Friday, May 08, 2009

2008 PGM Speed Racer TNG TCG


Whew! How many acronyms can I possibly use in one title!? Here is the translation: 2008 PlayGround Maniacs Speed Racer The Next Generation Trading Card Game. Now, I admit, I messed up by lumping the NASCAR in with the non-sports I bought. Having said that, I am not calling "Speed Racer" cards 'sport' cards. NASCAR=Sport, SpeedRacer=Cartoon *about* racing. I do feel stupid for saying NASCAR was not a sport... I digress (as I often am prone to do).

I have never seen this version of the cartoon. Just why is the monkey a robot?? Actually, I don't care. I grew up with the original Speed Racer, and watched it all the time. I once had a remix of the theme song, but let's just say even though all the samples were from the cartoon, they were not arranged in a very, um, kid-friendly manner. For adults who watched the show as kids though, it is a riot because we were ALL thinking what the remix does... again, I digress...

What we have are "clear" cards. To prove it, I placed the cards in front of my netbook's screen. Of course, the fist card out of the box is *NOT* clear, but is, in fact, completely foil. It is Jesse and Jared, whoever they are. On the back, the card is marked "SP-16" and it says they are "twin talents that race well together." Ah, now we know. There are also two 'scores' on the back: Speed=20 and Skill=45. Evidently these mean something in the game. The pack does not include instructions, so I have no idea how to play... Again, not that I care. You're beginning to wonder why I even bothered to pick up this pack now, aren't you? Solely for the purpose of posterity - for this blog!



Okay, moving along, we next have the first 'clear' card. The clear part is actually red and yellow translucent squares (you can see my desktop through them). The cards themselves are plastic, like credit cards. Very durable and sail through the air quite nicely, I might add. This one is "Speed activates the Sludge Slinger." I give them an "A" for alliteration! The back of the card reads, "Pressing a button on the steering wheel, Speed activates the Sludge Slinger." Apparently we weren't smart enough to figure that out from the caption on the front...



chim-Chim, the robot-monkey-thing "lands on another racer's car hood." You get three guesses as to what the card's back says, and the first two don't count. Wait! There is an extra tidbit in addition to repeating what's on front. We find out that he landed on Annalise's car hood! Oh, the humanity! (Note: No actual robot monkeys were harmed in the making of this post)



Here we have "The rebuilt Mach 5." I must have missed the part where it needed to be rebuilt. Guess I'll have to wait for the movie...nevermind. On the back, "Speed stands proudly in front of the rebuilt Mach 5." I'm guessing they hired the same writers from the original show to do these cards. By the way, on this card, Speed=75 and Skill=75. I'm guessing that's pretty much tops, given this *IS* Speed Racer and all....



Ah, the bird-shaped homing device. The "Circle-G Ranch" logo is significant on the card. See, we're told on the back that, "Button G releases a flying, bird-shaped homing device that is released from under the hood." Wait, look at that card:

Are you telling me there are kids out there who are collecting these things and they can't deduce that for themselves? I am shocked at America's education system!


And, for grins, I took a picture of all the cards on the table so you could see what they look like when not propped up against my screen:

There you have it. Another 'wacky' pack busted for the world to discover! Stay tuned for my next post as we take a field trip.... with one messed up clown.

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