At MagicCon: Las Vegas, players were able to sign up for a chance to try a new game from Wizards of the Coast. It was said to be faster-paced than Magic: The Gathering while still being a trading card game. We now know that this game is called "Mood Swings." Naturally, I was intrigued. Unfortunately for participants at MagicCon, the shipment of Mood Swings didn't arrive in time, so the event was refunded.

I planned on attending panels about the game to learn what I could, but with a stroke of Las Vegas luck, I ran into Mark Rosewater at MagicCon and he offered to play a couple of rounds with me so I could try it for myself. I'd love to talk about my experience with the game, but before I get into my experience, let's go over what it actually is and how it works.

The Game Itself

Mood Swings is a Collectible trading card game in which players share a deck between them and play cards to accumulate the biggest point total each round. Each player will play one card from their starting hand of five cards. These cards have effects and a point total. Once each player plays a card, the round is over and points are scored. The player with the most points wins the round. The first player to win three rounds, wins the game.

An interesting wrinkle is that the player who wins gets to go first and wins any tie breaker. The player who loses goes second, but also gets to draw a card. This means that if a player wins multiple rounds, they will have far fewer cards to pick from than their opponent, opening the door for a potential comeback.

The Cards

There are five colors of cards, following the familiar White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green that Magic players have come to expect. As you can see on the example cards, the color is labeled at the bottom to assist colorblind players. There is no mana system in this game. The numbers on cards like Compulsion, Curiosity, and Disgust represent their point values. Compulsion uses the most straightforward system, what you see is what you get. Curiosity has a point value that can increase if a condition is met, and that increase is permanent. Disgust has a point total that can change if a condition is met, but it can be reversed.

The Product Itself

The deck contains 45 cards. Of these cards, each deck will have 23 of 48 possible commons, 14 of 40 possible uncommons, 6 of 30 possible rares, and two of fifteen possible mythics. This ensures that your deck and your friend's deck would play very differently from each other akin to all the different variations and house rules that would exist with a game like Uno.

This is simply the start of the deck. Since this is a more casual game, players can trade and collect to change up their decks as they would like. Some players might want more interactive cards, while another player may enjoy more synergistic play. There is no current plan for Mood Swings competitive play, but Mark Rosewater stated that players can choose to enjoy the game however they like.

The artwork for each card is actually recycled concept art and sketches from Magic: The Gathering cards throughout the years. For example, we see the artwork from Sugar Coat in Magic on the card Embarrassment.

Mark Rosewater's Comments

This was not a throw away idea for a game. Mark Rosewater started working on this game in 1998, four years after he started working for Wizards of the Coast full time. It was a game he truly believed in and kept pitching it to WOTC until it got the green light this year as Secret Lair wanted to produce something fresh.

Mood Swings is described by Mark Rosewater as "My love letter to trading card games." Let me tell you, for as simple as it plays, it definitely lives up to that description.

The idea of the game was to create a simple trading card game that has everything you need right out of the box. If Magic: The Gathering is on one end of the spectrum for complexity, Mood Swings would be on the complete opposite side for its simplicity. The theme of emotions was picked because it was something that could resonate with everyone since we all have feelings, thus the name "Mood Swings."

Rounds for this game are incredibly fast. Once players get the hand of the cards, entire games could be over in under ten minutes. As Mark Rosewater put it. "Magic: The Gathering was originally designed to be played in between sessions of Dungeons and Dragons. Mood Swings is designed to be played in-between games of Magic: The Gathering."

My Experience

Playing the game for the first time, it's abundantly clear that this is a game that is easy to learn and hard to master. Though you can only play one card per turn, in a way it feels like playing Magic as you're trying to understand the synergies between cards. There are risks and rewards between pushing a higher score early, leaving your cards vulnerable to interaction and holding back to have more options in the later rounds where players may not have answers left. It can also be important to try to determine what kind of gameplay our opponent is trying to use as well to stay one step ahead.

Going second is an incredible advantage. While going first wins any tie-breakers, going second allows us to draw a card and also see what point total is needed to win the round. This allows us to play enough to get the win without having to overextend ourselves.

Since the games are so quick, there is less investment in time and effort in the game which keeps it feeling light and fun. I really enjoyed looking at the sketches and trying to recall if I can remember what card it came from.

This is not going to be a new competitive trading card game like some people were speculating. While there will be a potential chase card in the Secret Lair sales, I don't think this game is going to have an aggressive secondary market like Magic, Pokemon, or Flesh and Blood might. It has a very different tone and gameplay than most TCGs and is finding its own space. It is a game that is meant to be enjoyed, not sold.

Wrapping Up

My main takeaway though is that it is incredibly fun. It allows players to use their creativity in crafting their own Mood Swings deck while also eliminating the pay to play element that Magic can struggle with. It's a simple game that feels very strategic at times without being overwhelming. I plan on buying the game for my wife and I to play at restaurants together while we wait for our food to arrive. I think this can be an excellent intro to trading card games for someone while being a game I could throw into my bag for MagicCon at the same time.

I have linked a gameplay demo of Mood Swings here. The sale of this game will start on June 1st in the Secret Lair Store for $24.99. If you are looking for a fun, fast paced appetizer game, I can't recommend this one enough. Until next time, happy gaming!