Bella Sara

Last updated
Bella Sara
Bella Sara CCG cardback.png
Cardback of the Bella Sara CCG
Created by Jesper Myrfors [1]
OwnerGitte Brændgaard and the Bella Sara Company, Previously Hidden City Games and Concept Card
Official website
Official website

Bella Sara was a children's trading card and online game that combined a world of magical horses with game play. Published in the United States by Seattle-based game company Hidden City Entertainment in 2007, [1] Bella Sara began as a trading card game that expanded into an international product line. Having three set releases each year, all trading cards had images of illustrated horses, characters and magical friends with positive, inspirational messages on them. The vision of the company and cards, as created by Gitte Odder was to bring positive messages to empower young girls on the fundamental Philosophy of Life: "We’re all creating our life by our thoughts, attracting the kind of energy we represent." [2]

Contents

Each card pack included secret codes that could be redeemed on the website to care for and nurture magical horses online. [1] Select Bella Sara products included these secret codes to expand the magical world. Players could upload cards to redeem tokens that were used to buy merchandise from the online Bazaar. [1]

It was reported June 16, 2013 that the Bella Sara Company would be ceasing all operations and moved from its office in the United States to the creator's home in Denmark. [3]

The company was quiet with no new updates or products until 2020. As of April 2020, the creators have rebooted the website removing all games and replacing them with new content focused around a card collection app. [4] The creator cited that the old functions of the website were not functional by 2020 standards. However, no update or information has been given on the future direction of the company.

History

Bella Sara was started in Denmark by Gitte Odder Brændgaard, who intended to create an alternative to other popular trading card games, such as Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering , that would be more suited to girls and lack the element of competition present in the other games. This card game pulled from Gitte Odder's history as a social worker who was caring for mentally disabled young people in Denmark. [5] After the game proved successful in Scandinavia, the cards were released on a trial run to United States consumers in Seattle and San Diego at the end of 2006. Sales during that trial run were high enough to convince retailers to take the cards national in March 2007. [6] The cards continued to grow in popularity with children until the company ceased operations.

Card availability

Cards could be purchased in booster packs, value boxes, and tins, each of which contained a random assortment of cards. Card packs could be purchased online or at a number of retailers worldwide. [7] All cards were published for a limited time in sets. There are eighteen sets of cards, as well as other collectible merchandise. These include:

“First Series” (silver-bordered cards) (October 2006)
64 total cards: 36 common cards, 9 rare cards, 10 energy cards and 9 foil cards with silver background
“Second Series” (light yellow-bordered cards) (March 2007)
124 total cards: 58 common cards, 27 rare cards, 12 energy cards and 27 foil cards with gold background
“Northern Lights” (blue-bordered cards) (July 2007)
72 total cards: 28 common cards, 17 rare cards, 10 energy cards and 17 foil cards with pale blue background
“Ancient Lights” (pink-bordered cards) (October 2007)
72 total cards: 28 common cards, 17 rare cards, 10 energy cards and 17 foil cards with pink background
“Native Lights” (purple-bordered cards) (February 2008)
72 total cards: 28 common cards, 17 rare cards, 10 energy cards and 17 foil cards with textured lavender background
“Magical Friends” (lavender border) (June 2008)
123 total cards: 37 common cards, 37 rare cards, 12 energy cards and 37 foil cards with solid lavender background
“Baby Bella” (green border) (October 2008)
129 total cards: 43 common cards, 37 rare cards, 12 energy (toy) cards and 37 foil cards with green background
“Treasures” (turquoise border) (March 2009)
110 total cards: 55 common cards (5 common "Treasures" cards), 55 foil cards (5 foil "Treasures" cards).
“Royalty” (light purple border) (June 2009)
110 total cards: 55 common cards, 55 foil cards, 5 common energy (treasure) cards and 5 foil energy (treasure) cards.
“Bella's Ball” (orchid border) (October 2009)
110 total cards: 50 common cards, 55 foil cards, 5 character cards.
“Sunflowers” (gold- border) (March 2010)
110 total cards: 45 common cards, 55 foil cards, 10 character cards.
“Moonfairies” (blue border) (June 2010)
110 total cards: 45 common cards, 55 foil cards, 10 story cards.
“Starlights” (light blue border) (October 2010)
110 total cards: 45 common cards, 55 foil cards, 10 story cards.
“Spring Carnival” (mint-green border) (February 2011)
110 total cards: 45 common cards, 55 foil cards, 10 story cards.
“Summer Camp” (yellow border) (May 2011)
110 total cards: 45 common cards, 55 foil cards, 10 story cards.
“Winter Festival” (ice blue border) (October 2011)
110 total cards: 45 common cards, 55 foil cards, 10 story cards.
“Best of Bella Sara” (purple border) (February 2012)
110 total cards: 55 common cards, 55 foil cards.
"Herds from North of North" (yellow orange border) (October 2012)
110 total cards: 55 common cards: 55 foil cards.

