Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hecate.umd.edu!haven.umd.edu!purdue!oitnews.harvard.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!cam-news-feed3.bbnplanet.com!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!infeed2.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!news.tds.net!nlnh0-a10.kear.tds.net!user From: johnteti@kear.tdsnet.com (John Teti) Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.startrek,rec.answers,news.answers Subject: Rec.games.trading-cards.startrek FAQ 5/31/97- Newcomers Please Read! Followup-To: rec.games.trading-cards.startrek Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 14:14:37 -0400 Organization: TDS Telecom - Madison, WI Lines: 315 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Message-ID: Reply-To: johnteti@REMOVETOREPLY.kear.tdsnet.com NNTP-Posting-Host: nlnh0-a10.kear.tds.net X-Newsreader: MT-NewsWatcher 2.3.1 Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu rec.games.trading-cards.startrek:6898 rec.answers:32633 news.answers:108279 Archive-name: star-trek/card-games Posting-frequency: Weekly Last-modified: 5/31/97 Version: 2.1.1 The brand-new FAQ should be ready next Saturday. The new FAQ will include: - More information on Decipher's mailing list and bulletin board system. - Extensive information on STCCG on the web. - A new format divided into questions about the game (ST:TCG info is in "maintenance mode" and will no longer be updated) and questions about the forum themselves. See you next week. For now, this old thing will have to serve your needs. ;-) Program complete, enter when ready: Rec.games.trading-cards.startrek Frequently Asked Questions 5/31/97 -------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS 1) What is rec.games.trading-cards.startrek? 2) Should newcomers to the games contribute to discussion? 3) Should I post rules question to r.g.t.startrek? 4) Should I post sales to r.g.t.startrek? 5) What do these acronyms stand for? 6) Where can I find information on STCCG? 7) Where can I find information on ST:TCG? 8) Can I play Star Trek card games on the Internet? 9) What is the ISOWC'97? 10) Who are Q, DAnswerMan, and FSNetRep? 11) Who is Wesley and what does COTD stand for? 12) What am I supposed to do with [any Barber-related card]? -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) What is rec.games.trading-cards.startrek? Rec.games.trading-cards.startrek is a newsgroup where you can discuss collectible card games based on Star Trek. As of May 1997, these include "Star Trek: The Card Game" from Fleer/SkyBox International and "Star Trek Customizable Card Game" from Decipher, Inc. The official charter of r.g.t.startrek follows, which give posting guidelines for this group: CHARTER: rec.games.trading-cards.startrek This group is for discussion of trading card games related to Star Trek. Discussion of all aspects of the games is welcome, as well as announcements about tournaments, expos, etc. Official announcements from the manufacturers of the games should also be posted here. Discussions of collecting the games are welcome as well; however, trading (including buying, selling, and auctions) and trading related discussions are not appropriate for this newsgroup and should be posted to rec.games.trading-cards.marketplace.misc. Of course, this only tells of the present-day r.g.t.startrek. A bit of history is necessary: The group was originally proposed as r.g.t.decipher, which would have included not only STCCG, but also the Star Wars card game that Decipher now produces. This idea was scrapped because the lasting popularity of the Decipher games was questioned by some. The group proposal was changed to r.g.t.sci-fi. This new offering restricted discussion topics less than r.g.t.decipher since any game of the sci-fi genre could be discussed. The proposed group's subject was then narrowed because of high STCCG mailing list traffic that would warrant a group dedicated only to Star Trek. R.g.t.startrek was born. The new group was proposed, discussed, and voted for. It passed, with 193 YES votes and 75 NO votes. And the rest is (more) history. For the original r.g.t.decipher, sci-fi, and startrek proposals and charters, e-mail the author of this FAQ at the address below. 2) Should newcomers to the games contribute to discussion? R.g.t.startrek is not only a group where experienced players discuss Star Trek card games. It is also a group where beginners can learn more about the game in which they're interested. New viewpoints make r.g.t.startrek more interesting. Everybody is welcome to add their two cents in any discussion. And questions about the games are always well-received, especially if you have read this FAQ and the Rules FAQ's before posting (see below, #4). 3) Should I post rules questions to r.g.t.startrek? There are many excellent players in this newsgroup that can help you with rules questions. Before you post a rules question, be sure to read the rulebook and the FAQ's (below, #4 and #5) for your game thoroughly. If your question remains unanswered, post it. You'll get a quick response from fellow players. 4) Should I post sales to r.g.t.startrek? Simply put, no. As is clearly stated in the rec.games.trading-cards.startrek charter, sale/trade posts are inappropriate. If you violate the charter, you will receive a form letter warning you of your mistake and directing you to alternate newsgroups. Continued violations will result in the notification of your Internet provider. Violation of a newsgroup charter can be grounds for the cancellation of an Internet account. The group that your post belongs in depends on what you are selling. Sale/trade posts concerning Star Trek trading cards that are game-related belong in rec.games.trading-cards.marketplace.misc. Sale/trade posts concerning Star Trek trading cards that are not game-related belong in rec.collecting.cards.non-sports. Sale/trade posts concerning Star Trek figurines, models, and other collectibles belong in rec.collecting. STCCG traders (_not_ ST:TCG traders, sorry) can also explore the options that Decipher offers. There is a WWW bulletin board at: http://www.decipher.com/bbs-master/stccg-mkt-bbs.html A sale/trade mailing list for STCCG is also maintained by Decipher. It is: stccg-marketplace stccg-marketplace-digest To subscribe to this mailing list, follow the instructions given for the Decipher mailing lists in Answer #6. 