Sayonara, L5R

I cannot believe it is over.

This past Saturday, I hosted my last Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) card tournament. It was a Release Tournament ushering in a new era in the L5R card game, the Lotus era. It is a new beginning for the game, and an ending for me as a player and tournament organizer. I gave away a lot of prizes – stuff that has been sitting in my basement for years, but anyone who continues to play the game would appreciate. I did not make any announcement of my retirement. I decided to leave with the quiet dignity befitting a samurai.

For those who know me, know that I have been playing the L5R collectible card game and role-playing game for the past 10 years. Ever since the first card graced my hands, I have been enamoured with this game. Why? It has everything you could want in a game based loosely on a fictional Japan/China (the mantra has always been “this is not Japan” - even though it certainly resembled it in a lot of ways). It has honourable Samurai, spell-casting Shugenja, scheming Courtiers, evil creatures from the Shadowlands, pseudo-Japanese culture and customs and hundreds of pages of stories about the characters inhabiting the world. With the card game, I have played and ran almost a hundred tournaments and met many good people from around the world. With the role-playing game, I have told stories of honour, glory and heroism. Hell, I even got to tell a love story.

So why am I leaving?

The short answer is because of recent life events now I am now dedicating my time elsewhere. The long answer is much more complicated.

Cost is a huge factor. Role playing games allow you to spend a lot of money up front to have a lot of (less expensive) fun later. Collectible card games, however, drain you of money constantly if you want to remain competitive. However, if money were the only cost, I would not be leaving the game. To remain competitive, you also have to undergo the card game equivalent of the twelve labours of Hercules. You have to give up free time going to movies and visiting family and friends to spend time designing decks and playing cards with others similarly affected by the card gaming bug. You have to dedicate a permanent space in your home to accommodate the growing inventory of cards in both boxes and binders - cards that eventually seep into every pore of your once pristine household. Finally, you have to spend a lot of vacation time travelling elsewhere to get to major tournaments so you can meet other players who have similarly delivered their first born to be sacrificed on the alter of L5R. These are costs I am no longer willing to pay.

But most importantly, I have lost interest. The game itself is still okay. It is much more complex and challenging than the first edition ever was. The deck type I play is finally getting the support it deserved. But I am no longer enthusiastically chasing down the cards I need to make my favourite decks. I have not organized my cards like a latter-day Scrooge hunched over his wads of cash. I have not religiously perused the web for more strategies, card combos and suggestions for a long time. I have not recently engaged in a conversation with anyone concerning card game minutiae. My heart is no longer in it.

And, it is just as well. The company making the game, Alderac Entertainment, is having financial difficulties. Most of the gaming world is having difficulties right now, but these difficulties have hit Alderac especially hard. There is doubt of the financial viability of the game and if it may not be around in a couple of years. That is too bad. L5R’s Samurai certainly out duel Magic’s spell casters on the field of battle any day.

Will I revisit the world of L5R? Certainly. The role-playing game is still around and sits proudly on the top shelf in my library. The new edition of the role-playing game is the best one yet published and despite Alderac’s financial problems, there are plans for at least one more role-playing supplement. The role-playing game shall be the vehicle I will use to revisit the world of L5R. It will be as refreshing as a dip in the onsen.

Thanks to Alderac Entertainment for giving me 10 years of honourable katana wielding fun. Thanks also to those who have made this experience so much fun. I bow low to you all, take my katana by the hilt and walk slowly into the sunset. Sayonara.