Steam Trading Cards are collectible cards you get by playing games on Steam. Collect a set of cards to earn items that help you customize your profile and show off your gameplay.

You can get trading cards simply by playing one of the participating games. As you play, you'll occasionally receive trading card drops which will be placed in your Steam Inventory.

Most games will drop a number of cards equal to about half the number of cards in that game's set of cards. For example, Half-Life 2 has 8 cards in its set, you can receive 4 card drops by playing it. You'll need to collect the other half of the set from other community members.

Once you have received all of your card drops, you become eligible for a booster pack, which is a set of 3 trading cards that may include both basic and foil cards. Booster packs are granted randomly to eligible users as more badges are crafted by members of the community. Make sure you log in to Steam each week to maintain eligibility.

Once eligible, your Steam Level increases your rate of receiving a booster pack drop:

Level 10: +20% increase in your drop rate

Level 20: +40% increase in your drop rate

Level 30: +60% increase in your drop rate

Level 40: +80% increase in your drop rate

Level 50: +100% increase in your drop rate (i.e. the rate has doubled)

Etc.

From your Badges page, the “How do I earn card drops?” window shows you how many card drops you have earned, how to get more, and if you are currently eligible for a booster pack drop.

There's a complete list of participating games available on the Steam Store.

A badge is an icon on your profile (and tied to your account) that represents the trading card sets you've collected or your participation in an event.

From your Profile page, click on the "Badges" link near the top of the right column or select "Badges" from your persona name drop down in the Steam menu. From your Badges page, the "Badges in Progress" tab will show which badges are ready to be crafted. Select a ready to craft badge to view its details and click on the blue "Craft a Badge" button.

From your Badges page, under the "Badges in Progress" tab select a badge to view the card set, including cards you own and cards remaining.

In addition to getting the Game Badge itself, you'll get:

a random emoticon item created for this game, that can use in chat or discussions;

a random profile background item created for this game, that can use on your Steam Community profile;

a chance to get a discount coupon for a different game or DLC;

100XP, which may increase your Steam Level;

If your Steam Level increases, the limit on the size of your friends list will be increased by five, and potentially you'll unlock the ability to customize your profile with showcases.

If you gather another complete set of trading cards for the same game you can upgrade that game badge. You can craft a set for the same game at most five times. Each time you upgrade the game badge you'll get an extra 100XP, as well as upgrading the image and title of the badge.

Your Steam Level is a summary of your badges and shows off your trading card collection and participation in Steam events. Each badge earned increases your XP, and every 100 XP gives you an added Steam Level (at least to start).

You can select any completed badge from your Badges page. Your featured badge will display at the top of your profile and in the mini profile you see when you hover over your avatar.

Yes, trading cards can be traded to other users and bought or sold on the Community Market.

Instructions and tools for trading cards can be found under the Community tab of your App Admin in Steamworks.

All trades are final; make sure you really want to make a trade before confirming.

When you get started, each badge you craft will increase your level. Most badges give 100 XP, and it takes 100 XP to get to the next level. The amount needed to level up increases every 10 levels, meaning after Steam Level 10 you'll need 200XP per level, after level 20 you'll need 300XP per level, etc.

The Steam Level is a quick way for users to see how much someone has invested in their Steam account.

You get more options to customize your profile, and the maximum number of friends you can have on your friends list increases.

The Steam Community badge, earned by doing some basic tasks on Steam, is the easiest way to get a badge. The Years of Service badge (granted on the anniversary of your account creation) will automatically give you more XP the older your account is. Special events on Steam also frequently have badges.

It's a way to customize your profile with the things that you find most interesting on Steam. There are a lot of showcases to pick from, including your favorite games, best achievements, screenshots, virtual items, among others.

Once you reach Steam Level 10 you can pick and customize a showcase from the profile edit page. Each 10 Steam Levels earns you an extra showcase, i.e. two showcases at Level 20, three showcases at Level 30, etc.

An emoticon is a small image, themed for a particular game, that you get from crafting a Game Badge. You can insert it in Steam chats, discussion board posts, comment threads, etc. You can see the emoticon in your Steam Inventory and you can trade it to other users, or put it up for sale on the Steam Community Market.

A profile background is a large image, themed for a particular game, that you get from crafting a Game Badge. You can select it to show in the background of your Steam Community Profile. You can see the profile background in your Steam Inventory and you can trade it to other users, or put it up for sale on the Steam Community Market.

There is a small chance whenever you get a Trading Card from playing a game that it will have a special foil border. You'll need to collect a set of foil cards in order to craft them into a foil badge.