Top of the Order

Last updated
Top of the Order
Top of the Order cardback.jpg
Cardback of Top of the Order card game.
Designers Duncan Macdonell
Publishers Donruss/NXT Games
Players2 or more
Setup time< 5 minutes
Playing time< 60 minutes

Top of the Order is an out-of-print collectible card game by Donruss and NXT Games with a baseball theme using images of baseball players.

Contents

Publication history

The game was first released in October 1995. [1] The base set had 360 cards and came in 80-card starter decks and 12-card booster packs. [1] An expansion was tentatively scheduled for a June 1996 release but never materialized. [2]

Gameplay

The game was said to resemble Strat-O-Matic in the amount of game detail. [1]

Gameplay involved using only one type of card, the Player card. Each Player had 17 statistics. Offensive players would play a card representing the type of swing a batter is using, while the defensive manager would choose the pitch with a card play. [1] To resolve the play, each player would draw the top card of their deck and compare them to one or more tables to determine the outcome. [1]

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<i>Illuminati: New World Order</i> Collectible card game

Illuminati: New World Order (INWO) is an out-of-print collectible card game (CCG) that was released in 1994 by Steve Jackson Games, based on their original boxed game Illuminati, which in turn was inspired by the 1975 book The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. An OMNI sealed-deck league patterned after the Atlas Games model was also developed.

Star Wars: Customizable Card Game (SW:CCG) is an out-of-print customizable card game based on the Star Wars fictional universe. It was created by Decipher, Inc., which also produced the Star Trek Customizable Card Game and The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game. The game was produced from December 1995 until December 2001. Since 2002, the game has been maintained by the Star Wars CCG Players Committee, with new virtual cards being released every few months and the capability to play both in person and online.

<i>Star Trek Customizable Card Game</i> Collectible card game

The Star Trek Customizable Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game based on the Star Trek universe. The name is commonly abbreviated as STCCG or ST:CCG. It was first introduced in 1994 by Decipher, Inc., under the name Star Trek: The Next Generation Customizable Card Game. The game now has two distinct editions, though both forms of the game have many common elements.

<i>Spellfire</i> Collectible card game

Spellfire: Master the Magic is an out-of-print collectible card game (CCG) created by TSR, Inc. and based on their popular Dungeons & Dragons role playing game. The game appeared first in April 1994, shortly after the introduction of Magic: The Gathering, in the wake of the success enjoyed by trading card games. It was the second CCG to be released, preceding Wizards of the Coast's second CCG Jyhad by two months. More than one dozen expansions for the game were released, and the final expansion was released in October 1997.

<i>Babylon 5 Collectible Card Game</i> Collectible card game

The Babylon 5 Collectible Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game set in the Babylon 5 universe. The game is ideally set for 4-5 players but can be played with a minimum of two players up to as many as 20 if using multiple Non-Aligned Factions and Home Factions. This CCG is distinct from most others of the genre for being specifically designed to be played by more than two players. The gameplay tends to have strong political elements encouraging significant player interaction aka "table talk" which is appropriate for a game based on a series which featured such a strong element of political intrigue. During its six-year existence under the Precedence Entertainment banner it released two core sets, five expansions sets and one revision set. There were two World Championships during that time. The game still continues to have a cult following as further expansions were made available online.

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle is a multiplayer collectible card game published by White Wolf Publishing. It is set in the World of Darkness and is based on the Vampire: The Masquerade roleplaying game.

