You can build a deck in three ways: combine 30 cards completely of your own volition, select some of the cards and then have the game make recommendations for you, or just let the game make an entire deck from scratch.Īt any point, you can view a mana curve of your deck, which is an absolutely essential guide to building 30 cards that work together properly. The hero abilities I saw were fairly mediocre, which is good the focus on a CCG should be on the deckbuilding experience and the quality of a player's deck.īuilding a deck has never been easier too, thanks to the incredibly easy UI. Each player has 30 life, and their selected hero has a special ability that can be used once per turn. A few cards grant you additional mana for a single turn, but generally a match plays out in a fairly stable, consistent manner. You start off with a single mana crystal on the first turn and you gain one extra every turn. Every card falls under one of three types - spells, weapons and minions (creatures) - and each card costs a certain amount of mana to play. It's an incredibly simple game to understand, and the crisp, vibrant card art explains everything you need to know. You then combine 30 class-specific and neutral cards to combine a deck, and then you face off against an opponent. Each player chooses one of nine heroes from the Warcraft universe: the Druid, Mage, Warrior, Priest, Warlock, Shaman, Rogue, Paladin and Hunter. So that's what the major PC developer has done with Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, an upcoming free-to-play title soon for the PC, Macintosh and the iPad later on. They take little time out of a person's day, can be easily viewed on a small screen, have low hardware requirements but still contain enough strategy and combinations to entertain over the long term.īlizzard are big fans of CCGs too, and with games like Magic: The Gathering enjoying a resurgence of late, it's a good time to get into the industry.

CCGs, for instance, suit mobile gaming perfectly. They're everywhere now, and for good reason. Not too long ago, I mused about the growth of collectible card games. Now it's time for Blizzard's contribution with Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. Collectible Card Games (CCGs) are everywhere these days, from your iPad to your console to your PC.

Hearthstone system requirements