of the horse subject matter, the collectibility, and the ability to "own" their own horse online.
[edit] Card availability
Cards can be purchased in booster packs, value boxes, and tins, each of which contains a random assortment of cards. Card packs can be purchased online or at a number of retailers world wide.[3] All cards are published for a limited time in "sets". There are six sets of cards with another in the making. They are:
- Series 1 - 55 cards + 9 foil cards, silver background
- Series 2 - 97 cards + 27 foil cards, gold background
- Northern Lights - 55 cards + 17 foil cards & 4 Gen Con 2007 cards, pale blue background
- Ancient Lights - 55 cards + 17 foil cards & 5 special cards, pink background
- Native Lights - 55 cards + 17 foil cards & 4 special cards, lavender background
- Magical Friends - 120 new cards: 74 regular horse cards (each with a unique magical friend), 34 extra-rare “shiny” horse cards and 12 new Friend cards, lavender background
Bella Sara cards are currently available in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Australia and South Africa, Mexico with more countries planned for 2008.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Joseph Pisani (19 Feb 2008). Toys Take To The Web. cnbc.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ Allen Salkin (November 12, 2007). With Ponies, Unicorns and Secret Codes, an Effort to Unleash a Craze for Girls. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
- ^ a b www.bellasara.com
