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 Hearthstone and SolForge take advantage of the digital format to introduce new gameplay innovations to the genre. Check out 10 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 (Android, iOS)
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. 2016's release of the Whispers of the Old Gods expansion marks the introduction of a new "Standard" format that helps level the playing field between new and old players.
Magic Duels (iOS) & Magic 2015 (Android)
The venerable Magic: The Gathering was a groundbreaking hit that spawned an entire genre of collectible card games, and is still going strong. Magic Duels on iOS is the latest digital version, featuring a detailed gameplay tutorial, as well as a challenging single-player campaign featuring Magic's iconic planeswalkers. As you play, you earn new cards and coins with which to customize your deck. Magic Duels also features online play, as well as the hit Two-Headed Giant teamplay mode. Android players are stuck with Magic 2015 for now.
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 (Android, iOS) 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.
Pathfinder Adventures (Android, iOS)
Pathfinder Adventures (Android, iOS) is the digital port of Paizo's Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, a curious mixture of deck-building and role playing game. Pathfinder Adventures is a co-op deck-builder, with each player's deck representing a fantasy adventurer's weapons, gear and other special abilities. Players use these to defeat a series of themed location and quest decks. The app takes full advantage of the digital medium, with animations, backgrounds and cut scenes, while also sidestepping the intricate setup of the paper game. The app includes both single player and pass-and-play coop modes, with the full Rise of the Runelords campaign available as an in-app purchase.
Dream Quest
Dream Quest's art looks more like a kid's coloring book than a premium iOS game. Dig deeper, though, and you'll find an enthralling mix of deck building and roguelike dungeon crawling. Starting out with a basic character and a beginner's collection of cards, players explore dungeons, find treasure and unlock new cards to improve their decks. Do well, and soon, your character deck will be running like a well-tuned engine, and you'll need to do just that in order to defeat Dream Quest's ferocious boss battles. Death may be permanent. But do well, and you'll unlock achievements that provide lasting bonuses, secret characters and other extra content.
Ascension: Chronicles of the Godslayer (Android, iOS)
Ascension: Chronicles of the Godslayer (Android and iOS) 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.
Star Realms (Android, iOS)
Rival interstellar empires clash in Star Realms (Android and iOS), 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)
SolForge (Android and iOS) shakes up the basic formula of card battle games by adding a positional element and taking advantage of the digital card format. Players try to reduce their opponent's life to zero 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.
Card Crawl (Android, iOS)
Card Crawl (Android, iOS) is a fast-playing solitaire card game that's all about risk and reward. As an adventurer crawling through a dungeon, you must make it out of a dungeon alive carrying as much loot as you can carry while fighting your way through a mob of monsters. Each round, you're dealt a spread of four cards, which can be gold, equipment like swords, shields and potions, or monster cards which deal damage to you unless you use equipment to take them out. Simple rules, challenging play, and neat art make it a great pastime, with each game playable in 2 to 5 minutes, ideal when killing time in a line or commuting.
Clash Royale
Supercell's free-to-play Clash Royale (Android, iOS) may be a surprising addition to a list of old-school cardgames, but it features a cool mix of card management and tower defense, all within tight, 3-minute rounds. Using a variety of unit cards played on a tower-defense style map, players must carefully balance offense and defense in quick-play rounds where a single misplay can swing an entire match. That said, it is free to play, so expect some grindyness as you slog through matches in order to earn reward chests (which you must also wait to unlock), unless you shell out cash for premium currency.
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