Pockets Full of Hearthstones: Blizzard's Warcraft-themed Online Card Game

I'm no stranger to the collectible card game. When I was a wee tyke, I played Pokémon, and as I grew I leveled up to Magic the Gathering. Falling into the deep pit of board gaming, I discovered other card games like A Game of Thrones and Netrunner. And while I probably own plenty of Pokémon and Magic cards, I can't say that I was ever deeply immersed into the hobby. I never competed, only played casually with friends and acquaintances. Only once did I purchase individual cards. Otherwise, my loot was had from booster packs and theme decks. 

So of course, I approached the Hearthstone beta with caution. Not for fear of getting sucked in, but concern of whether what I’ll get out of it if I remain a casual. Also, it’s got that dreaded tag of “free-to-play,” though the phrase seems to be losing its stigma after the acclaim of Dota 2 and Path of Exile. I make it clear to myself that I don’t want to spend any money on it. I’ve heard no word of it being pay-to-win sort of fare either, so the prospect of playing thriftily seems more and more positive. I give it a shot. I learn the mechanics quickly, either due to the game’s intuitiveness or my own past experiences of card games. It’s all familiar, but it moves with an even brisker speed than its distant analog cousin, Magic.

You pay for your cards with mana, and mana accrues with every turn. No one has to worry about playing cards just for mana—everybody’s in the same financial boat. Cards are tossed out more quickly as turns go by. Creatures attack other creatures or the other player’s hero who’s sitting pretty with 30 hit points. Those numbers drop fast, the same speed as everything else in this game.

There’s probably plenty of nuance to be found in the game’s mechanics, but as it stands right now it’s a charmingly simple game. I wouldn’t be surprised if a physical version of the game materialized in the next year, though I’d be surprised to see it outlive most of its competitors in the collectible card game market. Matches never exceed a half hour in my experience, and the practice AI offer a significant challenge for the uninitiated. It’s good fun, and did I mention the game is fast?

But there’s something keeping me from putting my head all the way under. I don’t return home from work and jump right on. Hell, I’ve only played one actual human and he happens to be a friend of mine. I want to like this game even more and give it as much praise as it deserves, but I still have unrealized hangups about the game so far. Have I even played it enough to be critical of it? I don’t dislike it, that’s for certain. But that’s about all I’m certain about.