So Do You Wear a Cape?: The unofficial story of Magic: The Gathering

by Titus Chalk

SO DO YOU WEAR A CAPE? tells the strictly unofficial story of the world-changing fantasy card game The Gathering. The e-book recounts not only the history of the game itself, but also that of the brilliant business behind it and the fascinating culture its players have created. Written to celebrate the game’s 20th birthday in 2013, the e-book reveals all the facets of The Gathering's incredible history, together in one place for the first time ever. Not only for the game’s 12 million players worldwide, SO DO YOU WEAR A CAPE? is also written for anyone curious about The Gathering, fantasy gaming in general or indeed, how society has become just a little bit geekier during the revolutionary card game’s lifetime. Featuring interviews with the game’s creator Richard Garfield, as well as Wizards of the Coast founder Peter Adkison, it also includes input from famous figures in Magic’s history such as George “Skaff” Elias, Mark Justice, Olle Råde, Brian Weissman, Brian David-Marshall, Michael Flores, Barry Reich, Rich Hagon, Luis Scott-Vargas, Kai Budde, Jon Finkel, Mark Rosewater, Aaron Forsythe, Randy Buehler, Jesper Myrfors and many, many more. If you ever wanted to know how a deck of cards can change the world, this is the book for you.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

Kindle Edition

First published December 6, 2013

Reviews

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is super specific but a really enjoyable read about how Magic the Gathering was created. So interesting to see how it evolved and what a phenomenon it became.

[Mike Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read for anyone with any curiousity about the game and a must read for anyone who has ever played it.

[Finn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book had some interesting historical bits and I appreciated the perspective of a person outside of the US during the origin of Magic. But this book could have used an edit. I think it could have shaved off about 200 maybe even 300 pages. It covered almost every part of magic in extreme detail. I think it could have been more focused on some of the most interesting historical facts and personal stories. Also I’m no prude, but some of the metaphors were weirding explicit. Just caught me off guard in the middle of a non fiction history book.

[Joshua Claytor · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's a bit dated from the time of publication, and of course, I'm 7 years late to that, but Titus presents a well researched and well written history of the game.

[Jerome S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read if you want a solid overview of the first 20 years or so of Magic: The Gathering and the personalities behind the game and the Pro Tour. It would have benefited from some stronger editing as it sometimes meanders or goes very deep into some areas.

The author clearly loves this game and his passion shines through. It does make for a less than impartial book but it does not take away from what is an interesting story.

Familiarity with Magic and how it's played will definitely help but the author does explain core concepts for anyone who has not played this game before.

[Vedast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining story about Magic’s origins.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very interesting look at the history and culture of Magic: the Gathering. As an avid player and someone intrigued by the design and publication of board games, I found this a very detailed look at the history of what is possibly (if you believe some of the hype put forth by this book) the most influential game in modern gaming.

While there may be some (admittedly not farfetched) lionization of the game and the involved parties of its creation and rise to fame, the book does regularly return to the human element behind it, delving into the way that the game shaped the lives of the many people who crossed its path.

At times, I found this a little distracting or a little to diversionary, especially when the author would take breaks from the narrative to touch on his own personal story, but in a game that is as shaped by its players as Magic is, I understand the author's desire to make his story known.

At times too, the timeline gets a little haphazard - in the middle there are a number of points where we follow the path of a particular element of the game (such as the Pro Tour, or a specific person) and follow events as they happen through to the modern day, then suddenly jump backwards in time ten or twenty years to start on a new topic or to tell a personal anecdote.

I also feel that it could have used an editor as the edition that I read had a number of spelling and grammatical errors (though I do realize that some of those were merely perceived as such due to American English vs. British English differences)

It is an absolutely thrilling story though, and I am impressed by the depth that the author went into and the analysis and compilation of all the myriad events that went into making Magic: the Gathering the game that it is today. The breadth of personalities interviewed and the amount of research that was done is quite incredible. All in all, a very interesting read, whether you've played Magic for decades, years, or not at all.

[Pod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a great read for anyone remotely interested in Magic The Gathering, and gaming in general. The writing style really shows the passion of a player, as the reader is guided through the history of the game and it's effect on the author's life. All in all, a fantastic STORY, and not just some facts laid out on a timeline. I would really recommend this to anyone who played magic, who's playing it now, and again to the wider gaming community.

[Aaron Gertler · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don't play MTG, you'll need a lot of patience (or a love of other complex games) to get through this. If that's true about you, or if you do play MTG, this is a very interesting history of the game with lots of well-chosen quotes and only a few slow spots. If you enjoy this, you should also read Johnny Magic and the Card Shark Kids.

[Gavin Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting insight into the history of Magic the Gathering.