Feature Article – Magic with the Next Generation

By / October 11, 2019

 

Play Magic with Your Children!

Magic, with you and your children.

I have been considering the idea that playing Magic with children can be both a valuable experience and a way to become more satisfied with oneself.

I have been thinking over the question of when I have children, whether I should teach them to play Magic or not. As a starting point, I considered what a wonderful game Magic is, and how it would be nice if my children played it too. The more I thought about it, the more I understood that it really would be a good thing. Also, I thought in recommending this it would probably contribute to many people’s happiness. For this reason, the subject of this article is playing Magic with children.

If you don’t have children of your own it would be good to consider these ideas, and I would like it if those who do think this over and try applying it to themselves. And if you have already played Magic with children, I would love to receive practical advice.

Magic, with you and your children.

From here on, let’s discuss the merits of teaching children to play Magic.

Advantages for You

The first important thing I will cover in this article is what advantages you gain from teaching children to play Magic. Your own happiness can directly influence that of another. However, although it is easy to immediately see the direct benefits of playing Magic with children, it is also likely that there are certain things you should strive towards.

(1) Playing a game with your children

Try playing a game of Magic together with your children. Here, I think that simplicity is very important for ensuring happiness. Whether you like children or not, if you get to this point in reading my article I think you must at least be someone who likes Magic very much.

With Magic, there is a link between spending time observing the growth and development of children and great happiness. In Japan, fathers and their young children playing catch is the standard practice, but I have a feeling that doing things like throwing and catching the ball versus attacking and blocking are not very different. The difference is only in whether you use your body or your mind.

(2) Making sure you find time to play with your children

I have often heard that people who are married with children experience an unfortunate decline in the time they have to play Magic on their own due to the time they must spend with their children. Alternatively, they play Magic on their days off, but they find they have little time to spend with their children as a result. If you play Magic together with your children, neither time spent playing Magic nor time spent with your children will suffer. What would be bad about spending time together?

You do not necessarily need to play one on one, as it is also good to take your children along when playing Magic with a friend. I think that most friends would accept this idea considerately. If this were to happen, it would be best if your friend’s children also joined in, don’t you think?

(3) Your children will gain respect for you

I think that when a young child is just beginning to play Magic, the day when they will surpass their parent in ability is distant. Although Magic is simple to enjoy, everyone can recognize that at its core Magic is a complex game. If you hear, “Wow Dad, you’re good!” this is directly linked to your child’s newfound respect for you. In the future, I think it is likely that the instances where your children do not listen to you decrease considerably, and you will find yourself a parent figure who is better able to communicate important things to your child.

Advantages for Your Children

In terms of advantages for your children, this is the most important: I think that Magic is an extraordinary educational tool. Magic is a game where the player learns many things naturally while at the same time having fun.

(1) Learning communication with others

When playing Magic, you meet many people. In my case, I have traveled the world for many years playing Magic, and I have probably been among those who have met the most people through it.

However, looking back to 12 years ago when I had just begun playing Magic, in just one year I had met over 50 people through the game. If a player has the opportunity to meet other people, I think that Magic also increases the actual number of new acquaintances made.

If you go to Magic shops and tournaments, there are numerous players with whom you can play games and make trades. At times there may be players who you aren’t well acquainted with who are included in eating a meal. Through Magic, you will have many encounters with different people. And, one of the essential skills of Magic is learning what should be done in order to win but also to have fun and get along with a variety of people. In trying to become friends with other players, an individual’s communication ability naturally increases. Certainly, even if your child fails to understand this essential point, coming in contact with different people will undoubtedly be a plus for them, and teaching them by saying “Getting along well with others is a way of winning” or “Please be more fun to be around” is a good idea.

(2) Learning the importance of cost performance

Every card has a “cost” that must be paid, and with this in mind it is possible to make a strong evaluation of whether a card is effective or not. I have been considering the idea that aside from Magic, this “cost performance” evaluation skill is generally important when choosing something. In a Magic game the obvious goal is either to reduce your opponent’s life total or the number of cards in their library, but these ideas are not really applicable to the rest of a player’s day-to-day life.

