Hearthstone is a free-to-play online card game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is playable on computers, tablets, and smartphones. Launched on March 11, 2014, the game has passed 20 million players as of September 15, 2014. Nearly 200 new cards have been added to the original 378 through two solo adventures and one expansion set.
What kind of game-play can you expect? As a card game, it has turn-based strategy gameplay. There are two players per match – you and an opponent. There is the random chance element that many card games have, but because the game is entirely electronic, it can do more with the random mechanics. This is executed very well by the game and leads to some very fun and exciting moments.
Not all the cards are available as soon as you start playing, as some must be unlocked through play or bought in random packs. This raises the question: is it really free-to-play? While you certainly can unlock everything by not paying, it takes a long time.
It is not required for you to pay real money at any time within this game, but it can increase the enjoyment you get out of it. For example, the two solo adventures can be unlocked by paying roughly $40. If you wanted to unlock both adventures just by playing the game, it would take about 90 days of playing every day for about an hour.
Is Hearthstone worth your time to try out? There are many experiences Hearthstone offers that other card games simply cannot because they’re made of paper. It is a very high quality card game and worth playing through the tutorial even if you have no experience with card games. It has very simple and intuitive rules that can be learned in under 15 minutes.
Despite being easy to pick up and play, it does not lack depth. It is great fun playing as a new player and as a seasoned one. This game is definitely worth trying if you enjoy card games. I even recommend it if you have never played a card game before.