Today signals the launch of the first installment of Sony Online Entertainment's brand new online Star Wars trading card game, Champions of the Force. The game depicts the epic battle between the forces of good and evil using a set of over 250 virtually collectible cards. Play alone in solo-play mode or challenge your friends and enemies online in between bouts of whatever it is you SWG players actually do online.

Right now the SOE store has a deal where you can get the original game, The Rage of the Wookies and Jump to Lightspeed expansions and a starter deck for the card game for $14.99, with all paying subscribers receiving five free booster packs each month to help bolster their decks. Starters are available for individual purchase for $9.99, with boosters running $2.99 or $99.99 for a virtual box of 36 boosters. Honestly I am a bit hazy on how the whole thing works, so why not head over to the trading card game page and figure things out for yourself? May the force be with you and all that.

LUCASARTS AND SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT LAUNCH THE STAR WARS GALAXIES? ONLINE TRADING CARD GAME

The First Release of the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, ?Champions of the Force? Now Available

AUGUST 27, SAN FRANCISCO ? LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment announced today the launch of the Star Wars Galaxies? Trading Card Game and its first release: Champions of the Force.

Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game: Champions of the Force marks the first ever Star Wars® trading card game offered exclusively online. Available to both current and former Star Wars Galaxies subscribers*, the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game provides players an entirely new gameplay experience by combining the challenge of a trading card game with the adventures and community of the massively multiplayer game. For the first time online, players can:

* Choose between the light and dark sides of the Force and build their own Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game decks to fight virtual matches for the Rebel, Imperial, Jedi or Sith;
* Enhance their digital card decks with 15-card Booster Packs;
* Find more than 20 ?loot? cards in the first release, Champions of the Force, that can be redeemed for fantastic virtual items for use within the Star Wars Galaxies massively multiplayer game for players with a Star Wars Galaxies account*;
* Challenge their skills in story-based solo-play or against other Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game players in epic one-on-one matches, cooperative Heroic Encounters, and official tournaments.

In addition, all Star Wars Galaxies subscribers with current, valid, paid accounts in good standing are eligible to automatically receive five digital trading card Booster Packs each month included with their paid Star Wars Galaxies subscription at no additional cost, providing a simple way for them to quickly and easily build their decks.

More than 250 unique virtual cards are available for players to collect in the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, all of which feature beautifully detailed original Star Wars­ artwork depicting scenes from the story-based solo mode. In the story mode, players will battle through ten scenarios that revolve around an ancient Jedi holocron, the Codex of Tython, which players must work to reassemble and ultimately use against their enemies.

Anyone wishing to try the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game: Champions of the Force can do so at no charge through a downloadable trial that includes limited access to a tutorial and practice games with a provided virtual Starter card deck.

The Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game: Champions of the Force may be also be accessed from inside Star Wars Galaxies, including trial participants while taking advantage of the Star Wars Galaxies 14-Day Trial. This trial, offered at no charge for up to two consecutive weeks, also includes all the content of the base game, Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided? and its first expansion, Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed?. Available by download from www.StarWarsGalaxies.com, the 14-Day Trial gives players a chance to meet and fight with or against their favorite Star Wars characters as they explore this massive online universe filled with thousands of other Star Wars fans.

As a bonus for trying the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game: Champions of the Force, players are eligible to receive a loot card that can be redeemed in Star Wars Galaxies for the choice of either a Rebel or Imperial flight suit*. Plus, becoming an active, current, paying Star Wars Galaxies subscriber, after trying the Trading Card Game, offers additional benefits including:

* One Starter Deck of their choice: Jedi, Rebel, Imperial or Sith;
* A Cybernetic Experience Chip, which gives a 20% experience point increase that can be used up to 50 times in Star Wars Galaxies when redeemed*;
* The complete third expansion, Star Wars Galaxies: Rage of the Wookiees?.