Playing magic abroad
The Kitchen Table forum
Posted on April 10, 2023, 9:49 p.m. by wallisface
Hey folks. Just wondering if anyone here has had any experience playing magic in foreign countries (specifically one where you don’t speak the language) and how easy/practical that has been.
I’m going on a trip to Japan later in the year and hear that they have nightly tourneys in some cities. I was thinking of bringing a Modern deck with me and giving it a go, bit wondering how stressful the language barrier might make things.
If i do bring a deck, i’m going to try bring one with relatively simple interactions (likely mill).
So, has anyone had any experience playing abroad? How’ve they found it, and what should i be aware of going into this?
If anyone’s specifically played in Japan i’d also love to hear more about how that went.
wallisface says... #3
I don't know any Japanese, and planning to try a competitive tourney, if its viable. I think competition level play might in theory be easier than casual anyway, in that the cards are mostly well known and the lines are fairly straight-forwards. The problem is that even if I pick an easy to-portray deck, the opponent might have something complicated.
From what I've heard they still a lot of English cards over there, so that might lend itself to being easier than I'm anticipating, or just giving me a false sense of security, idk.
April 11, 2023 6:24 a.m.
YoungSinatra1 says... #4
In Japan English is spoken a lot more commonly than you think. and the opponent just so happens to not speak English Google translate helps lol.
April 11, 2023 10:44 a.m.
As far as playing a game in Japan I have no idea... but I have family that have traveled frequently to Japan and in the cities and tourists areas restaurants and such English is a non issue.
But flashcards something pre written with and English phrases and Japanese translation can also be very handy for some things.
legendofa says... #2
I"ve played one match in a foreign country, but it was one where English is regularly spoken, and the cards were in English, so I got by. Leading into my follow-up question, do you know any Japanese? If you learn at least a couple of Magic-ese phrases in Japanese (combat step, untap, mill ten cards, etc.), you might be able to communicate enough to play a quick, fairly casual match.
April 11, 2023 1:17 a.m.