Tag: Topps »

The arrival of Labor Day can only mean one thing: football is back! Yes, we've talked about global football on this site before since it returns sooner, but this time we mean American football in all its glory.

College football has been as wild as ever right out of the gate, with three top 10 teams falling in the first week and another one in a tough game as this post was being written. The 2016 NFL season is right around the corner too, kicking off Thursday night with a championship rematch.

The question is whether you're ready for the season. And we mean really ready. We'd suggest that that you aren't unless you're rolling with the right apps. We've got five free suggestions to ensure you're as prepared for football in every aspect as you could possibly be.

Can you smell that? It's the scent of pigskin in the air, which either means that cliches be damned, pigs are flying in your neck of the woods, or the new NFL season is right around the corner.

If it is indeed the latter. Topps wants to celebrate as only it knows how, by getting you into some sweet digital NFL trading cards of your favorite players and teams. There's a good chance it wants you to use the NFL Huddle app more than ever, actually, because the company no longer has a license to make physical football cards.

Not only that but NFL Huddle has gone all futuristic by updating to NFL Huddle 2017, a good year ahead of us. While this is customary in football circles (see also: Madden 17), we should note that the app has actually been given more than a fresh coat of paint for the new season.

Despite the obvious appeal of the WWE SLAM: Card Trader apps for fans of sports entertainment, it can be kind of a bummer when you open a bunch of virtual packs and can't find any of the insert cards you seek.

Recently, Topps has been doing more and more to fight this feeling by allowing users of all of its digital trading card apps to have a choice: Either spend small amounts of coins for just a chance at some of the cooler cards, or pony up more and get some inserts guaranteed.

The latest packs on WWE SLAM go one better, because they guarantee you one of the new Topps Heritage 2016 inserts. Styled like famous Topps Baseball sets of the past -- in this case, the 1986 Topps Baseball design -- these cards feature a mix of current superstars, WWE Legends, and NXT prospects, as well as digital relic and autograph cards.

Even as we move further and further into the digital age, the appeal of trading cards is still understandable. There's a natural inclination for all of us to want to collect something, even if the expense and physical space taken up by small pieces of cardboard is more difficult for some people to fathom.

Topps understands both parts of this dichotomy, which is why it's been pushing aggressively into the digital trading card space with apps like NFL HUDDLE and the more recent UFC KNOCKOUT. Now the company has turned its attention to the world of sports entertainment, releasing the WWE SLAM app this week.

Fans of the previous apps will find this one all too comfortable, since many of its core features are the same. For everyone else who's a fan of the WWE, trading cards, or both, here are a few reasons why you might want to check it out.

If you enjoy mixed martial arts, you'll want to check out UFC Knockout 2016. The latest of Topps' line of digital trading card apps -- which also includes apps for baseball, football (regular and American), Star Wars, and The Walking Dead -- it features all the stars of the UFC on a variety of virtual, collectible cards.

The app also has a fantasy sports element, as you can compete using the cards you have amassed, scoring points when those fighters do well in real UFC bouts. To take part in any of what the app has to offer, though, you're going to need coins, which serve as the in-app currency.

Hit MLB trading card game BUNT from Topps is a fun way to collect, trade, and play cards with what the company calls the "best baseball card collecting community in the world." The game has a wide variety of features, including real-time valuation, strategic trading with real people, an authentic collecting experience, and the wide variety of player stats that come with each card.

The app was recently updated to make the experience even better for 2014. The game's version 4.0 update comes packed with a brand new user interface, new gameplay features, a slew of new card types, and new fan metrics. Also, the update allows players to trade in higher volume; now up to up to 9 for 9 cards. You can find BUNT: The MLB Digital Baseball Trading Card Game on the App Store for free.

Spending a lazy Sunday afternoon plastered to the couch with an adult beverage in hand, while enjoying America's favorite pigskin pastime has become a critical strand in the fabric of our culture. Along with the sport itself, fantasy football is quickly becoming just as ingrained in the day-to-day lives of fanatics everywhere. What if there were a way that fans could meld the world of fantasy sports and social media together? The trading card company Topps has stepped in with their new hybrid application Topps HUDDLE to fill this critical void.

It is hard to define what exactly HUDDLE is as a piece of software. Is it a game? Could it be a social networking tool? Might it even be considered a research source for fantasy football owners? Ultimately, the aim is for this to be a fan's one-stop shop for football statistics, fantasy information, and up to the minute briefs on the biggest names in the National Football League.

The game portion of HUDDLE consists of initially acquiring "packs" of players, like in trading card packs, which makes complete sense given Topps' brand history. Each player in the pack is assessed with a plus or minus points value at the end of each week. These cumulative totals are used to compare against friends via Facebook, contact lists, or just strangers met at random. There is also a sit vs. start mechanic, where only seven active players can be selected per week. True to the freemium design model, additional packs of players can be purchased to further build out a roster.

While the game portion of the application is solid enough, where it will shine for fantasy owners is in the news section. Many of the daily ins and outs of the season will be constantly updated, including such juicy tidbits as injury updates, statistical analysis, and suggestions for budding players on the rise. For those that are fans of twitter banter, there is even an option to keep in touch with NFL standouts via their personal twitter profiles, all of which are seamlessly accessible from within the software.

Players also have the ability to trash talk, message amongst themselves and even swap players between rosters on Facebook. It pretty much goes without saying that there is a little bit of something for every NFL fan.

Trying to explain to someone what Topps HUDDLE actually is proves to be a rather tricky proposition. Though it attempts to fulfill the needs of several different types of fan, the lack of focus and direction ultimately renders the application/game a somewhat confusing amalgam of stats and social media. Fortunately the free cost makes the barrier to entry minimal, leaving it far more appealing to the masses. If given the chance, Topps HUDDLE could prove to be a strong mid-season replacement for your stat tracker of choice.

[gallery]