Preview of PK Collectible Card Game's PK Online for PC

The PK Collectible Card Game is a new CCG that can be played both in paper and online. Open beta testing for the PK Collectible Card Game is in progress, and interested players may download and try the game for free from the PKCards.com forums. While there are many different CCG's out there, not all of them let players play for free (at least right now).

PK Collectible Card Game in a Nutshell
In the PK Collectible Card Game players take control over an avatar that is a representation of them in the game. Avatars have different abilities that have effects on the game state. For Magic: the Gathering players, the simplest comparison is to Vanguard cards.

Players play seven "sorties" in a race to obtain seven "prestige" and win the game. Game play is quick, with players racing to build armies of troops in each "sortie" before the battle step. Customizing your deck is vital to having a winning deck in this game, as many archetypes revolve around themes of abilities or by card type. Luckily there is an outstanding trading feature built in.

Unique Features of PK Online
What really makes the PK Online version of the PK Collectible Card Game stand out compared to other online programs to play collectible card games is the featured automated marketplace to trade cards. Players can set buy and sell prices for cards in their collection, and the computer will automatically trade the PK Cards for them. This is a feature that players of Magic: the Gathering Online have been clamoring for over 8 years. Automated trading is seen in many MMROPG's, however the CCG world is still playing catch-up.

How to use the Automated Trading in PK Online
Using the automated trading feature is a pinch. Press the tab button on your keyboard to pull up your collection. Scroll to the card you wish to buy or sell, then click the trade button. There are four options you will be presented with. You can put up an "offering price" and an "asking price". In addition to your specified buy and sell prices there is a "buy when under" and "sell when under" tab. This is used to manage inventory, so that you do not have more cards than you need. If you specify "buy when under" 100 at an "offering price" of 1 gold point, you could potentially buy 100 of the given card at 1 gold point each. At the same time you could select "sell when over" 1 gold with an "asking price" of 2 gold points.

Efficient Marketplace in PK Online
PK Online is taking a hint from Magic Online's faults. By integrating features like automated trading into their game, playing the PK Collectible Card Game on PK Online could potentially be a lot easier and cheaper than playing on Magic Online. If anything can be learned from the history of Magic Online's marketplace, as the widespread use of bots began, the price of card singles went down (due to competition and efficiency). With the PK Collectible Card Game having an automated marketplace on PK Online, the prices of cards will be reflected in their true costs.

Opinion
While the graphics are certainly nothing to be impressed by because it is a card game, the uniqueness of the game itself, the ease of learning, and the strategy involved between deck building and game play make it a must try for any CCG player. There is nothing to lose by beta testing the client, because it is free. In fact it is a fantastic way to try the game before deciding to purchase cards, be it physical or digital objects.

Source:
Bpelok (October 21, 2009). PK Online Open Beta Announcement. Retrieved November 16, 2009 from http://forums.pkcards.com/showthread.php?p=1245#post1245.