Magic: The Social Media Gathering

We all grew up playing board games. Such as Candy Land, Monopoly, Shoots and Ladders, these are just a name of few. These were just basic bored games that we'd play for a few hours and be over it. But did you know there are board games that are beyond our basic board games? One specifically that I found interesting is the very popular game called Magic the Gathering. This game is a trading card game/role play and can be played by two or more players each using a deck of 60+ cards. Its also heavily influenced by the huge fantasy role playing game Dungeons and Dragons. It involves a lot of strategy and understanding of complex rules such as what elements are stronger than others. The players are wizards or known as "planeswalkers" that cast cards that contain spells, monsters, and objects and are used to defeat the opposing player. Believe or not there is an estimated 12 million players as of 2011. This game is a culture it self. Its today's Dungeons and Dragons and with its number of followers there are professional tournaments that are held all around the world for cash prizes up to $40,000.

Its seems today everything is made to be part of social media. There's a myriad groups on Facebook for almost seemingly everything. Magic the gathering has over 1 million likes on their official page on Facebook and about 81,000 followers on Twitter. The use of being on social media helps the Magic The Gathering community together and hold events is an example of this. 

The game has probably gotten even more followers after South Park, being south park... made an highly entertaining mash up spin off episode last month. They mash up pro-level Magic the gathering tournaments combine it with the underground MMA/Cock fighting scene. Along with all that I found it funny when they had sporting commentary from ESPN Illegal, it sounded like a you'd hear from a UFC event. Below is a link to view parts of the hilarious episode. 

http://southpark.cc.com/clips/2sl4hc/kenny-vs-gadnuk-breaker-of-worlds#source=473fef35-48a7-434c-afc6-207874c7f1a3:c8888796-c631-416d-99d7-41b30cc7c5d0&position=13&sort=playlist

http://southpark.cc.com/clips/7kj99n/cock-fight#source=473fef35-48a7-434c-afc6-207874c7f1a3:4a46198b-0cbb-4ebd-91d1-37480fbae44e&position=4&sort=playlist.