It's pretty obvious that Bella Sara isn't targeted at what people would label as the “typical” gamer. The booth at Gen Con Indianapolis was frilly and purple, equines danced and pranced to music I personally wouldn't be listening to, and when you look at the cards they're not what you would expect from a “TCG”. What Bella Sara does do is break new ground in the field of collectible gaming, and creates a brand new market niche that has proven to be a vast and devout group of players.
Bella Sara is a collectible card game based on horses and myth, and as such it targets (mostly) girls from ages 5 and up. The main component of the game is the fact that each card has a unique code on it that allows it to be entered into the
www.bellasara.com website. Entering the code not only opens up that character or card, but also can open up certain activities and games online.
Unlike other TCGs, the cards in Bella Sara don't function as a unique game unto themselves. Instead, the cards are adorned with several different symbols and icons that allow you to play versions of other typical card games you would play with a standard deck of cards (or Uno-like games.) The first few packs that I opened had rules cards for Leonardo's game, a fairly typical symbol-matching game, and Moonlight's Game, a modified Slap Jack game.
Another unique part of the game is that what would typically be flavor text in other card games is instead replaced with quotes of positive messages, such as “It is not what you do but who you are that is important,” and “Be the hero in your own story.” This has been a big selling point for the game, and it has won numerous awards for its efforts.
Left – Card Icon Examples, Right – Message Example
The artwork on the cards is also very well suited to the target consumer. The horses, castles, princesses and other characters are all very beautifully painted, and along with the messages add to the sense of wonder that the game evokes. A foil Fiona certainly brought a smile to my daughter's face. (Although the online versions of foils are no different than the regular versions, they are still nice to collect.)
Speaking of foils, Bella Sara is collectible in the fact that is has rarities to the cards, some are rarer than others and foils are extra rare. In theory the cards are tradable also, but be sure to trade with someone you trust. Once a card's activation code is used, there's no way to redeem it online again. It can't be transferred, and you're stuck with just the physical version of that card.
Before we go any further, I do have to say that my initial reaction when seeing the cards was a bit of disappointment, as they looked more like board game cards than your average trading card game. They felt a bit thinner and the distinct lack of card or rules text on the face surprised me. But upon learning about the various 'side' games you could play I understood the icons, and after several shuffles and test games I can say that that the cards seem to stand up to constant use just fine.
Product Shots
The Bella Sara Website
To get a little better perspective on the game, I opted to invite my 11 year old daughter and my 4 year old niece in on my review. (The suggested range of ages for this game of 5-12 is pretty dead on, as my niece appreciated the cards but probably shouldn't play all of the online features without supervision, and my daughter seemed to be on the cusp of the threshold at the top end.)
Both girls seemed very excited at having a card game made specifically for them. They both had obviously heard and seen TCGs from both myself and from school, and my daughter even went through a pretty obsessive Pokemon phase. My niece enjoyed looking at the cards more than anything, though she did like the online stable but couldn't really play all of the game. My daughter mostly enjoyed entering in the cards to obtain the online bonuses, and played the activities for a few hours once she had her packs entered. Unfortunately, she really didn't use the physical cards much after entering them other than looking at the card art from time to time.
As a parent, I was particularly encouraged by how safe and secure I felt having both children online at the Bella Sara site. When both girls registered, I received an email stating their privacy policy, and giving me a link to edit their account settings for access to the site. (A very nice feature is the ability to set a time limit for access to the site, it certainly came in handy for me.) The site is also very easy for both girls to navigate, but also seemed to have enough features to engage both ages.
Bella Sara is currently into its third set, Northern Lights, adding to the Base Set and 2nd Series. Northern Lights added several new aspects to the game that makes it more attractive to the male player, namely the norse horses that wear armor and carry weapons for their riders such as Thor, Viking and Firewalker. The set also included items that can be used to decorate your online stable, such as gnomes and lamps. Unfortunately, the packs no longer include game hint cards, so the best way to ensure that the cards themselves get used is to make sure each player has opened several packs of the first two sets.
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Presentation Rating = 9.0
The cards are a bit lighter than typical trading card games, but are very nicely produced with artwork that is very appealing to its players. The corresponding website is also very well organized for younger visitors, and the parental controls and privacy allow access for all.
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Gameplay Rating = 6.5
Bella Sara itself isn't really a game, but a collection of mini-games. When taken together they provide enough entertainment but none in and of themselves are a true “collectible card game.” Even the online games do not seem unique enough to warrant a higher rating.
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Support Rating = 8.0
The online aspect of Bella Sara shines here, both in the amount of features it offers to its gamers and for the parental supervision and ease of mind if offers. The card game itself doesn't offer much support, but it really doesn't warrant any.
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Innovation Rating = 9.0
While none of the gaming aspects of Bella Sara are particularly innovative, the genre, presentation and uniqueness of its online features really set the game apart. As one of the first trading card games specifically targeted at girls, it does an amazing job of putting together a number of ideas and applying them to accessories that make the cards work in ways previously unseen. The only thing that pulls this score down is that the games that actually use the physical cards have all been done before.
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