I have been thinking that people instinctively wish for greater happiness, and that to this end becoming more effective is essential. With regard to the “costs” of time and money, one’s effectiveness is extremely important. When playing Magic, it is good to reach a point where you naturally view things through the lens of “cost performance”.

(3) Becoming skilled at calculations

In playing Magic, there are frequently times when addition, subtraction and probability are touched upon. Often calculations such as “What is the match win percentage of a deck that has a 60% chance to win pre-sideboarding and a 60% chance to win post-sideboarding?” are made. And questions like “Given that you have four copies each of a two card combo in your deck, what is the probability of having both at the start of the game?” are also frequently considered.

In making trades, it is usually necessary to quickly calculate the total value of many cards. I think that society is steadily becoming more accepting of the use of computers and calculators in making calculations, and for this reason people’s calculation abilities are in decline. There are fewer and fewer instances where people refrain from using such devices, meaning that their minds lose the potential to become weapons capable of quick calculations.

(4) Increasing language awareness

The world is made up of various cultures, and Magic allows players to compare these cultures and provides a way to easily come in contact with other countries’ languages. In Japan, basically only Japanese or English versions of cards are sold in stores, but aside from these French versions, Italian versions, Spanish versions, Chinese versions and others come from countries around the world.

Besides, people who are not Japanese attend weekend tournaments. I am Japanese and although my English ability is still lacking it was originally closer to zero. In my middle school English classes, I did not understand the extent of the value of English language skills and I slept altogether too much. Though I still need work, now thanks to Magic I am able to say more or less what I like, and to understand whomever I am speaking with. If I had played Magic from a young age, I am fairly certain I would have tried harder in my English classes. I often think this was really wasteful.

I don’t know any greetings aside from those in English, but learning some would make me happy. And conversely, when people from other countries say “Arigatou”, it leaves me with a good feeling. In the future, I would like to learn languages besides English.

In this way, awareness is naturally promoted through foreign cards and the opportunity to come in contact with people from other countries.

(5) Various other things that can be learned

There are many other things I have learned from Magic. I have learned to gain self-confidence from deciding on a goal and then achieving it. I have learned that if I can make others happy, I will also be happy. When traveling the world, I have learned about foreign trade and become familiar with money exchange rates. I have gained a variety of knowledge about the world through the teachings of others. And that’s not all. At the present I am learning more and more things regarding store management and article writing.

For me, Magic is a wonderful educational tool discovered in a chance meeting, and luckily I have been able to make use of it on a grand scale. And even now, the fact that Magic still fascinates me makes it seem certain that Magic still has more to teach me in terms of personal growth.

When going to other life stages people who grew up playing Magic move on to a variety of activities. I have heard stories of great success and wealth now and then. Often, there are people who say things like “Many Magic players are smart.” However, originally not everyone is smart. Simply put, Magic is a game that improves your intelligence.

What my children will do in the future is unknown to me, as I think this is something they should freely choose. I have decided on only one thing. This is that since I wish for them to be happy, I will teach them Magic from a young age. I think Magic is really an outstanding teaching tool.

Magic‘s Advantages

I think that considering how amazing Magic is, there are still very few players. I believe its degree of recognition in society is similarly low. By explaining Magic‘s advantages, the more its player base will increase and the more excellent Magic will become. It seems that if the number of players increases, Wizards will hold more large events. The number of card shops and tournaments run by people who work for organizations and sponsors would similarly increase. Anyway, it is on the rise.

And if the player base grows, the value of Magic as a communication tool will also increase dramatically.

You might think I am foolish since this idea is a huge leap, but I often think that complete world peace might be established if everyone around the world played Magic. This is because in playing Magic everyone could really get along. It is very good to consider what it takes in order to both win in Magic and have fun. But, at this opportunity I would like you to try thinking about the game you love. From here on, all of us stand at the gate as key people in continuing Magic‘s history for many years.

