Card game:Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering is the first trading card game, introduced by Wizards of the Coast in 1993. The game is still popular, with approximately 12 million players in 2011. Each player represents a mighty wizard who deploys spells, objects, and creatures depicted on individual Magic cards against their opponents in order to defeat them. Magic's complex rules and intelligent play earned many awards including a Mensa Select award in 1997. And the cards themselves developed a following among collecting players on the secondary market. Even though critics sometimes call the game "cardboard crack" because it can become very addicting, parents believe that it helps improve childrens' social and verbal skills, among others.