5.0 out of 5 based on 1 reviews. – Customer review on 26/01/2009

Years ago I went through a 'card collecting' phase... "Magic: The Gathering", comic cards, collectable puzzle art pieces, fan-cards etc... so I learnt a bit about what to look for, when it's all hype and when the cards look to grow in value, etc.

Looking at these cards with an experienced eye, I don't see "These'll be worth a fortune one day..." but that's to be expected really. They aren't produced for that market. Nor are they produced as part of a stand-alone game... these are parts of the puzzle that is "The 39 Clues" phenomenon. The cards aren't unique in the sense of "there are only a few of each out there", far from it... but each one carries a 1-time code that gets entered into the website to 'activate' it. Once activated, some cards contain hidden puzzles, some carry 1 of the missing 39 clues, some are just used for information only... but all the cards have a value and a use within the game. As the game progresses, they will get combined to give greater results than the singles cards can alone. Confusing? Not really... think of them as small machines... each one will perform a small, specific task... but when combined, something more can be done... you'll just have to get involved to find out exactly what.

The artwork is great, with all sorts of fun stuff... and you can view and print larger versions off the website once they are activated in your account. This comes in real handy with some of the clues, as you need to fold, cut, bend or write on them to solve the hidden clues... and it would be such a shame to destroy the cards themselves.

Each retail pack comes with 16 cards, randomly selected from a pool of about 55... though you will find cards with numbers up as high as 73 (so far) but that is all explained later in the game... it's still early days yet. Each pack is guaranteed to give you at least one Rare or Ultra rare card, and you'll probably find at least 3 ultra-common cards in there too... the rest will be a combination of commons and uncommons.

This set of card packs covers the storyline as it stands for the first three books, with a new set of cards being released alongside Book 4 sometime late 2009 or early 2010.

Overall, an excellent, but also essential, part of solving the mystery, the adventure, the phenomenon, that is "The 39 Clues".