Award-winning Mission: Madagascar and Mission: Costa Rica make great green and educational gifts for the Holiday season.
Following the success of fellow Puget Sound-based trading card companies Wizards of the Coast and Pokémon, Seattle-based Matter Group LLC will show off the first two collections of its new award-winning trading card game Xeko (pronounced Zee-ko -- www.xekogame.com), Mission Madagascar and Mission Costa Rica, at the Green Festival San Francisco.
The game works because kids are more likely to pay attention to the fates of places and animals they've heard about, and a collectible card game was a natural choice for introducing wild creatures and their habitats in a compelling and memorable way
Green Festival is one of the nation's largest environmental expos. Some 35,000 people visit the expo, where attendees can learn about more than 200 businesses and hear top environmental speakers at San Francisco's Concourse Convention Center.
The Xeko trading card game launched earlier this year, and has since landed national awards and recognition, including The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval and a Parents Choice Award™. Creative Child Magazine also gave Xeko a 2006 Toy of the Year Award.
Xeko entertains kids while teaching them about animals. The game introduces them to biodiversity principles and takes them on an adventure to some of the most remarkable places on the planet.
Xeko involves collecting and trading cards to create a custom library and using the cards to match wits and hidden strengths against opponents. Xeko casts animal species as the heroes on vibrant, beautiful cards and bases game play on ecosystem relationships. Energy points dictate an animal's strength, and combined with the special powers contained in Boost cards, determine the winner in turf wars.
"The game works because kids are more likely to pay attention to the fates of places and animals they've heard about, and a collectible card game was a natural choice for introducing wild creatures and their habitats in a compelling and memorable way," said Amy Tucker, Xeko's creator.
Tucker was inspired to create the game after she learned about Conservation International's work on behalf of the global environment.
Matter Group (as in "the earth matters to us") has pledged four percent of net game sales to Conservation International, and helps take care of the environment by printing its cards with soy-based ink on 100 percent recycled paper.
Xeko is available in specialty stores, catalogs, and websites. Visit www.xekogame.com/stores to find a retailer or to purchase online. The Xeko Mission: Madagascar Starter Set, which includes two card decks for two players, an oversized game mat, and play guides, retails for $19.95; the Xeko Mission: Costa Rica Starter Set, which comes in a collectible storage box, retails for $29.99 and includes a CD with screen saver and other extras. Xeko Booster Packs of nine cards are $3.99. While younger kids can play and enjoy the game, Xeko is targeted at ages 8 and up.
For more information on how to play or where to buy Xeko, visit www.xekogame.com.