Current Steam account status
Current Steam account status
Most of the time it involves costs, but you receive very little in return.
In your Steam client, move your mouse to the top middle area and click on "Badges." You'll find the Badge Section, where you can view games that provide cards. Only a few cards are dropped per game, so play to collect them. Once you have all the needed cards, purchase the rest on the Steam market—it's affordable. After finishing the set for a specific game, return to the Badge section and see the "CRAFT" option. Crafting it boosts your Steam level and unlocks discounts, coupons, backgrounds, and emoticons. For card sets to level up, visit the provided website: http://steam.tools/cards/
Purchase cards, design badges, track game collections, years of contribution, Steam sales promotions, etc. In short, a significant waste of time and money with little real benefit beyond personal pride in reaching a higher level. Certain games offer badges quickly—just a handful of cards—but others, like Starbound, demand more effort. You typically obtain only a few, so additional purchases become necessary.
These games offer enjoyable alternatives to trading cards, such as Portal 2 and Goat Sim. Borderlands 2 provides opportunities to collect foil cards, which can be traded on the Steam marketplace. The earnings can help you purchase additional cards from the set. You'll receive steam emoticons and profile backgrounds for earning badges, which can also be traded to acquire more cards.