2009 Topps Attax...For Those Who've Outgrown Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!

In my attempt to find anything Topps Baseball related for today, I stumbled upon something that is scheduled to come out next year called "2009 Topps Attax Baseball." Please see picture below for packaging and card design:

Below is the description found on the website pre-selling the product:

"Baseball meets the Gamer head on - perfect for Fantasy Baseball nuts, as well as the child who has grown up and out of Pokemon or YuGiOh! Each starter pack contains 14 Topps Attax Baseball batter cards, PLUS 4 pitcher cards, PLUS 6 code cards, PLUS 1 Gold foil card, PLUS 6 silver foil cards for a total of 31 cards. Each blister pack contains three (3) 5-card packs containing: 2 Topps Attax Baseball batter cards, PLUS 1 pitcher card, PLUS 1 code card, PLUS 1 silver foil card for a total of 15 cards per blister. A TOTAL of 61 cards plus your album and pages!"

By the looks of things, this seems to be Topps attempt to join the Collectible Card Game (CCG) market (again). The starter kit being presold on MLB.com and other places includes 2 booster packs, a Topps binder with 10 Ultra-Pro sheets. It looks like you can play this game in person, and online (on Toppstown).

Now this is not Topps first attempt at a CCG. I can recall 2005 Topps Total having a CCG type game within it. But more importantly, in 2005, Topps introduced the world to Hot Button Baseball.

Remember Hot Button Baseball??? Sure you do. You take two cards (a batter and a pitcher) put them into a machine, hit the "Hot Button" and based on where the lights stopped, that was the at bat. There were 140 transparent cards in that set. I remember the day I first laid my eyes on them, at a Toys R' Us while buying my daughter her birthday present. It looked awesome, and I still have the game, the complete set, the machine, my homemade scorecards, card numbers by position (to pick teams randomly), my excel spreadsheet that could generate teams by randomly...YES, I'M A GEEK!!!

Ahem...

This looks like this game is going to be a bit more challenging than Hot Button. It might be something to look forward to getting. I don't know. But where did they come up with the name "Topps Attax?" Well, we have to go across the Atlantic if we want to look for clues.

It seems that it's a big hit over in the UK. Topps Match Attax (the football...soccer to us in the US) game has been around since 2007, and features teams and players from the Barclay's Premier League. Going on the website: http://www.matchattax.com/, it gives you all the rules, on how to play the game (defense vs. attack), how goals are scored, and such. But this is baseball, and I'm sure the playing mat (there has to be a mat in any CCG) is going to include an entire playing field, not just the pitcher and batter. It looks to be a huge deal in the United Kingdom. And Topps seems to be hoping that the success will carry over here.

I, for one, might want to take a stab at this set. It looks like something my kids and I can get into (there goes my wallet). But I worry. If Topps didn't continue the Hot Button Baseball game (due to lackluster sales I'm guessing), what's the odds that this is going to survive a second year??? I'm pretty sure this is not going to count towards the 17-product cap imposed by MLB Properties. Whatever. When it comes out, I'll buy a couple of packs, and then probably more, and then probably buy everything in sight just to complete a set...okay, getting ahead of myself. But based on the above design, and the possibility of game play, it can't be all that bad...right???

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama