h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is a pretty good entry, and it gives a fair account of the game's basics. However, there is much more to the game than you would believe from reading this. The game becomes especially interesting when you get into games involving more than two people. With two people, it's really just a two person duel. When you expand the group, it becomes much more complicated. You have to deal with strategies involving three, four, five, or more people. Suddenly, rather than just figuring out whether or not it's a good idea to attack your enemy with three or four of your creatures, you have to figure out what your other opponents are going to do in response to your attacking. You have to try to convince other people not only to let you live, but to help you kill other opponents. Basically, it's like Magic on steroids.
One other comment, this article is good, but it would be great if the spelling and grammar errors were corrected. Let's go, moderators....

Personally, I believe that a big part of the game is perswading your oponent that they have lost

multi-player games are especially fun with certain global cards, like Wrath of God ("destroy all creatures") and Blatant Thievery (one of my favorites, "you gain control of one card from each other player")

One of my favourite group variations of Magic is "Emperor." In case you don't know, it's set up with 6 people (2 emperors, 4 generals, divided in two teams) the generals attack each other to get to the emperors, and it ends up being really interesting. it was a favourite at my school.

Do I know you?

I used to play in that style

hmm... i doubt think you know me. That is unless you are from a pathetically small town in minnesota and know all the names of the people that played magic in my 5th grade class.

I don't think I do then

We played some fun variations too.

Emporer was a fovorite among us, as well has two headed giant (four players, two teams 40 points per team), we also did some spectrum games (every player has a mono-color deck, one player per color, and they can only attack they're opposing colors first, then they can attack the allied color next to the oppsing color just defeated.) but our personal favorite was Kangaroo Court, you have three people, two players and a judge, the game follows the same rules, but you can argue ANYTHING, and the judge decides. EX: P1 "I give my elephant flying." P2 "I disenchant the flying spell, the elephant hits the ground and dies." Judge "I agree, your elephant is dead." P1 "WTF!!!!" P2 "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!" You get the general idea.

Man! That sounds like a laugh. My personal fav is still one on one regular magic but I'm going to have to try that. What about decks? You guys have any preferances. Or cards. My favorite has to be reef pirates even though it is not great.

I happen to love thallids. they're not powerful, not even slightly, but i love annoying the *bleep* out of my opponents with them. i also like a combination of: Library of Leng, Ivory Tower, Howling Mine, a COP of whatever my opponent is playing, and a whole bunch of mana. That is definately ideal.

Whoa, that's pretty snazzy. Most combos you hear of over the net involve WAY to much mana but that actually works. I am thinking about making a deck with carrion feeders, consumtive oozes, festering goblins, shambling swarms, and reaping the graves(awesome card). Other cards to support of coarse. With this I play a bunch of creatures, sac them to the feeder and cast reaping the graves to get them all back.

What color do you guys usually play? It's always interesting to hear that. I usually play White or Green, or (once in a great while) Blue

well blue is my favorite, but overall I play all colors every now and again.

Oh I make a white or red or...deck, play until I lose, then try and fix it. change color, change creatures, anything. I have probably played fifty different decks in the last fifty days. Everyone makes fun. "Oh, there goes Aaron, off to ruin his deck again."

you see, i don't have much opportunity to gain experiences with my decks because i don't know anybody that will actually play. the last time i played my dad was a few months ago, but i whooped his but because he forgot how to play in the time between now and 1999. i don't usually have anybody else to play with besides my family so my decks stay bad on their own without being continually ruined.

I sometimes fight a war of attrician against my brother.

(although I'm better at making decks so I always win in the end!)

Me, I have five brothers on all different skill levels down to a one year old who does't play, so I play almost whenever I feel like it. Except that they make it well known that they don't enjoy it. For instance, I play a samite healer, "Uuurrrghh, he's playing with his HEALER deck!". A psionic gift, "Oh sure, his POKER deck!".

Back in my University days we used to play an interesting variation on the standard game, called 'Sliverocity'.

For those who aren't aware, 'Sliver' type cards are the ultimate tribal cards, as almost each sliver gives all other sliver an ability or other ("All slivers have flying")

This can be played with as many people as you want, though 2 or 3 is best as it gets a bit confusing...

The premise is that EACH creature card in play 'gives' it's abilities to each other creature (for all players)

So if I put out a creature with trample, then automatically ALL creatuers in play have trample.

Works especially well with "tap to gain life" type cards.

BTW, anyone know of MTG players/groups/tourneys in the Leicester area? I'm DYING to get back into it...

Two on two magic? GOOD IDEA, BUT HOW?