Q: 2-PLAYER GAME -- Where is it? What about Spock?
A: The Introductory Two-Player Game (the set that will have Spock in it) has been pushed back a number of times. We intend to also get it out late this summer, possibly near the release of Q-Continuum.
For those who aren't familiar, the Two-Player Game will have two white-bordered decks, one Klingon and one Federation, that are ready to play right out of the box. Each boxed set will be the same and will have the same cards in it. There will be several new cards in this set that will not be available in any expansions, including a TNG version of Spock! This Spock card will only be available in the Two-Player Game and will never be offered in any expansions.
Q: MISSING CARDS -- I have noticed references to several cards I don't seem to have. What's the deal?
A: Two much-anticipated cards, Thermal Deflectors and Hail, are included in Alternate Universe, but there are several cards still "unaccounted for" in both the original set and AU, including Guinan, Spock, Calamarain, Empathic Touch, Plexing, Marouk, Timepod Ring, Anya, Salia, Brainwash, Torture, and Dimensional Shifting. You can look for these cards in future expansions. We include "forward references" to future cards partly to whet your appetite for what's to come, but mainly so that when the new cards come out, they have a stronger connection to your existing cards.
Q: THINNER CARDS? -- The AU cards seem thinner than my other cards. Are they?
A: Carta Mundi manufactured Alternate Universe using the same high-quality Superlux stock as all of your other ST:CCG cards, so physically there is no difference from a manufacturing standpoint. However, all cards do change slightly with age and use: Exposure to light and air, shuffling, handling, and storage can all have subtle effects on any paper product, and the overall result seems to be that the cards stiffen a bit over time. So while your older cards are not really thicker than the new ones, they are somewhat *stiffer* than the new ones, giving the impression of extra thickness. In fact, I've been told that every time Wizards of the Coast released a new set of Magic: the Gathering cards, there were comments that they seemed thinner.
You can verify for yourself that the cards are of similar thickness by making a stack of, say, 60 Alternate Universe cards and putting it next to a stack of 60 of your existing cards. I compared five different stacks this way (AU, original unlimited, year-old alphas, brand new betas, and silvers from the tin) and found that all five stacks were of equivalent height.
So consider these cards like a new pair of shoes, in that they sort of have a "breaking-in period". I think you will find that with a little bit of play you won't notice any difference in feel.
