Buying a game entitles you to earn some cards for that game. This amount is roughly half the number cards available. Merely loading up the game on Steam is enough for cards to begin dropping, though it can take an hour before you see one. It is possible to get multiples of the same card (all three of my Don’t Starve cards were the same).

Once all you cards have dropped, the rest must be traded for or bought, unless you are lucky enough to get a booster pack. These packs are given to random people as the community craft more badges.

When a set is collected, you can craft a level one badge. Further sets of the same cards increase the level of the badge. Badges give XP which raises your Steam level. The higher your level, the greater your chance of getting a booster pack is.

I do not play Steam games either but since I have come as far reading this editorial, I’d like to finish the job by understanding it all. Thanks, Imitanis.

I imagine this will be useful if you’re the kind of person who is constantly buying stuff on Steam, or looking for deals so that one has more excuses to buy stuff on Steam, but I’ve learned my lesson. I have around a hundred Steam games, and I play precisely four of them.