Magic, with you and your children.

I have discussed the many merits of playing Magic with children. Certainly though, this does not mean that I have not considered the disadvantages as well. However, with the exception of one, I could think of almost nothing that struck me as really being disadvantageous.

This one thing was that if your partner finds Magic to be dull or uninteresting, it could result in conflict. There is a simple method for turning this disadvantage into an advantage: playing Magic together with your partner would also be good. Then surely you will become an ideal tight-knit family.

Oh? What should be done to teach Magic to a partner who is conflicted about the game? I would like it if everyone used their disciplined, intelligent mind that they have acquired through Magic to try and consider these things. I will also try and seriously consider them. Someday, I would like to write “Play Magic with your Significant Other” too.

Thank you for reading. Until next time!

From Tomoharu Saito, to Magic players throughout the world

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55 thoughts on “Feature Article – Magic with the Next Generation”

  3. Chronitog Drake

    fakeshaver- not a useful POST to a large percentage of this sites readers is my guess.

    Great Article Saito. Thanks

  5. newager

    I taught my wife how to play Magic while we were still dating. She doesn’t like the game but still respects how much it means to me. I have no intention to learn how to play the piano, but I respect how much playing it means to her. It’s okay to be of different mindsets with your significant other in regards to hobbies and entertainment so long as you are both willing to make concessions so you still spend plenty of quality time together. For example, ban the use of the snooze button on your alarm clock and instead use those 9 minutes to just talk.

    Oh, and she WANTS me to teach our daughter how to play Magic when she’s old enough (she’s only 11 days old at the moment).

  6. Philip Chute

    haha Cronitog.

    And fakeshaver, just because you can’t reproduce doesn’t mean the rest of us have such trouble with the opposite gender. I can’t wait till my kid is old enough to play, in another 3 or 4 years.

  7. merl

    Great article.

    4 is about the youngest I have found when playing the simplest form of magic (mostly vanilla creatures, reach, flying and firebreathing the only abilities, and giant growth. boomerang and lightning bolt the only instants).

    Makes me wonder if there isn’t a market for precon decks made out of old commons.

  8. Aeka

    Something you didn’t really touch on is the experience of competition which can be very valuable for kids. Learning how to win and lose graciously and understanding the merits of competition are important things for children to grasp early on. Most of the time, kids get this experience through other things (sports, academics, video games), but Magic can contribute as well.

    Also, I think a better term in English for “cost performance” might be cost-benefit analysis.

    Anyway, I liked this article as it touches on something I’ve thought about myself and that is probably becoming more and more relevant as this generation of Magic players grow older.

  10. Lenny

    Teaching my son how to play Magic has great for both me and him. In addition to the advantages you listed (and everyone has shown to be accurate), palying Magichas also helped his spormanship greatly; something that team sports has never taught him. However, when he asked me if he could go to a FNM with me, I let him know if he displayed his typical bratty behavior it would be his last one for a very long time, and his behavior has been exceptional beyond my wildest expectation.

  11. JupiterHollowed

    really fakeshaver? he prefaced the post by outlining his points, and made them cleanly and concisely? so he didnt give you the list you wore looking for…but i liked this article. a lot. so thank you mr. saito and i hope to read more

  12. egal

    Arigatou!

    Well said.

    newager your story warms my heart take care and have a beautiful life.

  13. W A MacMurdo

    “You might think I am foolish since this idea is a huge leap, but I often think that complete world peace might be established if everyone around the world played Magic.”

    If this article was written by anyone else I would think that they were on acid while they wrote it, but because it’s Saito it kind of makes sense.

    A couple of the older players I know have taught their kids MtG and it seems to be pretty good. I’m waiting for the day when I lose to a six year old!

  15. Matthew

    That 8 yearold made day two… Wonder if it was his first Grandprix too? Should we be expecting a new ‘youngest’ world champion someday then with how the ‘masters’ have such great students.