Bella Sara cards were available in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Australia, Mexico, Poland and South Africa.

Bella Sara received numerous awards from child development and parenting authorities, including the “National Parenting Center Seal of Approval” for 2009, the National Parenting Publications "Honors Award" for 2009, the "Toy of the Year" and the “Seal of Excellence” from Creative Child Magazine for 2008 and 2009, the “Excellent Product” and “Outstanding Product” designations from iParenting Media, and the “Best Products” award from Dr. Toy.

Licensed products

Other Bella Sara licensed products include: Bees and Jam sleepwear and intimate apparel, Jakks Pacific toy varieties, Codemasters DS & PC game, Paradise Kids Pose-able Horses, Simply Fun Treasure Trot, HarperCollins Stories and Activity Books, MasterPieces Activities, Trends International Posters, Ultra Pro portfolios, and other international product lines.

See also

Reviews

Related Research Articles

<i>Mars Attacks</i> Trading card series

Mars Attacks is a science fiction-themed trading card series released in 1962 by Topps. The cards feature artwork by science fiction artists Wally Wood and Norman Saunders. The cards form a story arc, which tells of the invasion of Earth by cruel, hideous Martians under the command of a corrupt Martian government who conceal the fact from the Martian populace that Mars is doomed to explode and, therefore, proposes colonization of Earth to turn it into their new homeworld. The cards depict futuristic battle scenes and bizarre methods of Martian attack, torture and slaughter of humans, as well as various Earth nations being attacked. The story concludes with an expeditionary force of humans volunteering to embark on a counterattack on Mars, in which the Earth force attacks the Martians in their manner. This necessitates the Martians that are still on Mars to defend their homeworld. The Earth attack forces, after destroying the Martian cities and killing the Martians, depart just before Mars is destroyed in the predicted cataclysm, thus ensuring the peace and safety of Earth as the Martian race is seemingly doomed to extinction.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pirates Constructible Strategy Game</span> Collectible miniatures game

The Pirates Constructible Strategy Game is a tabletop game manufactured by WizKids, Inc., with aspects of both miniatures game and collectible card game genres: a constructible strategy game produced by WizKids. "Pirates of the Spanish Main" is claimed to be the world's first "constructible strategy game," referring to the mechanics of creating game pieces from components that punch out of styrene cards. The game was created by Jordan Weisman and designed by Mike Mulvihill, Ethan Pasternack, James Ernest, and Mike Selinker. It was released in early July 2004. An online computer game based on Pirates of the Spanish Main by Sony Online Entertainment called Pirates CSG Online was also created, which ended on January 31, 2011. Pirates of the Cursed Seas is a tabletop strategy game depicting naval battles and a 17th century hunt for treasure in the Caribbean. On September 14, 2009, collectible maker National Entertainment Collectibles Association announced the purchase of the Wizkids name and properties from Topps, specifically including the Pirates line, which was then canceled.

The long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who has since its beginnings in 1963 generated many hundreds of products related to the show, from toys and games to picture cards and postage stamps. This article is not an exhaustive list of merchandise but attempts to present a flavour of the type of material that has been produced. This entry mainly concentrates on "official" spin-offs, that is to say, material sanctioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation, which produces the series.

The collectible card game Magic: The Gathering published nine base sets from 1993–2007, also referred to as core sets. The base sets were considered descendants of the original Limited Edition, and shaped the default setting and feel of Magic. These sets consisted entirely of reprinted cards. These cards were generally simpler than cards in expansion sets, omitting multicolored cards, and used only the original abilities and keywords of Magic such as Flying and Trample. This simplicity led to many cards from these sets being considered "staples" of deck design. All cards were given a white border to mark them as reprints, with a few exceptions. From Fourth Edition in 1995 onward, a new base set would come out once per two years in the spring or early summer; for tournament play, that set would be legal for two years in the Standard format until the next core set replaced it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Potter Trading Card Game</span> Collectible trading card game

The Harry Potter Trading Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game based in the world of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. Created by Wizards of the Coast in August 2001, the game was designed to compete with the Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering card games. Its release was timed to coincide with the theatrical premiere of the first film in the series. The game was praised for the way it immersed children in the Harry Potter universe. At one point the game was the second best selling toy in the United States; however, it is now out of print.

