Welcome to Swing For Game!

Hello all.

This is the second time I've started a gaming blog. The last attempt was several years ago, and life wound up such that I drifted away from it.

A little bit about me. My name is Barrett. I've been a game player of one type or another since I was 4 and my grandfather started to teach me how to play checkers and chess. When I was six, I got thrown into the world of videogames with the brand-new, totally high-tech GameBoy Color (complete with Donkey Kong Country 3 and Frogger!).

My first foray into card games came with Pokemon, around the same time. While my friends simply wanted to collect them all (a feat several of us invested all of our then-meager funds on), I wanted to play with them. Unfortunately, I was never able to find someone to play with, but the concept intrigued me. Fast forward a few years, and Yugioh! hit the U.S. Here, I found a game that I was looking for. My friends and I had watched the show rapturously, and the idea of getting to duel with our own Dark Magicians and Blue Eyes prompted us all to run to the Wal-Mart and buy decks.

Throughout high school, I dabbled in both Magic: The Gathering and Yugioh!. However, Yugioh was my first love, and it quickly became the game I played above all others. By 2006, the tournament scene was decently established for the game, and I began my forays into competitive tournaments. While you won't find my name on any SJC champion lists, I was well-skilled and a good competitor, and was able to play on the level of many of the old pros. I found a love for out-of-the-box decks, and for playing against the meta.

By the time I came to college, my playing days were behind me. My cards were all in my closet at home, and they were nothing more than good memories. However, the love for the game never dies, and freshman year of college I discovered Yugioh again with the help of a hallmate. I ventured back into the competitive scene (although not on the level I once committed to it) and over the past two years, have shifted from Yugioh primarily to Magic. I've fallen in love with much of the game I hadn't seen as a teenager.

This blog is a compilation of both of these loves. While it currently will be much, much more Magic focused, Yugioh will be mixed throughout with decent helpings. Anything and everything is up for discussion, whether it be a metagame article, dech techs, tournament reports, or just life in general. I hope to help the Magic community and be a resource for people both new and experienced with the game. Welcome to Poke For Game. Enjoy the ride!


~ Barrett