5) What do these acronyms stand for? The following acronyms are commonly used on r.g.t.startrek: - STCCG = Star Trek Customizable Card Game (by Decipher) - ST:TCG = Star Trek: The Card Game (by Fleer/SkyBox) - AU, QC, 2PG, FC, 1A, TFC/Fajo/TF: Alternate Universe, Q-Continuum, 2-Player Game, First Anthology, The Fajo Collection (STCCG sets) - HA, AGT: Holodeck Adventures, All Good Things (Cancelled STCCG expansions) - ST:TNG = Star Trek: The Next Generation - ST:TOS = Star Trek (The Original Series) ST:TNG and ST:TOS are used by some to represent STCCG and ST:TCG, respectively, to avoid confusion of the two similarly-titled games. 6) Where can I find information on STCCG? Decipher offers many documents to help make you an informed player of their ST:TNG card game. Important rules documents to check out are the STCCG Rules FAQ, the AU Rule Notes, and the QC Rules Supplement Sheet. They'll bring you up to date on how STCCG is played. All official documents concerning STCCG can be obtained through the following channels from Decipher. - The EmailBack system: Send an e-mail message to EmailBack@decipher.com with the subject heading CATALOG to receive a listing of the information available through Decipher's EmailBack system. - The Web site: http://www.decipher.com/ - The FTP site: ftp://ftp.decipher.com/pub/ If you're looking for other places to discuss STCCG, Decipher offers a WWW bulletin board at: http://www.decipher.com/bbs-master/stccg-bbs.html Another forum for discussion is Decipher's STCCG discussion mailing list. To subscribe to this list (or any other Decipher list mentioned in this FAQ), visit Decipher's mailing list subscription page on the WWW: http://www.decipher.com/insidedecipher/contactingdecipher/contacts2.html Alternatively, for those of you without Web access, send a message to majordomo@decipher.com with no subject and the following text in the body: subscribe Replace with the name of the mailing list to which you want to subscribe. In this case, you would subscribe to a discussion group: stccg-discussion stccg-discussion-digest (Digest mailing lists contain the same messages as their counterparts, but instead of having the messages sent straight to your mailbox, they are compiled periodically and sent in digest form.) Another useful list is Decipher's forum for major company announcements: decipher-announce 7) Where can I find information on ST:TCG? Information on ST:TCG, which includes the checklist, game rules, and FAQ can be attained from the Games section of the Fleer/SkyBox website: http://www.webpress.net/skybox/product/pages/games.html America Online subscribers can access the Fleer/SkyBox Game Company Support forum at: KEYWORD: CCG GCS If you have a specific question on the rules of ST:TCG, you can call the toll-free hotline: 1-888-PHASER1 Also, you can contact the Fleer/Skybox netrep at this address: FSNetRep@aol.com 8) Can I play Star Trek card games on the Internet? Decipher's STCCG can be played on the Internet. Close to 100 STCCG players who suffered from a lack of local opponents or wanted to meet a few fresh challenges joined together and started to play over the Internet. There is a FAQ available for the online variation, a player rating table, and two "playing rooms" (chatrooms in which normal chat during a running game is frowned upon). All information concerning STCCG Online can be found on Wesley Crusher's (see #11) Geocities site, located at: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/3550/index.html 9) What is the ISOWC'97? The ISOWC'97 stands for Independent STCCG Online World Championships. It is the grand championship of online STCCG. Over 80 players have signed up for this one-of-a-kind event. The information for players and spectators is found at: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/3550/wchome.html For this year, registration is closed, but there might be another one in '98... 10) Who are Q, DAnswerMan, and FSNetRep? Q is Decipher's "NetRep"- he will answer any questions you have about STCCG. You may also see Q listed as DAnswerMan. It is the same person; DAnswerMan is Q's former handle. If you have questions for Q, you can either post them on rec.games.trading-cards.startrek, or you can e-mail him at Q@decipher.com. FSNetRep is from Fleer/SkyBox and will handle any questions you have concerning Star Trek: The Card Game. Questions for FSNetRep can be posted to rec.games.trading-cards.startrek or e-mailed to FSNetRep@aol.com. 11) Who is Wesley and what does COTD stand for? Wesley has been the author of Wesley's STCCG COTD (Card of the Day) since March 1995. He is not Wil Wheaton, and he is not affiliated with Decipher. He is an avid STCCG player and an excellent strategist of the game. Wesley's Card of the Day is posted to r.g.t.startrek and the stccg-discussion list mentioned above. Past issues are recommended reading for those who wish to develop new combos and strategies. They are available at this web page: http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html 12) What am I supposed to do with [any Barber-related card]? Mot the Barber, Mot's Advice, and Barber Pole are part of a hilarious joke that Decipher is playing on STCCG players. The punchline hasn't come yet. The cards are useless so far. The expectation is that someday Decipher will release a card or cards to make the Barber cards useful. If they don't fulfill that expectation, the players' reaction will definitely be ugly. -- In no way, shape, form, or phase do I guarantee the accuracy of everything in this document. Special thanks to: Nicolas Bier, Deb Baker, Kathy McCracken, George AKA FSNetRep, Thomas Langberg, Tim Kaiser, Wesley Crusher, and Mac the Knife. This FAQ is archived. It can be fetched for your reading pleasure at ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/star-trek/card-games Any questions or comments on this FAQ can be e-mailed to its maintainer, John Teti, at this address: johnteti@kear.tdsnet.com.