Your kids (or you, for that matter) may already be familiar with the massively multiplayer online game MapleStory, but if not, imagine Yu-Gi-Oh! with anime-style cuteness to match its deadly force, and you're halfway there.
Now, with the rollout of its MapleStory iTrading Card Game, Wizards of the Coast has introduced a line of Internet-linked trading cards to supplement the MapleStory universe -- and if you're thinking to yourself this is just way too much geekdom for one person to handle, your kids probably disagree. Integrating the game's online world with a new, offline one, MapleStory iTCG offers codes that players can redeem for online rewards and virtual game experiences (from new quests to virtual pets), as well as an expanded gaming experience. If that's too unwieldy for their age range, kids can also use the cards to play turn-based games much as they would with Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh! -- or, if they're like my brood, they can just collect 'em with no concept of either the offline or offline gaming complements.
The MapleStory iTCG Starter Set is available for $9.99 basically anywhere your kids can lure you away from the checkout counter, including Wal-Mart, Target and Meijer Foods, while booster packs are available for an additional $3.99 each.
