The CIA made a Magic: The Gathering-style card game for training agents, and we played it
The CIA made a Magic: The Gathering-style card game for training agents, and we played it
The CIA made a Magic: The Gathering-style card game for training agents, and we played it
By Shannon Liao
July 23, 2020
Summary
Last year during SXSW, the CIA revealed it designs elaborate tabletop games to train and test its employees and analysts.
After receiving a Freedom of Information Act request, the CIA sent out censored information on three different games it uses with trainees - and thanks to Diegetic Games, an adapted version of one of them will soon be available to the public.
CIA: Collect it All is based off a card game described in the documents as "Collection Deck," which was designed by CIA Senior Collection Analyst David Clopper.
While the developers plan to tweak the game and add new rulesets before release, they showed The Verge an exclusive printable prototype of the changes they've made since the showing at SXSW. After playing the game with friends, I found it to be a fascinating look at a way the CIA trains its agents, even though it sometimes fell short of the pure entertainment value other rapid-fire card games can offer.
That's why the winner of the multiple rounds I played wasn't me or two other friends who had studied the game's instructions intently, but my boyfriend who had seemingly wandered through the game paying little attention.
The gameplay can become repetitive because while each crisis and technique may have different accompanying text, the basic way they function in the game is the same: a crisis card demands certain technique cards, and you play them or not.
There's a lot of fascinating information about different intelligence-gathering methods on the technique cards, something that Clopper described as useful for the agents who trained with the game.
If you do take the time to read everything and immerse yourself in the world events they reference, you'll gain a lot of insight into the inner workings of the CIA, even if it doesn't necessarily have an impact on the game.
In a Reddit AMA, some users asked Techdirt's CEO and founder Mike Masnick about the potential ethical concerns of making a commercial version of a game that was primarily designed by someone else.
Masnick tells The Verge that the game that's set to be shipped out in November might get more cards, new rules - including an "Alternative storytelling ruleset" - and a clearer set of instructions.
Reference
Liao, S. (2018, May 21). The CIA made a Magic: The Gathering-style card game for training agents, and we played it. Retrieved July 28, 2020, from https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/21/17374054/cia-collect-it-all-declassified-training-tabletop-card-game