So maybe you're interested in playing at Countdown, but this whole online TCG business has you completely befuddled! This guide is here to help answer your questions. If you have any further questions after reading over this, please don't hesitate to e-mail me and I'll be happy to help as best I can!
But first, what exactly is an online TCG you ask? TCG is short for trading card game, and online games are not much different from actual collectible card games: except that online games are free to play! The idea is credited to Calico, creator of the original online TCG, Senshi Card Mania! R. Essentially, the idea is that traders come online and play the games that the TCG has to offer in order to earn cards. From here, they can choose which decks they'd like to collect, and which they'd like to trade with other traders.
Setting Up
Before you even join a trading card game, the most important part is getting your trading post ready for business. Your trading post is webspace for you to display your collection, as well as your activity log for the TCG you're a part of. If you're pretty web-savvy and have some HTML/design capabilities, you can host your own trading post at your own domain, or find a place that will host it for you. (Rahenna's In the Cards offers webspace for traders!) Many traders also register a free livejournal and organize their TCGs there as well.
If you want to take a look at a trading post to get a feel for how to set yours up, check out Aku's trading post or Ashuri's livejournal trading post!
Getting Organized
Once you have your space laid out for you, it's time to get your TCG items organized! (If a visual would help aid you while reading through this, again, you can refer to the trading posts I've linked above.) Below is a general list of sections you'll want to divide your post into:
TRADE LOG
TCGs are largely based on a trust-system, meaning that owners trust their players will be honest about the cards they're receiving from the prizes and not cheat! However, some of this can be prevented by a trader's trade log (or activity log). Here, the trader will record ALL prizes (cards, currency, raffle tickets, everything!) received from the TCG games and events, as well as trades they make with other traders. An example of how you might record your log is shown below:
August 07, 2009: Traded Rainbow 002 and Rainbow 004 for Good News! 009 and Good News 015 with Aku.
August 09, 2009: Received Glider 003, Mola 002 from playing "Name That Tune!"
Your trading log is probably the most important part for both you and the TCG Owner, so make sure you update it regularly and make sure it's correct, with dates and specific cards! It can also help TCG Owners greatly with member activity/card distribution, so it's very vital you keep it up to date!
CARDS
Posting up your cards will be much simpler than the trade log, but you're going to want to divide your collection into a few sections, depending on what you'd like to trade. I normally divide my cards into three sections: Trading, Might Trade, and Collecting. You can organize these however you want on your page, but I highly recommend making sure that you alphabatize any cards (based on deck name) you post on your page. That way, if another trader comes looking for some cards in your Trading section, they'll know where to find it!
MISCELLANEOUS
Lastly, you may want to keep an extra section for your miscellaneous TCG items-- things like currency, raffle tickets, etc. That way, both you and the TCG owner will know where to find it when you're ready to exchange it for prizes!
Start Trading!
Once your trading post is all set up and you've received a healthy amount of cards, you can begin trading! Go through the TCG's Trader List and visit your fellow players' "Might Trade/Trading" sections to see if you find anything you might like. Also, take a look at what cards they might be collecting-- if you can offer them something they're looking for, they're more likely to say yes!
Once you're ready to trade, look for the trader's contact information. (Most traders with a website will have a contact form, and traders with a livejournal often use livejournal's comment system. However, every trader should have an e-mail address you can contact them at on their website. (If all else fails, you can use the one we have on the member list!) Simply contact them by politely asking for the card(s) you want, and then offering the card(s) they might like. Also, remember to include the URL to your trading post so that they can look through your page in the event they don't want what you offered.
If your trade is accepted, reply to the player with the card you offered them attached and they should reply to you with the card you desire. It is VERY important that you take down the card that you traded at this point and upload the new one, and make sure to put all of this on your trade log!
Otherwise, that's really all there is to trading and playing TCGs! A lot of it is actually much easier than it seems, and you'll learn more organization/trading strategies from other players as you continue with your TCG involvement. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me and I'll be happy to help you along your way. :D Happy trading!