CCG/Gaming Cards Guidelines
Version 1.05 – February 1, 2011
Adding Titles/Items
1. In order to make the Change Request process as quick as possible and to ensure the accuracy and consistency of our database, we have established the following guidelines.
2. Before getting started, take time to familiarize yourself with these guidelines and the desktop software’s current information and formats.
3. Before submitting any Change Request, use the Comic Collector Live website to research what we already have in the database. Sometimes you just need to update your software so your local data matches the CCL web site. The website is always up to date. So, check the CCL web site and update often.
4. Make the change as complete as possible. If you are updating a series be sure to make the change as complete as you can. For example; if you are attaching a story arc to a subset in cards, be sure to check that the other information is complete as well (i.e. cover price, publish date, artists, characters, etc…), especially if the item is right in front of you. Add all missing information if possible.
5. Include a comment and, when possible, a link to supporting information. Explain why you are making the Change Request. This will help us approve your requests much more efficiently. It will also help us to better communicate with you. Please be aware that any inappropriate comments will result in account deactivation for the offending member, so keep it clean.
6. Look first! Use the website to research, and make sure that the Title does not already exist or listed under an incorrect format (e.g. Marvel Universe: Series 1 title listed under Marvel Series
a. As an example, if the Cover Title that you want to add is "Marvel Universe: Series 1," you would search the database for "Marvel Universe”. Avoid using the entire title as the fewer keywords used will improve search results. This is important for preventing duplicate titles and ensuring the accuracy of the existing data.
b. "Add Missing Title" Change Requests are only for adding Titles that do not exist in our database. If you find a Title with inaccurate or incomplete data in the database, please submit an “Edit Title” Change Request.
7. Look first! Use the website to research, and make sure that the issue does not already exist.
a. "Add Item" Change Requests are only for adding an item to a title that is not currently there (i.e. – a new item release for that title). If you want to make a change to an existing Item, please submit an “Edit Item” Change Request.
b. If you are adding a missing variant, be sure to select the Add Variant icon on the main issue. That way, top level information will be filled in for you, and this makes adding them much easier.
Policy On Quoting From Other Resources
1. Issue and title bios may include short pieces of text originating from the publisher and or creator and originally intending to act as a solicitation for the issue or title. If such text is included, it must be properly sourced, using formatting detailed in the guidelines.
a. Acceptable sources for quoting include:
i. Publisher's websites: marvel.com, dccomics.com, boom-studios.net, etc.
ii. Creator's websites: Jinxworld.com, neilgaiman.com, busiek.com, etc.
iii. Publisher sponsored title/character specific websites: spawn.com, astrocity.us, etc.
iv. Locations on the issue/item itself: Inside Front Cover, Back Cover, Dust Jacket Flap, Back of Package, Front of Card, etc.
v. Solicitations in other publications from the same publisher: Previous Issue, Marvel's Bullpen Bulletins, Marvel Age, etc.
b. Unacceptable sources for quoting include:
i. Independent fan sites and wikis: wikipedia.com, wildstormresource.wetpaint.com, marvel.wikia.com, dc.wikia.com, etc.
ii. Comics news sites: comicbookresources.com, newsarama.com, ign.com etc.
iii. Independent collector sites: comicbookdb.com, comics.org, comicbookrealm.com, collectorz.com, etc.
iv. Independent retail sites: ebay.com, mycomicshop.com, milehighcomics.com, etc.
v. Publications not from the same publisher: Previews, Comic Shop News, etc.
vi. Any site with a legal notice or terms of use that restricts usage or claims ownership of the text: Most, but not all of the above unacceptable sources have this notice.
The examples given of acceptable and unacceptable sources are not meant to be all inclusive, but are meant to illustrate what sort of sites are acceptable and unacceptable sources. Even if the text being quoted most likely came directly from the publisher, if the site it is being quoted from is unacceptable, the text may not be used. An alternative, acceptable source must be located in order to use the text.
If there is question/concern over whether a particular source is acceptable for quoting, it must be brought up for discussion before it can be used.
