How to Organize Vintage CCGs with Pirate Pete Collector

Oct 14

4 min read

A box of cards is fun. Trying to remember which cards are in it? Less fun—especially when you come home with another copy of something you already own.

Pirate Pete Collector helps you keep track of your vintage CCG collection, including the out-of-print games collectors often call “dead CCGs.” Whether your binders are full of Star Wars CCG, Star Trek CCG, or another old favorite, you don’t have to enter everything tonight. Grab a small stack from one set and start there.

For this walkthrough, we’re using a few cards from Star Wars CCG: Hoth. The main walkthrough uses the Stellar Rebellion skin, so your colors may look different.

Download Pirate Pete Collector for iPhone and iPad on the App Store, or get it for Android on Google Play.

Screenshots in this guide show version 2.0.7. Menus may differ if your app store still offers an earlier version.

1. Start in the Card Library

From the Home screen, tap Pirate Pete Card Library. Search for your game—in this example, Star Wars CCG—then tap its name under Browse games.

You can browse and record cards without signing in. We’ll come back to accounts and saving your collection at the end.

Pirate Pete Card Library with Star Wars CCG search results and the My Treasure Chest button in the Stellar Rebellion skin.

Search for your game in the Card Library. My Treasure Chest is also on this screen.

2. Pick the right set

Open Hoth from the set list. You can scroll through the cards or use the search box if you already know the name.

Take a second to check the set and printing. The same card name can appear more than once in the catalog, and you want your collection to match the copy in your hand.

Star Wars CCG Hoth card list showing the LP-NM condition selector and individual plus and minus quantity controls.

The Hoth list puts the condition selector and each card’s plus and minus buttons in one place.

3. Add what you own

Choose the condition above the card list, then tap + beside a card to add a copy. The starting condition is LP-NM, so check that before adding a worn card.

For our little starter stack, add one Admiral Ozzel, one Anakin’s Lightsaber, and three Blizzard 2. Three copies means three taps on the plus button beside Blizzard 2.

Use the controls beside the individual card. The +1 Set button is for adding a whole set, which isn’t what we’re doing here.

4. Open a card and choose its condition

Tap Commander Luke Skywalker to open the detail screen. Here you can take a closer look at the card, check its set, and change the condition before adding it.

For this example, choose MP and tap + once. You now have one moderately played Commander Luke Skywalker alongside the other cards you entered.

The condition choices are LP-NM (lightly played to near mint), MP (moderately played), HP (heavily played), and DMG (damaged). Choose the one that fits your actual copy.

Commander Luke Skywalker from Hoth on the card detail screen, with MP condition selected and one owned copy.

Commander Luke Skywalker, recorded as one MP copy.

5. See everything in My Treasure Chest

Go back to the Card Library and tap My Treasure Chest. Choose Owned, then open the game and set to review your cards.

After the steps above, you should have six copies across four different cards. Blizzard 2 has three copies; the other three cards have one each. Commander Luke’s row should show MP.

This is a good point to compare the list with the cards on your table. A quick check now is easier than trying to remember what you entered later.

6. Traded or sold a copy? Remove it.

Let’s say one of those Blizzard 2 copies goes to another collector. In My Treasure Chest → Owned, find Blizzard 2 and tap − on the correct condition row.

That takes it from three copies to two. You’re left with five copies across four different cards, as shown below.

My Treasure Chest Owned list with five Hoth cards: one Admiral Ozzel, one Anakin’s Lightsaber, two Blizzard 2, and one MP Commander Luke Skywalker.

The updated Owned list after removing one Blizzard 2.

You’ll also see PP Market and PP Buy figures while browsing. PP Market is an estimate; PP Buy is separate and depends on what Pirate Pete is buying. The amounts in these screenshots are examples and can change.

7. Save yourself some re-entering

Once you’ve entered a stack you don’t want to type in again, create a backup: App Options → Backup & Restore → Backup file → Create backup. Keep the file somewhere you can find it again.

If you use more than one device, an account also lets you set up collection sync. Sync currently covers collection names and Owned quantities and conditions. Decks, Trade/Wants, graded cards, and history aren’t included in that sync, so don’t treat it as a backup of everything. Signing in alone doesn’t restore a collection.

Pick a skin you like

The blue screens in the walkthrough use Stellar Rebellion. Prefer something different? Open the Home screen’s three-dot menu → App Options → Appearance → Skin and choose a look you like. Changing the skin changes the appearance without changing your collection.

Here are two more options, shown with a separate demonstration collection:

Pirate Cove skin in My Treasure Chest, with warm brown and gold colors around a demonstration collection.

Pirate Cove: warm colors and a classic pirate look in My Treasure Chest.

Arcane Academy skin in Binder Mode, with a navy and gold nine-card page from Star Wars CCG Premiere Limited.

Arcane Academy, shown in Binder Mode with a nine-card page.

One stack at a time

That’s enough to get started. Add a few cards, check Owned, and update the counts when cards come or go. Once that feels familiar, try Binder Mode, build a deck, or start a Wants list.

Ready to give it a go? Visit the Pirate Pete Collector app page for download links and more information.