  16. ormuzd

    I guess this can be applied only to the countries which native language is used on the cards (mainly English but German, Italian, Japanese, etc). Anyway children very good memory and maybe this would not be e problem but I have to wait another couple of years before trying it myself

  17. Ormus

    Nice article!

    Over the past year I’ve taught my son (now 10 years old) how to play magic. The official “How to Play” Tool by WotC actually did a great job. Kids have a very good memory for pictures, recognizing cards by art often. However they have a much shorter attention span than adults, so include breaks in your playing for best concentration of the kid.

    Be aware however, that there are a few magic artworks that might scare younger kids! My son mentioned that Convincing Mirage looks scary, so I just removed those from our cardpool for now…

  18. James Stone Lunde

    We love you Saito-san 🙂
    去年九月交換留学生として日本に来て、PWCなどの川崎、東京、横浜でのイベントに参加しました。そうするとすぐ気づいたのは、やっぱりマジックを通じて友達ができるだけでなく、人間性が成長してきたのでしょうか。というのは、他の国の人とその文化に接して自分の精神的視野も広げるとおもいます。

    めちゃくちゃな日本語すみません！まだ勉強しています ：）ところでもし金髪で長い髪の毛の男性をPWCで目撃したら、声をかけてね　（＾＿＾）／

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  21. Angel of Clumsiness

    You are right, there are many things to be gained by playing with children, both for you and for them. There are a few things to note though if the children you play with are not your children.

    I work at an after-school care where some kids play magic. They are smart, communicative and the above points all hold true. It improves their English, their communicative skills, their logic thinking and forms great social contacts. I know some of that from myself, I learned English mostly through Magic and RPG’s during my school time 🙂

    The downfalls I have noted are these:

    – Magic can be addictive. The kids liked it so much, they started playing it in every break, sometimes even into the lesson. I had teachers complain to me about “that card game”.

    – Magic costs money. If the parents are not to involved, a kid can spend all his lunch and pocket money on the cards and even rack up quite a debt by asking other kids for money to pay for new boosters…

    – Though Magic is great for bonding with other Magic players and talking about the game, a great social aspect, it can also ostracize. Magic gibberish is completely incomprehensible by non-Magic-players, and if all talk in a group revolves around cardnames and keywords, the group may find themselves outside of the social system of the class.

    So all in all, Magic with children, hell yes, but under careful supervision of parents. Which is no problem at all if one of the parents plays Magic and teaches it, but can be problematic if the fun starts to spread (and in school it will, because Magic is a great game).

    I found it important to note the above points, eventhough they may be on a different tangent than Saito’s article.

    Thanks for the thoughts Saito, and I’m very much looking forward to "Play Magic with your Significant Other". 🙂

  22. Chad S.

    Interesting article Saito-san!

    I do, however, have a couple of counter points to offer on the subject
    I’ve taught both my kids (10 and 12). They know the basic mechanics and how to play the game, but neither have developed a passion for it as of yet. Magic isn’t exactly something I push them to play for a couple of different reasons.

    – First and foremost the game has become ridiculously expensive (its the reason I no longer play tournaments). A semi competitive type 2 deck for FNM can easily run into the 200 dollar range. Trust me my kids don’t need further encouragement to spend my money 🙂

    -Secondly, and I hesitate to run this out but what the hell, is the social stigma associated with Magic. If my kids are gamers at heart and end up playing magic tournaments every week, more power to them; I will be right there with them to enjoy it. There are, however, some unfair and unkind lables/stereotypes that are often applied to gamers. While I embrace my own geekdom, being labeled as such in high school can have consequences. I do not want my kids to have to experience this simply because they are trying to please their father.

    Thanks for the article!
    Chad

  23. ElementalMox

    Previous research by Hoeberg J and Chen S (2010) has found that relationships in which desired closeness to the significant other is sought effect the foundations self esteem were built upon. If appearance was important to a significant other then it would become important to the party seeking closeness, the same holds true of intelligence. Succeeding or Failing within subject specific domains (appearance, intelligence) within interpersonal relationships impacted upon self esteem, with success correlating with positive self-esteem, failure the reverse.