Titles:
In an attempt to keep the database as clean and neat as possible, we ask that you group certain items together under a title. CCL will only accept English language versions of CCG/Gaming Cards at this time.
CCG/Gaming Cards will usually have 2 titles: a Main title and a Base Set title.
1. Main Title - Factory Sets, Sealed Boxes/Packs/Decks, Mail-Away Checklists, Binders, Tins, Sell Sheets, and Rule Inserts.
a. These will all be listed under one cover title, currently with NO parenthetical.
i. Ex: Magic the Gathering: Lorwyn
1. The place for issue #1 will ALWAYS BE the SEALED BOX.
a. This includes any Sealed Box – whether it contains sealed packs or sealed decks.
b. Please add any applicable descriptive information to the Caption field when adding the item.
2. The place for issue #2 will ALWAYS BE the SEALED PACK.
3. The place for issue #3 will ALWAYS BE the SEALED DECKS.
a. This includes Starter Decks or pre-configured Sealed Decks (any type of packaging – tins or cardboard box).
4. The place for issue #4 will ALWAYS BE the COLLECTOR’S BINDER.
5. The place for issue #5 will ALWAYS be the FACTORY SET.
6. The place for issue #6 will ALWAYS be the MAIL-AWAY CHECKLIST.
7. The place for issue #7 will ALWAYS be COLLECTOR’S TINS (generally this is for tins that are not sets or Sealed/Starter Decks).
8. The place for issue #8 will ALWAYS be the DEALER SELL SHEET.
9. The Place for issue #9 will ALWAYS be the RULE INSERTS.
b. The cover title description will be numbered in conjunction with what is verifiable. For example, if a set of cards by Wizards of the Coast from 1997 only has 3 of the items listed above, then the title description should state:
i. Ex: Wizards of the Coast 1997 (3 Items)
2. Base Sets
a. A Base Set is defined as the CORE set of cards – usually the largest in quantity.
3. Subsets
a. Promo Cards
i. Promo Cards will be added in as their own cover title.
ii. Ex: Marvel Universe: Series 1 (Promo)
iii. NOTE: If a set of promo cards came PRE-CUT similar with 4 cards in them, do not CUT them and add them separate UNLESS they were distributed separately. These are also NOT considered UNCUT SHEETS.
b. Uncut Sheets
i. Uncut Sheets are to be put in their own title.
ii. Ex: Valiant Era: Series 1 (Uncut sheet)
iii. Note: Uncut promo cards are NOT considered UNCUT SHEETS. Uncut sheets represent the SET AS A WHOLE.
c. GIMMICK/"Chase" CARDS
i. CCL defines "Gimmick Cards" as cards with something extra, outside the base set, that makes them more collectible. Typically chase cards are distributed per pack ratio. Most of these will also be considered CHASE cards:
1. Holofoil Cards
2. Stamped Cards
3. Gold or Silver Bordered Cards
4. Autograph Cards
5. Relic/Costume/Prop Cards
6. Sketch Cards
ii. List each card in the database as close to representative of the number on the back in an add issue.
iii. Example: A Hologram numbered "M-3" should go in as issue #3 of the Subset Cover Title and have “M-3” entered in the Non-Number field.
iv. Some gimmick cards are gimmicks of themselves. In other words, a card with gold-foil border might be identical to another card with silver-foil border. If the ratio of a gold-bordered chase is equal to the silver-bordered chase, then they are entered in the CCLdb as VARIANTS.
1. Scarcity/Printing will trump this. If there is only one card produced to promote an impending set, and one case promo is created and then a silver foil one is also created, but we can verify that the silver foil one has print run that's less than the other, put those in separate cover titles.
d. Case Toppers / Box Toppers
i. Case Toppers / Box Toppers will ALWAYS be their own cover title.
