Gotta Open 'Em All
Viral hit TCG Card Shop Simulator coming out of Early Access next month
I’m two years late, but I finally got to see what’s the fuss about the TCG Card Shop Simulator, which went viral after releasing in Early Access on Steam, and has since garnered over 3.5 million players.
This trading card shop simulation recently became available on Xbox Game Pass, and is gearing up for an official 1.0 version launch on September 15 for PC (Steam) and console (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch/Switch 2.
First impression: The controls are janky, especially when using a controller. I lasted maybe 10 minutes before switching to playing on PC using keyboard and mouse. It was much better, though I wouldn’t recommending playing it on a touchpad. It’s doable, but a pain.
The graphics is nothing to shout about. It’s more serviceable than pretty. Everything looks really sparse at the beginning, without any background music. And even in my short two hours with the game, I encountered a bug with an NPC getting stuck. Also, why there isn’t a store room right at the start for the player to keep inventory? Instead, there’s a door which does nothing, until you pay to unlock it. Even for gameplay purposes, it doesn’t make sense for a store not to have a backroom. It kinda breaks the immersion that you expect in a simulator game.
In any case, it was quickly apparent why TCG Card Shop Simulator has gathered such a following. The gameplay is the star here. It’s so addictive. There’s something satisfying about building up a business from scratch, even a virtual one. You get to decide how the store looks, the price of the cards, and even organise tournaments.
I also found it hilarious that one of the early items that you can buy is deodorant. You’ll need that to spray on stinky customers (they have a green cloud around them) that visit the shop. It’s an obvious jab at the poor hygiene of real-life trading card fans. Presumably, their stink will affect other customers, so you’ll have to deodorise them.
The game also lets you open card packs to get rare cards (that you can either keep for your collection or sell individually). It’s like playing a gacha mini-game. There’s even a grading system for cards, and the art for the cards is pretty good.
In fact, with version 1.0, the Pokemon-inspired card game, Tetramon, in TCG Card Shop Simulator actually becomes playable. I can’t wait to see how that plays out. Meanwhile, you can check out the Tetramon duel master guide written by the game’s solo creator himself: Malaysian developer Ding Shen Sia.
If you’re a fan of trading card games, version 1.0 looks like the perfect time to get into TCG Card Shop Simulator.
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