What Happens if You Go Over the 7 Card Hand Limit?

If you have more than 7 cards in your hand at the end of your turn, you‘ll need to discard down to 7 in most classic card games. The exact impact depends on the game‘s rules – you may just have to pitch excess cards, or you could suffer other penalties.

Let‘s analyze how today‘s top card games handle hand size limits and what goes down when you bust through 7:

Hand Size Limits in Popular Card Games

Here‘s the need-to-know on hand size restrictions across favorite titles new and old:

Magic: The Gathering

• Normal Hand Size Limit: 7
• Impact of Exceeding: Discard excess cards of your choice at end of turn
• Other Hand Impacts: Various cards can temporarily increase size limit

Since launching nearly 30 years ago, Magic has stuck firmly to 7 as the standard hand ceiling. They‘ve printed 100+ cards allowing you to briefly break through 7, but otherwise it‘s perhaps the most rigid restriction among contemporaries.

Pokemon (TCG)

• Hand Size Limit: None
• Impact of Exceeding: You can hold as many as you want!
• Other Hand Impacts: Trainer cards occasionally cap opponent‘s hand size

Pokemon laughs in the face of limits – build up a towering hand if you can manage it. With no hand size checking in sight, you‘re free to stockpile cards for that ultimate combo. Certain cards have tried to intervene by restricting enemy hands, but your own mitt remains limitless.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

• Hand Size Limit: 6
• Impact of Exceeding: Nothing specified in rules
• Other Hand Impacts: Effects often modify hand sizes

Despite pioneer Magic‘s lead, Yu-Gi-Oh forged its own path from the start with just 6 hand slots. And like Pokemon, nothing happens when you pump past that. Combined with the many effects that directly tickle hand counts up and down, hand freedom thrives here too.

Why Do Most Card Games Top Out at 7?

If you peek at the classic games, 7 proves the magic number time and time again. Where‘d this strange cap come from to dominate the last 20+ years?

Strategic Balance

Most game theorists argue 7 hits the strategic sweet spot that meshes complexity with accessibility in card games. Any lower and your decision-making feels limited – beyond 7 and each turn slows down exponentially.

Mirrors Physical Reality

Pure physical and ergonomic reasons suggest why 7 took over. Try holding more than 7 cards fan-style in one hand…it gets messy fast! Keeping things tidy with 7 made sense.

Strong Statistical Power

The math also backs the power of 7. Running probabilities, most poker hands have largely leveled out in power by 7 cards. And with just 32 starting cards in games like Magic or Rummy, 7 gives you options without revealing majority of cards immediately.

But Why Do Some Games Break from 7?

If 7 is so magical, why do some outliers like Pokemon let you grab a mondo fist of 15+? Or how has Magic lasted so long strictly limiting hands?

Game Genre Conventions

Games that took 7 as gospel tended to be those focused on tight, back-and-forth action like Magic. But slower, long-view games like Pokemon favored stockpiling resources. Genre conventions pushed certain styles of play.

{{Image: pokemon_hand.jpg|Pokemon allows for massive card hands with no limits.}}

Design Attitudes

Additionally, company design philosophies contributed. Pokemon‘s Nintendo heritage focused on player freedom rather than rules. But Magic‘s Garfield valued structure akin to a "writer forced to be concise." These views seeped into card ceilings!

Recent Trends Shake Up Hand Orthodoxy

While 7 maintains its hold as the hand limit to beat, shifts in recent years show more games embracing sprawling hands:

{{Table: Hand Size Creep in New Card Games}}

As this table shows, modern digital-first card games like Marvel Snap comfortably start players off with large double-digit hands rather than measly 5s.

Even indie darling Exploding Kittens adopted an unlimited philosophy like Pokemon right from the bat. And the smash hit Gloomhaven abandoned hand orthodoxy entirely, allowing a wild grip of up to 19 cards!

This data reveals a clear trend – contemporary card game developers feel less beholden to the rigid 7 standard when concocting new games.

So while 7 stays etched as the historical gold standard, never-before-seen flexibility now defines what‘s possible for maximum mitts. Expect even zanier starting and ceiling hands as designers keep innovating!

In Closing

I hope this tour from hand size law through trends shaking up conventions gives you new insight into card gaming‘s seedy underbelly!

When in doubt on what happens if your nextclimbs over 7, first check for clear rules in the game itself. Just pray you didn‘t pick up Pokemon on your turn!

And keep watching this space as the next generation of card games rewrite what‘s possible for hand freedom and flexibility. The only limit is their imagination!

What surprises you most about hand size limits across top card games? Let‘s keep the discussion going over on the Infinity Cards Forum!