1. Smallville: Series 1 (Case Topper)
2. Star Wars: Reflections I (Box Topper)
Title Field:
1. Titles should be entered using the following format:
a. Titles should match the wording on the actual package or manufacturer’s site as much as possible. There are very few times when we can't use this information perfectly, but we try to pattern after it.
b. Titles may not begin with an article (a, an, the). Even if the official title according to the package begins with an article, the article should be dropped.
i. Ex: "The Dark Knight Returns" should be entered as "Dark Knight Returns" (see… not always by the title, but as much as possible).
c. Capitalize the first and the last word of a title and any internal words except:
i. prepositions of less than five letters (to, from, with, of, in)
ii. articles (a, an, the)
iii. coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
iv. the "to" in the infinitive verbal form ("I'm Going to Lose My Mind" rather than "I'm Going To Lose My Mind")
v. Ex: "Batman and Robin: The Official Adaptation of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture"
d. When adding a title, please put the Series denotation separated from the core portion of the title by a colon(:).
i. Ex: Desert Storm: Series 1 (Base Set)
e. Some other examples of parenthesized information include Subset information: Promo, Case Topper , Foil, Uncut Sheet.
i. Ex: Star Wars: A New Hope (Promo)
ii. Ex: Star Wars: A New Hope (Base Set)
iii. Ex: Star Wars: Endor (Foil Subset)
f. Do not use spaces before colons.
g. Do not use a period after vs or Vol
h. Subsets should always be listed under their own title. Usually because they have their own issue numbers associated with the set.
i. For subsets, if cards have a specific RATIO per packs, please include this information in HARD BRACKETS, in the cover title description field beside the parenthetical like in a comic book submission. Whether talking of one card, or 20, please do this.
1. Ex: Fleer 1994 (10 Cards) [1:18 Packs]
Type:
1. Use CCG/Gaming Cards.
Key Publisher:
1. Select the Publisher from the list.
a. Use the most prominent or current publisher.
Caption:
1. Caption Field (aka Title Description Field) - Works the same way as comics.
a. Acceptable examples would be:
i. Impel 1990 (162 Cards)
ii. Decipher 1995 (254 Cards)
iii. Note: The term "Cards" should be used for CCG/Gaming Card Titles.
b. For card sets with “Alternate Image” or Variant Art cards, use the following format for the item count in parentheses. The first number is the number of distinct cards (by number or title).
i. Decipher 1999 (180 Cards + 9 Alternate Image Cards)
c. In the case of “Pocket Model” or Constructible Ship Games (aka CSG’s, such as Star Wars, Pirates, Transformers, etc. ), the card count will default to the number of items listed on the checklist, irregardless of the number of card plates required to complete the set. Please see the “Number / Non-number” section below on the proper handling of “plate” entries.
i. Ex: Wizkids 2008 (28 Items)
d. Please list all applicable publishers separated by a forward slash “/”
i. Ex: Fleer/Skybox 1992 (90 Cards)
Bio:
1. Add any applicable information for the Card Set. Please include the rarity information of the set.
a. Ex: 30 Rare, 40 Uncommon, 50 Common
2. Include both a description and the location of the set designator symbol on the card set.
Items:
Cover Image:
1. Due to the amount of research time involved and the volume of submissions submitted and reviewed daily, we do not approve any “Add Item” or “Add Variant” submissions without a cover image. Add Item or Add Variant requests submitted without a cover scan will be rejected, unless the cover is adult-oriented.
a. The image must be an exact (not pre-production or promotional) representation of the card - of the Playing Side (Front) ONLY in VERTICAL FORMAT. The preferred method is vertical to help them look as uniform as possible and to mimic the look of a 6 or 9-pocket page in the image view of the cards.
i. There is an exception to this rule when a title contains adult/sexual content, nudity or adult language. We will not accept cover scans with this content, nor will we accept censored scans with "black boxes or bars". Instead, please use the special CCL created adult cover title stock image by selecting the Adult Cover checkbox.
b. The image cannot have a watermark; however, the generic camera icon watermark is acceptable as a temporary one.
c. Please Note: Your personal scans will default over stocked images in your collection.