    Our own research all so found, that to high expectations from parents can cause low self esteem and the sword is truly double edged on these matters. Also that as one becomes more independant views of family become less important and views of peers become more important, not this is really relevant to this.

    Hoeberg J and Chen S (2010), ‘Significant others and contingencies of self-worth: Activation and consequences of relationship-specific contingencies of self-worth,' Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(1) pp. 77-91

  25. arno2

    Nice paper ! Very nice paper !

    I have two kids (9 & 12) playing Magic at home with me. What you described in your paper is so right. At such ages kids understand rules and mechanisms really fast. They understand so well and so fast the game that it becomes more and more complicated for me to win a game at home ! My 12 y.o. son and I went to GP Lyon. For his second GP of the year, my son makes day 2 for the second time after GP Brussels with a record at GP Lyon of …. 9-0 for day 1. When “The student exceeds the master”.

    Thanks for your article.

  26. John Golden

    My kids, 10 and 11, are just starting. And my daughter is interested in going to kid-friendly organized play. It has been terrific, and I highly encourage other parents to give it a go.

    One recommendation would be to start with the games in which they are most interested. If it’s Pokemon or Vs. or chess that’s fine, don’t try to snag them in something they are not interested in. If the fantasy stuff isn’t engaging, they have to learn to like a game for the strategy’s sake first.

  27. BStark

    I like to play a few casual games at FNM or tournaments with the younger people. I like to see their faces when they play and they’re “winning”. I like trying to help and don’t mind explaining things to them. Its a great feeling of gratification when you get a high five from a “newbie” and they’re genuinely excited about something they just accomplished.

    Also, I think WotC should do the portal stuff again. That was cool.

  28. Munir

    Saito, your articles often look at Magic from a very deep, philosophical standpoint and with a greater view of Magic’s impact in your life. This is very refreshing and enjoyable. Keep it up, and domo arigato!

  29. nakia

    Saito-san, thank you!

    I really appreciate you stepping outside the norm to write an article that isn’t strictly strategy related. I know that is a risky proposition and I applaud you!

    Secondly, I am the father of a 5 year old and I couldn’t agree with you more about the joy that playing Magic with your child can bring. It is a wonderful teaching tool for so many different reasons: analytical skills, math, comprehension and retention, sportsmanship, communication…the list goes on.

    Not to mention that it is a wonderful way to bond and share a passion that will hopefully lead to even more time for us to spend together as he gets older.

    I definately agree that anyone who has or is going to have a child remember this article and try it. It may not be easy at first but the rewards are totally worth it!

    Thanks again!

  31. Denog

    Nice article, I think it’s important for parents to get involved and encourage their kids into something. Those skills are important and magic helps hone tons of skills, math, percentages, people skills, communication, concentration, planning etc. Always enjoy your articles even if they’re not straight decklists and playthroughs.

  32. alec

    Awesome. My life’s goal is to spread the joy of Magic; I am glad to hear that pro’s are thinking about the same things as myself, a humble EDH fanatic. Rock on!

  33. fakeshaver

    when i read a saitou article i want to get better at magic not thinking about teaching future children a card game.

  34. Zach

    Hi,

    I have found that games like Chess can involve a lot of “planning ahead”, and cost benefit analysis as well. (I have also found Policy Debate to involve a lot of cost benefit analysis and logical reasoning). I am not saying that one activity is better than another, just that there are a lot of activities that capture all of Magic’s beneficial qualities. So it probably isn’t all that important to play magic in particular with a child, though Magic works too. It was a good article.

