An Accurate And Enthralling Sim That You Can Almost Smell
I was in the Holy Grail of card game shops this weekend. It was airy and actually smelled pleasant. None of the stock was over-priced, and I could navigate round the shop without having to go butt-to-butt with any of the customers. The shop owners were even nice to talk to. It may have been a dream.
This shop is the one that I aspire to make in TCG Card Shop Simulator. If a smelly customer enters the shop, making the other punters gag, I take it as a personal affront and swap in some new air filters. When a customer complains about the prices of card singles, I swoop in and reduce them to market price. I want my shop to be the antithesis of pretty much every card game shop that I’ve ever been to.
Trials And Tribulations Of A TCG Store
It’s a struggle, because TCG Card Shop Simulator knows that these things should be a struggle. Customers won’t leave, parking themselves on tables with their decks. Graded cards refuse to sell, mainly because no-one has $5000 to spend. And yes, smelly customers seem to be everywhere.
TCG Card Shop Simulator’s secret sauce is that it actually simulates several things at once, and you can vibe with whichever aspect appeals to you. Some people might be looking for an opportunity to rip loads of booster packs at once, get the best cards, then send them off for grading. This is absolutely possible in TCG Card Shop Simulator, and it feels great. The card designs are extremely well done and feel Digimon-y (or any other slightly sub-Pokemon card game). There’s a wide variety of creatures across multiple sets, and the surfeit of rarities – full arts, shinies, etc – mean that you can get a kick out of a ridiculous pull. Then you’re crossing your fingers as you send them off for grading, hoping that at least one 10 comes back to you.
If that sounds time-consuming – which it is – then there are pack-ripping machines that do most of that stuff for you. I love that TCG Card Shop Simulator occasionally slips into fantasy, and these machines are probably the best example of it. If such a thing as pack-ripping machines existed, I don’t think we’d ever see a Pokemon booster pack in the wild.
Counting Pennies Is Probably The Least Enjoyable Aspect
It might be that you want to be the clerk, stationed at the till and being at the frontline of all trades. This is thoroughly manual, so you’re tapping on the till and credit terminal, as you individually bag each item. Some people love this one-to-one with reality when it comes to sim games, but I find it a little onerous. But I get it, and TCG Card Shop Simulator absolutely lets you take this tack. If you’re like me and aren’t all that bothered, then shop assistants (slightly too capricious, and won’t do what you want half the time) can be hired.
Or you can just be the store magnate, watching the cash come in from sales and looking to expand. This where TCG Card Shop Simulator is arguably at its best, as there are many different directions to progress in. You can physically expand the space, finding room for more singles tables, card-art projectors and presentation cases. There’s also a kind of reputation at play, where you need to sell enough product to convince the Tetramon team that you get the good stuff. The latest expansions, and the fanciest plushes/figures, are only available if you’ve basically become a Forbidden Planet beater.
Around the edges are stuff that feel optional, but add a richness to the world. Tournaments bring the punters in at one time, but really test the physical space (and your air purifiers). With the full release of TCG Card Shop Simulator, you can also dive into the card game itself. This is ludicrously hidden, and not available from the main phone, which is crazy as a lot of work has clearly gone into it. In TCG terms it’s not much more elaborate than ‘attack for damage, soak up attacks’, but plenty of other simulators would have avoided this level of nitty-gritty.
It Wouldn’t Be A Sim Without Some Jank
As with most simulators of this type, there’s a layer of jank that you have to wade through. TCG Card Shop Simulator used to be much worse in this regard, and its time in Game Preview/Early Access has really benefited it. Shop assistants actually do something now, even if they’re not great, and opening packs for singles isn’t quite as ludicrously imbalanced as it used to be.
But there are still plenty of rough edges. Closing the shop doesn’t have the reactions that you would expect, as customers stick around as you count the cash. They also like to wander behind the till and get right up in your grill. It’s slightly disconcerting to serve someone while staring at the back side of some eyeballs and teeth. That’s all without some general UX fumbles, like boxes of stock that are impossible to distinguish, air filters that are oddly difficult to change, and more.
Maybe it’s me, but I come to expect all of this from your average sim. It’s almost baseline. So the fact that TCG Card Shop Simulator is better than most in this regard is worth celebrating. There’s even some really nice elements of polish, like the satisfying “shhhlllllssh” sound that comes from turning the page in a card binder. These little nods really do make you realise that OPNeon have lived, breathed and loved their TCG stores.
Probably A Cheaper Addiction Than Actual TCGs
Mostly, though, I was trapped in TCG Card Shop Simulator’s net. There’s always this stone-cold reason for sticking around for the next day. Your card is due back from grading; you’ve ripped some fantastic new cards, and you want to see if they sell; you’re a few dollars away from a store expansion; or you want to see if the new Tetramon set gets the tills ringing. In-game days become weeks, and you can find yourself playing at 2am, wondering what happened with your evening.
I would be the last to make a case for TCG Card Shop Simulator being polished. Even after months in Game Preview, it’s still got some raggedy edges. But the game loop is so ridiculously addictive, and pulling cards from booster packs has always been my personal kryptonite, and it’s represented beautifully here. Combine all of that with a development team who have clearly spent too much time in their local card game stores, and you have an authentic and addictive sim that any TCG fan should play, even just to point and say “I get that reference”.
Important Links
TCG Card Shop Simulator Goes Full Release – Game Pass, Booster Packs And Big Business Dreams – https://www.thexboxhub.com/tcg-card-shop-simulator-goes-full-release-game-pass-booster-packs-and-big-business-dreams/
Ripping Open Ultra-Rares In TCG Card Shop Simulator on Game Pass – https://www.thexboxhub.com/ripping-open-ultra-rares-in-tcg-card-shop-simulator-on-game-pass/
TCG Card Shop Simulator Opens Its Doors On Xbox Game Preview And Game Pass – https://www.thexboxhub.com/tcg-card-shop-simulator-opens-its-doors-on-xbox-game-preview-and-game-pass/
Download from the Xbox Store, via Game Pass if you like – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/tcg-card-shop-simulator/9p9gx5d8h9dw
There’s a Deluxe Edition too – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/tcg-card-shop-simulator-deluxe-edition-bonus/9pkb4tt2144r