<i>Legend of the Five Rings</i> (collectible card game) 1995 collectible card game

Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) is an out-of-print collectible card game created by a joint venture featuring Alderac Entertainment Group and ISOMEDIA in 1995 and published until 2015, when it was announced that the game would be discontinued for a rules-incompatible successor that will be part of Fantasy Flight Games' Living Card Game line. L5R takes place in the fictional empire of Rokugan from the Legend of the Five Rings setting, where several clans and factions vie for domination over the empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle-earth Collectible Card Game</span> 1995 collectible card game

Middle-earth Collectible Card Game (MECCG) is an out-of-print collectible card game released by Iron Crown Enterprises in late 1995. It is the first CCG based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, with added content from ICE's Middle-earth Role Playing Game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OverPower</span> Collectible card game

OverPower is an out-of-print collectible card game produced by Fleer Corporation originally featuring characters from Marvel Comics and later from DC Comics and Image Comics. The game was initially launched in August 1995. In the game, two players went head-to-head with teams of four heroes and villains. Unlike most other collectible card games of the mid-1990s, OverPower was very distinct strategically and structurally different from Magic: The Gathering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redemption (card game)</span> Collectible card game based on the Bible

Redemption is a collectible card game based on the Bible. It involves Biblical characters, places, objects, and ideas. The object of the game is for players to use their Heroes to rescue Lost Souls by defeating their opponent's Evil Characters, with the first player to rescue five Lost Souls winning the game. Redemption was first published in July 1995 by Cactus Game Design and its creator, Rob Anderson, continues to develop and produce the game and is the final authority on rulings.

<i>Guardians</i> (card game) Collectible card game

Guardians is a fantasy-themed collectible card game (CCG) published by Friedlander Publishing Group (FPG) in 1995. The initial set was sold in 60-card starter decks and 14-card booster packs.

<i>Dune</i> (card game) Collectible card game

Dune is an out-of-print collectible card game produced by Last Unicorn Games and Five Rings Publishing Group, and later Wizards of the Coast. Set in the Dune universe based on the books written by Frank Herbert, the game pits two or more players against each other, each in control of a minor house vying for entry in the Landsraad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The X-Files Collectible Card Game</span> Collectible card game

The X-Files Collectible Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game based on The X-Files fictional universe. The game was developed by NXT Games and published by the US Playing Card Company (USPCC) in 1996. The game was canceled in early 1998.

<i>Mythos</i> (card game) Collectible card game

Mythos is an out-of-print collectible card game published by Chaosium. It is based on the Cthulhu Mythos stories of the horror author H. P. Lovecraft, as well as on Chaosium's own Call of Cthulhu role-playing game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galactic Empires</span> Card Game

Galactic Empires is an out-of-print collectible card game with a science fiction theme. It was published by Companion Games in 1994 until the company's bankruptcy in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highlander: The Card Game</span> Collectible card game

Highlander: The Card Game is a collectible card game based on the Highlander franchise of films and television series. It was released in March 1995. The original set had 165 cards sold in 16-card booster packs.

<i>Sim City: The Card Game</i> Collectible card game

Sim City: The Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game based on the video game SimCity by Maxis. The goal of the game is to build a city from the ground up. Players take turns playing cards representing city blocks and collect profit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collectible card game</span> Game played using specialized playing cards

A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards. It was introduced with Magic: The Gathering in 1993.

<i>BattleTech Trading Card Game</i> Collectible card game

The BattleTech Trading Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game (CCG) set in the BattleTech universe. The game was developed by Wizards of the Coast (WotC) for FASA and released in 1996.

Red Zone is an out-of-print collectible card game by Donruss and NXT Games. It was first released in October 1995. The game's base set consists of 336 cards sold in 80-card starter decks and 12-card booster packs. An expansion called 1995 Expansion Teams was released in December 1995 and contained 98 cards and focused on the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars. In early 1996, Donruss sold its sports card and card-game properties to Pinnacle. NXT Games also had to renegotiate their licenses for Red Zone and Top of the Order with the NFL and MLB, but new iterations of the game never materialized.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Miller, John Jackson (2003), Scrye Collectible Card Game Checklist & Price Guide, Second Edition, pp. 603–604.
  2. Varney, Allen (May 1996), "Reports on Trading Card Games", The Duelist, no. #10, p. 9
  3. "The Duelist #10". May 1996.