does anyone here fond of playing magic the gathering?

Yes... In fact, Magic the Gathering came to be in the early 90s. It was designed by math professor Richard Garfield and acquired by a game company called Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) around 1993. Originally, the game started out with only one or two expansions (or new editions) per year, but that has increased throughout the years. I have played the game and collected the cards since 1994 or so, at one point having roughly between 21,000 & 30,000 cards. There have been stints off nightly games at my house off and on for years.