G.I. Joe Trading Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game by

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. It is currently a subsidia ...

based on the

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

s by

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

. It was released in 2004 and developed by Aaron Forsythe, Rob Gutschera and

Mark Rosewater Mark Rosewater (born May 25, 1967) is the head designer for ''Magic: The Gathering'', a position he has held since 2003. Biography Rosewater grew up in Pepper Pike, Ohio. In his youth, he worked as a professional magician. Rosewater has descr ...

. The base set had 114 cards with 1 promo card called "Venomous Maximus" that could only be obtained from the ''Valor vs Venom'' VHS/DVD. An expansion called ''Armored Strike'' was released in 2005 and had 78 cards. The game inspired a fan-made creation called G.I. Joe Firefight.

Gameplay

Players assume the roles of G.I. Joe or Cobra and the last man standing wins. Each player shuffles their deck containing at least 50 cards with no more than 4 copies of any single card. Each player then deals themself 8 cards face up into two rows, otherwise known as the Front and Rear Ranks. First player is randomly decided. On the player's turn, they draw 2 cards and hold them upside-down to read the Boost Numbers. The player then chooses a right-side up soldier from their front rank and then chooses any soldiers from their opponent's front rank. Then each player selects a Boost card and places it face down. When both players have selected their card, they're revealed and the Boost Number is added to their soldier's Power. Highest total Power wins. When the fight is over, the soldier that is lost is discarded as well as the Boost cards. Any soldier in the Rear Rank is moved forward to any blank spot in the Forward Rank. The player with no remaining soldiers left in their Ranks, loses the game.

Reception

The game was considered very simple with little to no strategy element even after implementing the advanced rules which reduced the number of powerful cards you could play. The game ceased production in 2005 due to insufficient demand and an overcrowded CCG market.

References

Card games introduced in 1998 Collectible card games Wizards of the Coast games {{CCG-game-stub