    –Zach

  35. Craig

    Fun article, I think you’re spot on as for the value of playing Magic with kids. My own son is 5, and while I originally wasn’t planning to teach him to play until he was a bit older, he’s seen me play so much and wants to do what I’m doing, so I’ve started the process. At this point I still help him with all of the decisions, but he is learning the basics like the phases of a turn, and basic combat math (your 3/3 beats my 2/2). I have let him play around with a variety of decks, and his favorite is (unsurprisingly) Mono Green Stompy

    There is another point that you didn’t bring up though, that is teaching someone else to play Magic, no matter what their age, can be of benefit to you too. Magic is a very complicated game, but for those of us who have been playing for a while, it’s sometimes easy to forget just how complicated it is. Teaching a new player can help you remember the fundamentals, and help you not take so many things for granted. At least, that’s been my experience.

  36. eddie mucha

    My dad and me learned to play together when I was around 7. I’m now 15 and doing well. On the other hand, my dad quit when I outshone him. Note to parents, make sure you are always a step ahead of the child

  37. Jesse

    I’m disappointed there were no star trek references >_>

    Great article, and definitely something to think about when your children get old enough to grasp the mechanics of the game. As far as social consequences of being a nerd… well, if it’s not that it’s going to be something else. Children single out those who are different, and that’ll never change.

  38. chronitog drake

    Quote fakeshaver “when i read a saitou article i want to get better at magic not thinking about teaching future children a card game.”

    Who is this saitou guy you are speaking of?

    Anyways. Such a great article. Keep up the great work SAITO!!!!!

  40. Lyle

    @chronitog: Actually, if you transliterate the Japanese properly, his name is spelled “Saitou”. You’re actually spelling it wrong.

    @fakeshaver: Then go read other peoples’ articles. Saitou has already said that he plans to write about things others don’t write about, meaning you’re not likely to see the next great tech in an article of his. If you don’t like it, don’t read it.

    For me, this article strikes particularly hard. I started playing Magic when I was 7 years old (currently 22), and, for the first year or 2, my dad would play with me. Slowly, he stopped playing the game with me and I had very few people to play with. Eventually I found a local store to play at, but I always had a problem getting my parents to take me there on Friday nights even though all they would do at home would be to watch TV anyway. And then my dad, who I used to play with, got furiously angry with me regularly about playing Magic. It was really quite depressing how he never became involved in Magic like I did, and I’m always envious every time I see father-son pairs competing at large tournaments.

  41. Dan

    I was hoping for some advice on how to teach the game in a simpler form or in steps to those who might not learn games as quickly as a seasoned gamer… like children or even significant others =)

    @elementalmox: It seems you want to appear intelligent and impressive, but your spelling is poor and your grammar is worse. You also fail to declare a point. (Yes, I can infer a point, but if you are trying to make an argument, you should actually state it.)

  42. Bobby Star

    Thanks. Many similar points have been made in several conversations with my friends. Magic is a great teaching tool for children!

  43. Soeren

    A very interesting article. I could tell you alot more about it, but Ill just say that you are on the right track Mr. Saito.

    For the past ten years I have worked with children in the age 9 – 14. I have found that magic is great tool to use as social education in a group of children. Very quickly they set aside their normal social differences (Age, race, gender and religion) and begin to evaluate each other based on magic skill level. In a process like that children who are normally outsiders (Ie. not good at sports) begin to flourish and show their real potential. And they get credit for it from the other children. Its just amazing to watch.

    When it comes to teaching your wife"¦ Thats a totally different story"¦

  44. Jason Rickards

    Saito,

    Don’t listen to those comments that bash you for not giving them a hot tip on how to beat someone in magic. It is a welcome relief to read something else other than strategy. If someone doesn’t want to read about something other than strategy then they have their own decision to make by not reading it. I think it was in poor taste for those who felt that this article was a waste of time and stated so in the comments. I think quite the contrary.

    My girlfriend of over four years has a now 18 year old who never had a father. One of the first things I did with him was to teach him how to play magic. Before I did this he was very introverted, shy, and didn’t socialize much. I personnaly feel that playing magic helped him to socialize more, communicate more, and increased his self esteem.

