Magic: The Gathering, first published in 1993, spawned an entire genre of collectible card games in which players collect cards and compete against each other with customizable decks. Like many traditional tabletop and board games, collectible card games are making the jump to digital; titles such as Magic 2015 provide impressive mobile ports of a traditional game, while games like SolForge and Hex take advantage of the digital format to introduce new gameplay innovations to the genre. Check out eight of our favorite digital card games below, from venerable collectible card game (CCG) classics and deck-building upstarts to new, digital-only experiences.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (iPad) (Free, in-app purchases)
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is that rarest of species: a fun,
free and fair digital collectible card game. Players take on the role of
the great heroes (and villains) of the Warcraft universe such as
Thrall, Jaina Proudmoor and Gul'dan, engaging in epic duels and
summoning allies and minions into the fray. Hearthstone features simple,
easy-to-learn rules and full cross-platform play with PC and iPad
players. Players earn gold that can be spent on booster packs or in the
Arena mode, a special "sealed draft" format that rewards canny deck
building and smart play.Blizzard is busy pumping out more expansions and tweaks to the game. The Curse of Naxxramas expansion adds new challenges and cards to shake up the metagame, and the incoming Goblins vs. Gnomes expansion is due in December. A smartphone version is in the works, expected to hit Android and iOS app stores early 2015.
MORE: Hearthstone for iPad Review
Magic 2015 (Android, iOS) (Free, in-app purchases)
The venerable Magic: The Gathering was a groundbreaking hit that
spawned an entire genre of collectible card games, and is still going
strong today. While its complex rule set doesn't always translate
incredibly well for online play, Magic's digital incarnations are
getting progressively better with each iteration. Magic 2015 is a great
place to get started, with the free app featuring a detailed gameplay
tutorial and a challenging single-player campaign to get you going. A
major improvement in Magic 2015 is the ability to completely customize
your deck with cards earned in play or purchased through booster cards,
allowing you to truly make your deck your own unique creation.Recent updates to Magic 2015 have tweaked the pricing structure of in-app purchases and extra content, allowing players to unlock more cards through play, as well as providing a new campaign featuring the planeswalker Garruk.
Pokemon TCG Online (iPad) (Free, in-app purchases)
The Pokemon video games also spawned a wildly successful trading card
game that draws in fans both young and old with its simple but
competitive gameplay. In an amusing twist, a card game born from a video
game is now getting its own mobile port, closing the circle with the
Pokemon TCG Online app for iOS. This game allows players to learn the
basics of play with starter decks, as well as engage in head to head
battles with AI and human opponents in order to unlock new cards and
decks. Players can eventually build their own decks, as well as apply
cosmetic changes to the appearance of their cards, deck boxes and
avatars.
Ascension: Chronicles of the Godslayer (Android, iOS) (Free, in-app purchases)
Ascension: Chronicles of the Godslayer sports an impressive pedigree,
with Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Champions Justin Gary, Rob Dougherty
and Brian Kibler contributing to the original game's design and Playdek
in charge of the mobile app. It shows, as Ascension is easily among the
most polished digital card games in the Android and iOS app stores. A
fantasy deck-building card game, players start with a limited set of
cards, and then slowly build up a repertoire of heroes, mystics and
constructs, as they compete against other players and monsters to earn
victory. The game features a well-scripted tutorial, beautifully
detailed cards, varied AIs to play against and support for asynchronous
multiplayer. The base game is free, but further expansion packs are
available as in-app purchases.MORE: 12 Best Android Gaming Emulators for Retrogaming
Star Realms (Android, iOS) (Free, in-app purchases)
Rival interstellar empires clash in Star Realms, a lean and mean
deck-building card game that takes the action to the stars. Starting out
with a small clutch of scout ships and fighters, players race to draft a
variety of warships, freighters and starbase cards from various
factions as they outwit and outfight each other in a battle for
dominion. Easy-to-learn rules combine with solid deck-building mechanics
and a tricky faction combo system to provide short but intense games.
Star Realms provides a basic campaign and AI skirmishes for free, with
an in-app purchase unlocking more campaigns, tougher AI foes and support
for asynchronous and pass-and-play multiplayer.
SolForge (Android, iOS) (Free, in-app purchases)
Another card game from Stone Blade Entertainment, the same studio
behind the physical version of Ascension, SolForge shakes up the basic
formula of card battle games by adding a positional element and taking
advantage of the digital card format. As with many other card battle
games, players in SolForge try to reduce their opponent's life to 0 by
launching attacks with creatures. SolForge adds an interesting tactical
wrinkle by having five "lanes" where you can deploy your creatures to
attack or block, as well as a card-leveling mechanic that players can
use to improve their units in play. SolForge's easy to learn but
tactically challenging rules and sleek digital presentation easily earn
it a slot in our favorite digital card games.
Hex: Shards of Fate (Desktop) (Free, in-app purchases)
Hex: Shards of Fate succeeded with an ambitious Kickstarter that
aimed to meld together the traditional collectible card game genre with
elements from MMORPGs, and the results have been quite interesting so
far. Hex takes many of the basic rules and concepts from games like
Magic: The Gathering while working in refinements that take advantage of
Hex's digital nature, such as double-sided, transforming cards and a
gem socketing system reminiscent of Diablo. Still, Hex's core ruleset is
so derivative of Magic: the Gathering that it's landed in a spot of
legal trouble, with Magic publisher Wizards of the Coast engaging in an
ongoing legal battle with Hex Entertainment.
Card Hunter (Desktop) (Free, in-app purchases)
Where Hex melds RPG elements into the trading card game genre, Card
Hunter takes the opposite approach, introducing elements of card
management and deck building into a tactical RPG. Players take command
of a party of fantasy adventurers plundering dungeons and fighting
monsters by taking turns playing action cards to move around a tactical
map. Players can then customize each character's equipment, with
particularly potent weapons, armor, or magic items adding rare and
powerful action cards into an adventurer's action deck.Card Hunter's easy-to-grasp but tactically challenging gameplay is accompanied by a cartoonish art style, as well as writing that evokes the early days of games like Dungeons & Dragons to provide a friendly, nostalgic feel. While Card Hunter is browser-based, its developers are working on an iOS port under the title of Loot & Legends, which is now accepting beta sign ups.
Digital card games are undergoing something of a renaissance, with stellar examples such as the ones above, and the mobile app stores are filled with great examples out there. Have any favorites that you want to share with fellow readers? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below.