Number / Non-Number:
1. "Issue numbers" on cards work the same as a comic if they are numbered. If they are not numbered, please enter them in alphabetical order based on the card title. CCG/Gaming cards may also be separated by type of card if not numbered. If this is the case, please sort the cards alphabetically by type and then alphabetically by card title for entry.
a. For Magic the Gathering sets that are not numbered, please follow the same pattern used in the numbered Magic the Gathering sets. This pattern replaces the “sort the cards alphabetically by type” statement listed above. The pattern is: White (Plains), Blue (Island), Black (Swamp), Red (Mountain), Green (Forest), Gold (Multisource mana), Artifacts, Complex Land, and Basic Land in the order of Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, Forest.
b. For any Pocketmodel set that contains multiple plastic “plates” used to make a single item (usually a ship), use the following scheme for numbering. There will be a primary Issue number which will contain the entire group of plates required to form the item. There will then be numbers in the format of “Issue number.x” where X is the number of the plastic plate used for the item.
i. Ex: A Pirates Pocketmodel ship requires 3 plastic plates to make the ship. The plates are numbered with the main ship number, for example 25, and a 1/3, 2/3, or 3/3 number. The Issue numbering would be:
1. Number: 25 Variant:A – This contains the complete set of plates.
2. Number: 25.1 Variant: 1/3
3. Number: 25.2 Variant: 2/3
4. Number: 25.3 Variant: 3/3
c. For any Pocketmodel set that contains multiple ships on a single plastic plate and each ship has it’s own number/letter, the Number field will contain the main number of the plate and the Variant field will contain the entire set of number/letters used to designate each ship.
i. Ex: Ship plate “01” of the Star Wars Pocketmodels Premiere contains 3 ships, designated as a, b, and c. The Number would be 01 and the Variant would be “a/b/c”.
2. For cards that use a numbering scheme that differs from standard counting numbers, enter the number in the Non-Number field.
a. Ex: P01
Variant:
1. Variant field should begin as “A” for the first card entered.
a. If multiple versions of a card were produced and distributed, subsequent card entries may be made using the next letter in the alphabet as the Variant letter.
b. Manufacturing errors are NOT considered variants unless a corrected version was produced and distributed.
Printing:
1. Printing: In a set that includes multiple waves or series; please use the printing field to denote the series. In all other instances, this field should default to 1. This field is used to record the series of the card set and does not necessarily mean the same as "printing" does in reference to books.
a. Ex: Marvel Universe: Series 4...the printing field would be '4'.
b. Ex: Star Wars Premiere Limited...the printing field would be '1'.
c. Ex: Star Wars Premiere Unlimited...the printing field would be '2'.
Cover Price:
1. Cover price should be entered as 0.00 unless the item has a specified manufacturer's price printed on it.
Cover Date:
1. Cover date should be 1/1/xxxx, with year being the cards were made.
Sale Date:
1. Sale Date should only be entered if the actual date of sale is known.
Caption:
1. Caption (Cover Description): Please briefly state the name of the item. Please use either the card title from the card or the checklist. The checklist may either be a card itself or an insert provided.
Content Rating:
1. Content Rating should contain the rarity of the card. Examples would be Rare, Uncommon, Common, Rare Foil, Premium, etc.
Adult Cover:
1. By selecting the checkbox, an adult cover title stock image from CCL will automatically be loaded.
Publisher:
1. List all associated publishers.
Story Arcs:
1. You can associate a story arc with an item. When searching for story arcs, be sure to type in a relevant word to find it. For example, when searching for "Deadly Foes of Peter Parker" you could simply type in "Deadly" for a search criteria and you would be able to pick from a list of story arc's with the word Deadly in them. The mentioned story arc should be there.
2. You can also add a missing story arc. A story arc is any story title that spans across 2 or more issues, and in this case, that the card is based off of. Be sure to spell correctly, and add a comment when submitting new story arcs.
3. The Story Arcs field may be used to categorize CCG/Gaming Cards by Type and Ability. This will allow for an easy method of searching for cards of a specific type or ability.
a. A 3-character Standard abbreviation will be used at the beginning of the Story Arcs to signify those for CCG/Gaming Cards. The abbreviation will be based on the core game title.
i. Magic the Gathering titles should use “MTG:”
ii. VS System titles should use “VSS:”
iii. Decipher Star Wars titles should use “DSW:”
iv. World of Warcraft titles should use “WoW:”
v. Star Wars Pocketmodels titles should use “SPM:”
vi. Pirates Pocketmodels titles should use “PPM:”
vii. Nascar RaceDay titles should use "NRD:"
viii. Additional abbreviations will be added for other CCG/Gaming card titles.
