An Introduction To Otherverse TCG

Otherverse TCG, previously known as Otherworld, is one of the more interesting up-and-coming games we came across during this year’s Orlando Collect-A-Con. Headed by Sam Tabibzadeh of New York, this science-fiction themed card game is looking to capture a piece of the $10 billion dollar TCG market and we think they have a good shot at doing so. The brand first broke ground with an initial round of crowdfunding which raised more than $16,000 — promising to deliver an introductory basket of signed cards, samples, and artist exclusives. The game has continued to explode in popularity since.

The game’s artwork is heavily inspired by gothic and dark fantasy themes. The cards themselves have a modern three-dimensional characteristic to them which is a nice change of pace from the traditional flat picture-in-picture designs used by competing games. The current iteration of cards all seem to utilize full-art designs which stretch the image across the entire face of the card. This trend, likely popularized by Pokemon, has been extremely well received by the newer generation of TCG collectors and enthusiasts.

Second Round of Crowdfunding & Trademark Dispute

Believe it or not, Otherverse’s second round of crowdfunding was even more successful than the first — bringing in an astonishing $266,000 over a 48 hour period. Unfortunately, the campaign found itself in the crosshairs of a trademark dispute which resulted in its cancellation. While the specifics of the dispute are unclear, it appears that this conflict is largely what prompted Tabibzadeh to revise the name of the brand.

Author’s Note: Anyone have a guess as to who the dispute could be with? I am unable to find any other card game titled Otherworld and a trademark search with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) does not reveal much.

This begs the question: when will the campaign be remade? Given the overwhelming demand for the game, I suspect Tabibzadeh is silently at work refining the details of the new campaign — setting it up for an even bigger launch than before.

The Future of Otherverse

As it stands, I was unable to find any information about gameplay rules or mechanics. I was also unable to find any lore or backstory detailing the history of the characters or the fantasy world they reside in. However, this does not necessarily mean that the lore doesn’t exist. Similar card games like Akora TCG, a brand I had also been critical of for not publishing lore, recently released a comic book suggesting that these games often times do have a deeper backstory that is not immediately obvious at first.

Regardless, I look forward to seeing what Otherverse will bring to the table. With the wild success of games like Nostalgix and D-Spirits, it is clear that demand for these niche card games are higher than ever. If Tabibzadeh plays his cards right (no pun intended), he might just be able to launch the biggest crowdfunded TCG in recorded history.