Trading card

Not to be confused with Trade card.

A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card which usually contains an image of a person, place or thing (fictional or real) along with a short description and other text (e.g. attacks, statistics, or trivia). They can be collected as a hobby, and some are used to play games. Trading cards are or were often included with certain retail products (e.g. cigarettes, bubblegum, and packs of tea).

Multiple different cards within the same category are typically issued, which can be collected and traded to create complete sets. When distributed individually they are known as singles.

Trading cards are particularly associated with sports (e.g. baseball cards), but can cover numerous other topics such as cartoons, comic book characters, television series and film stills.

In the 1990s, cards designed specifically for playing games became popular enough to develop into a distinct category, collectible card games. These games are mostly fantasy-based gameplay. Fantasy art cards are a subgenre of trading cards that focus on the artwork.

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