1. Ex: MTG: Blue Mana
2. Ex: MTG: Creature
3. EX: DSW: Light Side
4. EX: DSW: Interrupt
Credits:
1. Artists can be linked if you see a visible signature built into the image of the card or if the artists name is printed on the card as a credit.
Characters:
1. You can also link characters to an item. When attaching a character, please find the instance using the character's full name. We recommend searching based on a portion of the character’s name.
2. You can also add any missing characters. ADDING COMMENTS WITH THE SUBMISSION OF A CHARACTER IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT - this cuts down on unnecessary research. We only allow one unique character name in the character list with NO parenthetical info. Otherwise character reference could get way out of hand. We list Spider-Man as a single character.
3. Titles such as Doctor, Mister, Captain, Sergeant, Lieutenant, etc. need to be spelled out entirely. Please use Jr. , Sr., and Mrs. - with the period as that is the proper form of the abbreviation.
a. Titles should only be used when it's actually integral to the character's name (Doctor Fate)
b. Titles should NOT be used when it's a title applied to a character with an existing name (Doctor Bruce Banner).
c. This can be best determined by comprehending that "Doctor Fate" is a persona, an identity where "Doctor" is not really a title but a part of the name. Conversely, Bruce Banner is a person that can exist with or without the "Doctor" title.
4. Do NOT list characters that are not shown on the card. The character must appear on the card front.
a. If your card is part of a puzzle image on the reverse, you may include that character in the table. A Puzzle Image is defined as a grouping of cards that, when combined, form an image.
5. Only fictional organizations will be accepted into the database as characters (i.e. S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, etc.) Real world organizations will not be accepted (i.e. Interpol, NYPD, FDNY, etc.)
Item Bio:
1. Item Bio: The Item Bio can be anything that describes the content of the card. In the case of CCG/Gaming Cards, use the data on the “front” of the card as applicable. The “front” of the card is usually the side with the card image, gaming text, and other pertinent information.
2. Please include the following information for CCG/Gaming Cards in the Bio using the format below:
a. *Name: (card title on card/checklist.)
Type: (type listed on card. Creature, Location, Land, etc.)
Play Cost: (Cost associated with playing this card. i.e. Magic the Gathering = mana, Decipher Star Wars = Force, etc.)
Stats: (As defined on Card. Attack, Defense, Power, etc. are examples)
Game Text: (Special Abilities, effects that occur when played, etc. Usually a few sentences on the card.)
Card Text: (Any additional text on the card that is not necessary for play, but may be there for descriptive purposes.)
*Source: Front of card
3. For any items that have been updated or corrected by the publisher, please include the changes as a second Item Bio entry using the same format as listed above. The Source should be entered correctly as the source the change came from - whether it be the publisher's website, rules insert, etc.
Sexual Content and Adult-Oriented Material
1. Items that contain sexually-explicit or adult language will not be accepted.
2. Once a title is added, if the item's image contains either adult/sexual content, nudity or adult language that would normally need to be edited out with "black boxes or bars", the image will NOT be accepted. The submitter may add the scans into their personal version of the software. You CAN submit an Add Item request using the Adult Cover checkbox which will automatically use the CCL adult cover image.
3. Characters who have names or nicknames that contain adult language will not be accepted when adding characters to the item.
QUICK TIPS FOR NEW SUBMITTERS
1. We CURRENTLY do NOT accept SPORT CARDS or Miniature GAMING CARDS in the CCG/Gaming Cards SECTION. Non-sport, non-Miniatures only, please.
2. Double check the database before adding new information to it.
3. Do not submit scans with watermarks. Vertical format please.
4. Please note the differences between "Sets" and "Subsets".
5. No adult-material scans will be accepted.
6. Variants can be tricky. Promos are their own cover title.