The unkillable card game
I think we will see another boom in card games soon. Not a boom in speculative value, we're already at apex of that and it's dipping, but a boom in complete card games people regularly play.
When Magic came out it was designed to be a quick card game to play between your 5 hour D&D sessions. Card games should be quick to play, ultra portable, and simple to learn.
Commander throws this concept in the trash by being essentially a card based 4 way D&D session. The deck is a brick of 100 rare and mythic cards worth hundreds of dollars. They require dice, counters, tokens, sleeves, playmats, deck boxes, deck box storage, a backpack, uhaul... Then you have 4 players who need to spend fifteen minutes per turn to search their decks for something then shuffling, playing 1/1 token creatures for each land someone tapped last turn, shuffling, deciding who to target during a combat session. Starting the combat session. Backing out of the combat session because they didn't notice another players specific card that would mess up their amass orcs do while loop. Shuffling. Meanwhile everyone else at the table is waiting for this to end so they can do the same thing because nobody has enough blue mana out at the moment to stop them.
The same problem exists in videogames. Long story rich games are great when you have unlimited time to sit and focus and enjoy them. But in reality we start them up, play for 45 minutes then have to be somewhere or do something that takes us out of the game only to return a week or so later having forgotten what is going on.
I've noticed in the last year or so that even the games my kids play online are all quick match type games that can be done in less than half an hour. Stuff like Arc Raiders, Marvel Rivals, and Brawlhalla. That also includes online card games like Balatro and Slay the Spire.
About once a month I get a notification from a kickstarter campaign where a company has turned a longform videogame into a board game with a quarter million pieces, destined to deliver in 3 years. But board games require a bunch of people. Commander requires a bunch of people. MMO's required a bunch of people. D&D requires a bunch of people. All those people need to have a similar schedule with massive blocks of uninterrupted free time.
I can see a throwback to simple complete card games making a comeback. Not exactly a 52 card deck with an IP slapped on the back, but more like a set of extremely balanced cards. (I know there are deckbuilding games but those are closer to board games since you build the deck as you play.) Any deck of cards automatically injects the concept of randomization due to what cards you draw. That should be the basis of the card game and not the randomization of the cards from a pool of millions that you have to spend time constructing before hand.
(This is why I love jumpstart sets by the way. Two packs, mix together and play instantly. A flawless product.)
People have been playing card games for ages. A regular deck of playing cards can be used for several kinds of games, all of which rely on the luck of the player pulling or playing a specific card. Games like Magic have this stuff called bulk that are basically cards that are so common and specific or expensive to play that they aren't going to show up in any deck ever. If I take the 3 of clubs out of a deck of cards the whole thing is now out of balance. I need that 3 of clubs in there to play with the deck.
I think, that with the price of the latest AAA game being 70 Ameribucks and most people working longer hours, that the need for a cheaper, quicker game that is still fun to play anywhere with anyone is due for a comeback. Instead of a quick and easy game to play between your D&D sessions, it's a game to play during your lunch break.