UCT-ID for ST1E | openCards

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UCT-ID for ST1E

Definition: The Universal Card Tools- IDentifier for ST1E

The Universal Card Tools- IDentifier (UCT-ID) allows the precise identification of all cards belonging to game systems supported by openCards.

We put a special emphasis on the goal to gather (and make available to the collectors) all data on every single card ever published in a given game system, to designate them via our UCT-ID and thus distinguish them in an indisputable way.

We differentiate between the following characteristics of a card which can lead to the impression of a mere player that two cards are identical while an avid collector would insist on distinguishing them from one another.

  • Reprint as part of a later product or as promo card
  • Reprint in another print style (e.g. as foil card)
  • Reprint with new text (e.g. for a special event like a World Championship)
  • Reprint with new image
  • Reprint after an erratum (corrected game text)
  • Reprint with new border color (e.g. white border)
  • Reprint with changed copyright
  • Reprint in another language (not relevant for ST1E)

Often it is a combination of these characteristics that apply at a reprinted card. The definition we use on openCards is:

A card B is a reprint of an already existing (older) card A if both cards have the same game text (or card B an erratum of the game text of card A), and card B can be distinguished from card A with the help of at least one of the aforementioned characteristics.

In order to achieve this from the point-of-view of collectors, at openCards for one thing every card is distinctly designated with the help of the UCT-ID, and for another thing the section "cards" (in the Collector's Info) elaborates on any characteristics of any given card.

If reprints exist, they will be listed in the Collector's Info under the heading "reprint". The first or oldest of these cards will be designated as (for lack of a better name) "first print" (even if it is strictly speaking already a reprint).

Schematics of the UCT-ID

The UCT-ID is assigned after a certain pattern. We orientated the assignment of the UCT-ID as close as possible to the manufacturer's "Collector's Info" (in most cases to be found at the right side of the bottom edge of a card.) We changed or expanded this, whenever it no longer was sufficient for a clear distinction between "similar" cards. Therefore we added a short abbreviation for the game system to be able to differentiate all cards on openCards regardless of different game systems. The UCT-ID always starts with this game system abbreviation.

For Star Trek First Edition this means:

  1. "game system prefix" - for the First Edition 'ST1E'
  2. "expansion index" - ongoing numbering of expansions. For ST1E we started with the Premiere Edition (1) and went up to The Motion Pictures. As expansions we counted all cards sold in boosters (incl. Reflection). All other cards belong to so-called special sets and are designated by the expansion index "0" (zero).
  3. "rarity abbreviation" - C for common etc. See also our discussion of the First Edition rarities
  4. "ongoing index of cards within an expansion" - e.g. 11 for the eleventh card of an expansion. Cards are sorted alphabetically after card type [affiliation] and card title.
  5. ["addition to an expansion"] - optional, for ST1E this may be the white border reprint (1994 or 1995) or the silver border reprint (Collector's Tin) of the Premiere Edition.
  6. ["language abbreviation"] - optional, for ST1E not relevent, because all cards of this game system were printed in English language. With on little exception - a klingon card called Qapla'!

The schematic pattern of the UCT-ID is the same for every game system supported by openCards!