InQuest 13 - 81 - Donruss: Red Zone Mention - Card Stock
count how many times I've reordered and sold out." Martin
adds, "Every Sunday, we hold a Dragon Dice tournament in our
store. All of the available table space is quickly taken."
On the horizon for Dragon Dice are two expansions. Accord-
ing to company spokesperson Tom McLaughlin, Firewalkers is
due out in April, to be followed by Undead in June. Firewalk-
ers has been advertised as "the only collectible game with
over 150 different icon dice."
Red Zone moves into
fifth place on this month's Top 5 Hottest CCGs, while One on One
hockey rares are hitting triple digits.
In the Zone Again
Donruss recently released Expansion Teams as a follow-up
to its Red Zone football card game. The set consists of 98 cards,
of which 21 are rares. Reports indicate that a complete set can
be easily made from one 36-count box
of 12-card packs.
Red Zone: Expansion Teams contains
13 cards each for the newly formed Car-
olina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Also featured are three highly popular
players who were not part of the initial
release: Brett Favre, Deion Sanders and
Emmitt Smith. You'll also find cards of
rookies Ki-Jana Carter, Joey Galloway,
Rashaan Salaam and Kordell Stewart.
adds, "Every Sunday, we hold a Dragon Dice tournament in our
store. All of the available table space is quickly taken."
On the horizon for Dragon Dice are two expansions. Accord-
ing to company spokesperson Tom McLaughlin, Firewalkers is
due out in April, to be followed by Undead in June. Firewalk-
ers has been advertised as "the only collectible game with
over 150 different icon dice."
Red Zone moves into
fifth place on this month's Top 5 Hottest CCGs, while One on One
hockey rares are hitting triple digits.
In the Zone Again
Donruss recently released Expansion Teams as a follow-up
to its Red Zone football card game. The set consists of 98 cards,
of which 21 are rares. Reports indicate that a complete set can
be easily made from one 36-count box
of 12-card packs.
Red Zone: Expansion Teams contains
13 cards each for the newly formed Car-
olina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Also featured are three highly popular
players who were not part of the initial
release: Brett Favre, Deion Sanders and
Emmitt Smith. You'll also find cards of
rookies Ki-Jana Carter, Joey Galloway,
Rashaan Salaam and Kordell Stewart.
According to Wil Chase of Wizard
World in Nanuet, N.Y., the cards of
Eric Metcalf, Deion Sanders and Kordell
Stewart are like no others found in the
original Red Zone. "The Sanders card is
powerful because it can be used on
offense or defense," notes Chase.
"Metcalf can be used as a running back
or a receiver. Stewart is a three-way
player: quarterback, receiver and running back."
Chase also contends that the Bryce Paup card found in
Expansion Teams is every bit as playable as Greg Lloyd and
that Brett Favre matches the Jeff George and Steve Young
cards. Prices for Expansion Teams singles can be found in the
InQuest Price Guide.
Top 5 Hottest CCGs
1. Star Wars
For the second consecutive month, Star Wars displaces Magic.
Many retailers report February sales surpassed those of January.
2. Magic: The Gathering
Retailers indicate that the market for single Magic cards has soft-
ened, especially commons and uncommons. Interest in popular rares
remains high.
World in Nanuet, N.Y., the cards of
Eric Metcalf, Deion Sanders and Kordell
Stewart are like no others found in the
original Red Zone. "The Sanders card is
powerful because it can be used on
offense or defense," notes Chase.
"Metcalf can be used as a running back
or a receiver. Stewart is a three-way
player: quarterback, receiver and running back."
Chase also contends that the Bryce Paup card found in
Expansion Teams is every bit as playable as Greg Lloyd and
that Brett Favre matches the Jeff George and Steve Young
cards. Prices for Expansion Teams singles can be found in the
InQuest Price Guide.
Top 5 Hottest CCGs
1. Star Wars
For the second consecutive month, Star Wars displaces Magic.
Many retailers report February sales surpassed those of January.
2. Magic: The Gathering
Retailers indicate that the market for single Magic cards has soft-
ened, especially commons and uncommons. Interest in popular rares
remains high.
3. Star Trek: Alternate Universe
Imagine Scotty saying, "Captain, I can't muster any more power.
Third place is the highest I can get this CCG to go!"
4. Middle-earth: The Wizards
Gamers enjoy the roleplaying aspects of this neat CCG.
5. Red Zone
Between shops that deal exclusively in CCGs and those that sell
sports cards, this issue has done extremely well. Look for Red Zone to
remain popular well into the baseball season.
Who's Buying This Product?
Over the past two months, the InQuest Price Guide has
reflected a sizable increase in the values of the ultrarare cards
found in Playoff's One-on-One Hockey Challenge. Many of the
smaller retail shops in the U.S. are not carrying the game, a sit-
uation resulting from a marketing strategy by Playoff to promote
the product in Canada and the major retail outlets in the U.S.
Wayne Arnott of Bluenose Cards in Pointe-Claire, Quebec,
is doing a brisk business with the Playoff CCG. "We're selling
the Gretzky, Lindros and Mario Lemieux ultrarare cards in the
$100 to $200 range. That's in Canadian dollars, of course. The
ultrarares are very tough to find, but when we have them, they
move fast. We've been able to get $25 for
the ultrarares picturing non-star players."
Imagine Scotty saying, "Captain, I can't muster any more power.
Third place is the highest I can get this CCG to go!"
4. Middle-earth: The Wizards
Gamers enjoy the roleplaying aspects of this neat CCG.
5. Red Zone
Between shops that deal exclusively in CCGs and those that sell
sports cards, this issue has done extremely well. Look for Red Zone to
remain popular well into the baseball season.
Who's Buying This Product?
Over the past two months, the InQuest Price Guide has
reflected a sizable increase in the values of the ultrarare cards
found in Playoff's One-on-One Hockey Challenge. Many of the
smaller retail shops in the U.S. are not carrying the game, a sit-
uation resulting from a marketing strategy by Playoff to promote
the product in Canada and the major retail outlets in the U.S.
Wayne Arnott of Bluenose Cards in Pointe-Claire, Quebec,
is doing a brisk business with the Playoff CCG. "We're selling
the Gretzky, Lindros and Mario Lemieux ultrarare cards in the
$100 to $200 range. That's in Canadian dollars, of course. The
ultrarares are very tough to find, but when we have them, they
move fast. We've been able to get $25 for
the ultrarares picturing non-star players."
In London, Ontario, John Noble of
Nobleman Sports Cards is experiencing
similar success with One-on-One Hockey
Challenge. "I recently sold a Gretzky ultra-
rare for $250. In my estimation, you'll
need to buy, on the average, 80 boxes
to find that card. So I feel $250 is a fair
price." Noble is also selling the non-star
ultrarares for $25 each.
So how does One-on-One Hockey Chal-
lenge play? "I can't really answer that,"
says Arnott. "Nearly all of our customers
for that product are collectors, not gamers.
I'm only aware of two or three individu-
als who have tried to learn the game."
With the key ultrarare cards selling for
$100 to $250, it's no wonder the game
is attracting more collectors and investors
than gamers. (by the way, tne current Canadian monetary
exchange rate is 35 percent. Translated, that means the Cana-
dian dollar is worth 65 cents in U.S. funds.)
Dan Albaugh enjoys countless hours playing the computer game Digger. He will not
rest until he gets all the gold.
