2012 Rittenhouse Game of Thrones Season One Trading Cards

Product Review

2012 Rittenhouse Game of Thrones Season One Product Review

Reviewed by Ryan Cracknell

Good: Massive autograph checklist, nice variety of inserts, goes in-depth into the show's maze of characters.

Bad: Top autograph signers are tougher to find, not a huge fan of the base card fronts used on the character profile cards.

The Bottom Line: This is the first set in over a decade that my wife has shown even the smallest amount of interest in. As a non-collector, she instantly recognized the high-quality production values used throughout. She also appreciated the depths to which the release went. 2012 Rittenhouse Game of Thrones Season One "gets" its subject matter right. If focuses on the right things and ultimately adds to the lore and legend of the show. It comes with a loaded checklist that shows a wide variety of styles and technologies. And while some of these styles work better than others, Rittenhouse has produced one of the hobby's most rounded entertainment trading card sets of the year.

Card Design: 4.2/5.0

Just about everything in 2012 Rittenhouse Game of Thrones Season One looks fantastic. The cards take an elegant look throughout that seems fitting for the show. What stood out most to me was how every insert had its own distinct look and feel -- literally. It's most obvious on the die-cut The Houses cards that use a matte card stock shaped like a flag. What might be more overlooked are the Quotable inserts that come with a smooth, almost satin, finish.

Autographs have two different designs, both of which provide the perfect balance of photo space and white space for the signature.

Base cards have two different designs. I love the horizontal look of the episode recap cards. The images on the fronts are nearly all in perfect focus. Card backs offer both a second photo and a lengthy writeup, something that's very necessary for a show with so much happening.

But the episode cards make up less than half of the base set. The other cards have character profiles.The massive borders and fonts don't match up with the rest of the set and look off. At least for the regular cards. For whatever reason, these cards look much better on the foil parallels.

Checklist: 4.5/5.0

What more could a collector ask for? As far as autographs go, nearly every main character has at least one. And we're not talking a Friends-like group that could sit on a couch. One of the things that sets Game of Thrones apart from other shows is its dizzying cast size. To get so many of the key players to sign is an impressive feat. Many signed using both styles as well.

And while I don't have a problem with multiple autographs styles to cut production numbers for individual cards, I think it would have been nice to present them further in advance. It's been done for years with the various James Bond sets. Also, while none of the signers are terribly rare, the biggest stars have just one card. Thus, their signatures are much harder to pull. It also makes getting two lesser characters in a box very possible. But, 2012 Rittenhouse Game of Thrones Season One is about so much more than just autographs.

The base set structure is perfect. Given that the first season has just ten episodes, stretching out an entire 72-card set would be pushing it. It would make selecting quality images that much tougher and thin out the text on the back.

By dedicating so much of the set's checklist to the characters, it adds a level to both the cards and the show. For me, I now have a handy guide when I get mixed up as to who is related to who and who wants to off each other.

Value: 4.0/5.0

2012 Rittenhouse Game of Thrones Season 1 has so much happening. The many insert sets help maintain a nice balance between rarity and attainability. Because nearly everything is attractive, I do have an urge to go after all of it, particularly the basic inserts. That's something I rarely feel.

And while I prefer equal numbers when it comes to autographs, I understand that making some a little tougher helps a set out in the long run. And it's not like we're talking five copies or even 100. Each individual pack-inserted autograph has between 300 and 500 copies. Given the popularity of the show, that's not a ton -- individually. The secondary market may see a small glut of the less desirable signers as some people dabble in the set and don't chase it all, but it should be enough to absorb over time.

Again, it comes back to aiming for that balance of keeping things rare enough to maintain value, yet attainable enough to encourage people to want to collect.

The Fun Factor: 4.5/5.0

I'll be up front and admit that a lot of my fun opening 2012 Rittenhouse Game of Thrones Season One came from being able to share the experience with my wife. While she tolerates my collecting, it just doesn't appeal to her. But given the subject matter that interested her, we had a rare moment of sharing the hobby together. I see collecting as a social experience so it was definitely a highlight for me.

But if it were another solo break, I loved mulling over all the different designs and reading over the text. More than once I went back to my insert pile mid-break to look over the artistry used in some of them.

2012 Rittenhouse Game of Thrones Season One worked so well for me on so many levels. And although I hope and expect a few surprises for the inevitable set for season two, I think I'll be perfectly happy even if there aren't any tweaks.