First trading card game patent

According to Official Guinness Records,

On 2 September 1997, Richard Garfield, inventor of the Magic: The Gathering trading card game, was awarded US patent 5,662,332 (A) for “the trading card game method of play”. This was the first trading card game patent ever awarded.
The patent defines the TCG as “…a novel method of game play and game components that in one embodiment are in the form of trading cards (10, 12, 40, 42, 44, 48, 54, 60, 64). However, the game components may take other forms, such as a board game, or the game may be played in different media, such as electronic games, video games, computer games, and interactive network.”

For a complete list of 1997 records, please visit 1997 Guinness Records in United States.

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