CCG --From another age

Just a quick post to possibly evoke a collectible-card-game-ghost.

First off I will blame the cold for all that follows --the cold always gets me thinking about a few things; Stew, Nick Drake folk tunes, and The Lord of the Rings.

I have been the victim of a subtle,but growing, nerd anxiety episode. When I moved from our old apartment to this house, we left most of my books in the garage, stacked in boxes. The idea was to repaint our bookshelves before unpacking the books. Of course, being a procrastinator, I left them in the garage for months, resulting in water and mildew damage. One of the books that was damaged was my copy of Lord of the Rings. My mourning, however, was short-lived. I realized that I had merely settled on that edition when really, what I wanted was the 50th anniversary edition; wrapped in real, leather-bound glory and illuminated with color-platen inserts of the archaeologically obtained, remnants of a sacred historical text that has never even existed.

While searching online for this book, I stumbled across sites for the original Middle-Earth CCG game. Of truly notable interest, was the way in which these sites and their member's correspondence, have taken on the tone and format of support groups. It was only after reading through a three page thread that I too had been convinced that this game must not only have been the greatest CCG ever, but may have the power to transform modern culture in a way that Tom Cruise could never imagine.

If you have indulged in this fantasy staple, whether as victim , enthusiast, or profiteer, let me know what you think and whether or not you believe your once feared deck will ever re-emerge from the mantle place of legends and once again face the fiery fire.

I'm also curious about the original Star Wars game by Decipher and any CCGs still in print that may be worth getting into.