<i>Horus Heresy</i> (card game) Collectible trading card game

Horus Heresy is an out-of-print collectible card game originally produced in 2003 by Sabertooth Games. The game is set in the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe developed by parent company Games Workshop. It attempts to recreate the struggle between the Loyalist forces of the Emperor of Mankind and the Traitor forces of Warmaster Horus, during the civil war known as the Horus Heresy. The game's development and sale by the publisher were discontinued in 2008, following financial difficulties at the parent company.

Hidden City Entertainment was a game publisher founded in 2004 by Jesper Myrfors and Paul Peterson to develop and market the chip-throwing game, "Clout Fantasy." After Clout was developed the company recruited Peter Adkison as CEO.

<i>Star Wars</i> trading card

Star Wars trading card usually refers to a non-sport card themed after a Star Wars movie or television show. However a common colloquial reference to trading card can also include reference to stickers, wrappers, or caps (pog) often produced along the same theme. Usually produced as either promotional or collectible memorabilia relating to Star Wars, the cards can depict anything from screen still imagery to original art. In addition, there have been various companies that have issued promotional Star Wars trading cards that include reference to or information about that corresponding company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BattleCards</span> Card game

BattleCards was a fantasy-themed card game published in 1993 by Merlin Publishing. The game features a unique "Scratch and Slay" system created by Steve Jackson. The cards came in 10 card booster packs which included warrior cards, spell cards, advanced combat cards, quest cards, and treasure cards. The game was published in both the UK and the United States with a number of differences between the two releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topps baseball card products</span>

The Topps Company has created a number of different baseball card products during its existence. They originally started as a chewing gum company, using the baseball cards as a sales gimmick to make the gum more popular, but today it is primarily a baseball card company.

<i>Bleach Trading Card Game</i> Out of print card game based on Bleach

The Bleach Trading Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game from Score Entertainment, and is based on the manga and anime series of the same name. The game received a nomination for Origin's "Game of the Year" and earned a semi-finalist position.

<i>Chaotic Trading Card Game</i> 2007 video game

Chaotic is an out-of-print Danish collectible card game brought to the United States by Chaotic USA and 4Kids Entertainment, and distributed by TC Digital Games. It was released along with the open beta version of the online game on October 24, 2007. The card game is also featured in the animated series of the same name. As of 2014, the website is currently closed and the cards are no longer in production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battlestar Galactica Collectible Card Game</span> 2006 collectible card game

Battlestar Galactica Collectible Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game based on the Battlestar Galactica science fiction media franchise. The game, published by WizKids, saw first release in May 2006 and was officially canceled in March 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragon Ball Collectible Card Game</span>

The Dragon Ball Collectible Card Game is a collectible card game based on the Dragon Ball franchise, first published by Bandai on July 18, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle Spirits</span> 2008 collectible card game

Battle Spirits is a two-player collectible card game (CCG) jointly developed by Bandai and Sunrise, Inc. and a franchise which also includes several anime series, manga serialisations, and other merchandise like toys and video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masques block</span> Block of expansion sets in Magic: The Gathering

The Masquerade Cycle, sometimes incorrectly referred to as the "Masques block", is a Magic: The Gathering cycle that is set on the planes of Mercadia, Rath, and plane of Dominaria. It consists of the expansion sets Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, and Prophecy. Mercadian Masques was the first set that is not subject to the Wizards of the Coast Reprint Policy, meaning that none of its cards appear on its Reserved List.

Zendikar Rising is the 85th Magic: The Gathering expansion and is not part of a block. It is set on the plane of Zendikar. It was released on September 25, 2020. The sets development codename is "Diving", and its expansion code is ZNR.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Frank, Jane (2012), Role-Playing Game and Collectible Card Game Artists : A Biographical Dictionary, p. 71
  2. "Our Vision – Bella sara" (in Danish). Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  3. "Bella Sara U.S. Shut Down".
  4. "Bella Sara Magical Horses". Facebook.
  5. "About – Bella sara" (in Danish). Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  6. Salkin, Allen (November 12, 2007). "With Ponies, Unicorns and Secret Codes, an Effort to Unleash a Craze for Girls". The New York Times . Retrieved 2008-01-11.
  7. "About Bella Sara". Archived from the original on 2020-01-20.
  8. "Pyramid: Pyramid Review: Bella Sara".