Magic: The Gathering (colloquially "Magic", "MTG", or "Magic Cards") is a collectible card game created by Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast, an American game publisher later purchased by Hasbro. Magic is the first example of the modern collectible card game genre and still thrives today, with an estimated six million players in over seventy countries. Magic can be played by two or more players each using a deck of printed cards or through the internet-based Magic: The Gathering Online on a computer.
Each game represents a battle between powerful wizards, who use magical spells, items, and fantastic creatures depicted on individual Magic cards to defeat their opponents. Although the original concept of the game drew heavily from the motifs of traditional fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, Magic bears little resemblance to pencil-and-paper adventure games. Rather, Magic is more similar to bridge or poker but with substantially more cards and more complex rules than other card games.
The world-wide popularity of Magic has spawned an organized tournament system and a community of professional Magic players, as well as a secondary market for Magic cards. Magic cards can be valuable due to their scarcity and power/utility in game play.