Trying to get into a card game but don’t have time to go to your local hobby shop on Friday nights? Want to try something other than Magic: the Gathering? Here are some options.
Card Hunter: An 80s tabletop collectible roleplay card game (CCG) with a nerd-dom theme. Instead of making a deck from straight cards, it uses weapons and armor players find in dungeons or buy in-game. Weapons and armor have cards linked to them that can be used in a deck, while battle commences on a classic Dungeons and Dragons gaming board. You have a choice of class and race that determines how fast you are and how many hit points you have. There’s also a fun meta-plot about Greg, a player new to Card Hunters, trying to woo a nerdy pizza delivery girl who knows what she’s doing game wise. Greg’s older brother, a hardcore elitist Card Hunter player, appears from time to time to make fun of his little bro for being so new to the game.
Runescape: Legends: Based on heroes of the free-to-play massive multiplayer online game that you may have played in high school, Runescape: Legends is a one-on-one card game with a twist. Players build their heroes by fighting monsters or buying supplies over five game “chapters.” Players attack their opponents by making their monsters stronger or by attacking the enemy hero outright. The heroes you can choose from range from a young blacksmith to a life draining vampires, each with unique skills.
War of Omens: This CCG plays more like a deck-building game with collectible cards. Players have four resources: gold to buy cards, food to heal yourself and your minions, skulls to damage anyone without the use of minions and a magic wild card that can be used for any of the other three resources. Four different factions have different roles within the game: The vespitole fight with armies of people, while the metris focus on spying and intrigue. The game has a tournament mode, a semi-complete story mode and matchmaking.
Hearthstone: Think World of Warcraft (WoW) with a good sense of humor. Players pick one of nine classes with different hero powers. The warlock is all about sacrificing health and sapping the life out of opponents. The hunter can shoot opponents directly once per round and summon animals to fight for him. Gameplay is interesting as every turn you gain mana to unleash powerful minions and spells. There are single-player dungeons based off old WoW dungeon raids that you can open with in-game or real world money, and weekly challenge games.
Urban rivals: A manga-themed CCG and one of the oldest ones on the web. The game is about factions trying to take control by the use of superpower “pillz.” Decks are a minimum of eight cards and the goal is to bluff your opponent to waste pillz so you can hit them harder next round. But be aware: your opponent is trying to make you spend fewer pillz so they can come in for the kill. The colorful range of clans include peace-loving hippies to surfer bros to mutant talking animals from the remains of the city zoo. With a choice of single player missions, ranked matches and full-on tournaments, this is a CCG to check out.