    So I can say that I personally agree with you on your article. Granted it takes a few dollars (ok well a lot of $) to compete competitively but that is not the only format in magic. I recently helped a newbie 14 year old at our FNM by throwing together a mono green stompy deck for him to compete at FNM. He has won games there with it and I dare say that the deck is worth over ten dollars. So, I think that it can be done. Plus WoTC provides us with other formats that aren’t cost prohibitive such as Planechase, drafting, casual magic and so on.

    A good read. Bravo!

  45. Jason Barnett

    I have taught my sons to play and the biggest problem is having a level playing field. You will certainly start out the stronger player and have a stronger deck. The Duel Decks were my answer for this problem and it has worked pretty well.

    Also – it is pretty awesome to see your son’s reaction when you give him his first dragon. It makes you remember that time for yourself too 🙂

  46. Tristal

    Saito –

    Great article! I have to say, I was amused in point #3 when you mention how the use of calculators can diminish our thinking skills… but every time I have traded with you, you always use one to add up each side.

    Of course, this only makes you more aware of the problem.

    Thank you!

  47. Maddogg

    I love the article! My older kids both play Magic with me (11 and 14) and have both reported instances of how they were able to do better on tests because they knew a vocabulary word that they learned from Magic!

    @ those parents who are concerned about the price of cards – limited format could be a more economical way to get to play in tournaments versus standard.

  48. The_Engineer

    Arigatou gozaimas! Sorry if the English transliteration of the characters is off- it’s been a while. This was a very interesting article- not what I expected when I loaded CF this morning.

  50. wessinator

    Saito, I think it is great that you’re trying to promote Magic play in our youth. I feel as though much of the population doesn’t believe that such a game can be so valuable in important life lessons, but I’m a firm believer as it has guided me through much of my life thus far. I’m 20 years old, and have been playing for just about 7 years. That’s one third of my life, but it seems like it has been keeping my mind sharp for so long… I can’t even imagine my life without learning from potential misplays every single day. I’ve never been more intelligent, and that is due in large part to my experiences with Magic.

    Wes

  51. Terence

    In support of majority of the commentators, I have to agree that this is a useful article. My experience has been that my parents do not understand the game of Magic and often believe that time spent on playing Magic is not an effective usage of time. Although I agree that it is a very addictive game (hence does take away chunks of time), I also agree that the benefits as listed by Saito-san above justify the time that I’ve invested into this marvelous game.

    For those who believe that this is not an useful article, perhaps you have not realise that there is more to Magic than just learning ways on how to improve your game.

  52. Kheired

    Very good article,

    besides the educational value of the game for the development of children MTG is a good tool to teach grown-ups game theory, even at graduate level. The basics of the game are really basic and the situations and decision ranges are much wider, understandable and fun than chess, a classic teaching device.

    MTG, in my opinion, is a fully developed mental game with lots of educational potential.

  53. Jack

    Good stuff! I’m always interested in this kind of “big picture” type stuff. 🙂 Arigatou!

    I have a 10-year-old soon-to-be-ex-stepson who’s gotten into Magic with my soon-to-be-ex-wife, and he’s eating it up. He loves building decks and trying stuff out and finding interactions. He’s a smart little dude, and Magic feeds into that perfectly. I wish I could be with him more.

  54. Katarina

    Wow! That article was really surprising, but i think it was great !! I think I’m too young to have children by now (i’m only 21) but of course i would like to teach them someday if i have!!

    Well, i think it’s a very useful article for those who have children.

    Anyway, about find a partner who loves Magic too, if you’re a woman it’s not such a problem! Hahahahaha.

    Arigatou!!! =)

  55. Amy Hill

    Though I do not have any children, I found this article to be very informative. My boyfriend has just reccently been pushing me to into Magic more, me being more of a casual player and not much for tourniments, and mostly I just though of it as some thing fun for us to do together. But seeing all of the benifits I would deffinently consider trying to further myself in the game, but also teaching my future children to play, I deffinently think it would be fun and educational for the whole family.

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