Several years ago when I started this blog it was actually a dedicated Magic: The Gathering blog, but I quickly rebooted it as my gaming interested snowballed into video games, board games, and miniatures. Even though there has been nary a peep about Magic since I rebooted it in the past few years, it’s not for a lack of love of the game. In reality, Magic is probably my favorite game of all time, at least in the abstract. I just sort of burned out on the grind of keeping up with the latest releases.
Why bring this up now? Because I’ve discovered Blizzard’s Hearthstone. I feel slightly late the party on that one, because it’s been in open beta for months, but all of those “free-to-play” banners might as well have read “this game has herpes” for all that I care about free-to-play games in general. That all changed when all in one week I read Michael Barnes’s ringing endorsement of the game, my good friend said it was a stone cold masterpiece, and it dropped on the iPad. So I downloaded it. And it is a masterpiece of gaming.
The game itself should be familiar enough to anyone who has even a passing familiarity with Magic. In fact, if I were Wizards of the Coast I’d almost suggest having their IP lawyers sharpen their knives, because Hearthstone is SO very nearly Magic, but the differences are nonetheless crucial, and excellent.
Overall, it feels like someone at Blizzard basically made the decision to “fix” Magic. Now, I don’t think Magic is broken, but plenty of people have been turned off by the potential of getting mana-screwed to the point of not getting deeper into the game, or even leaving it behind.
The first thing that should be said about Hearthstone is that it is essentially Magic but with an automated mana curve that taps out at 10, gaining one crystal (or land, essentially) per turn. This simple difference has a ripple effect throughout the rest of the game design, but it also fundamentally makes Hearthstone a game of tempo management in a way that Magic rarely is due to Magic’s inevitable asymetry of mana resources between players in a game.
The removal of land cards from the game in favor of an automated also means that decks are 30 cards rather than 60, and also interestingly restricts card multiples from 4 to 2.
Magic’s concept of Planeswalkers is also translated into Hearthstone’s hero class system, where instead of summoning allied planeswalkers in games, you yourself are represented by having specific hero attributes, and access to class specific cards. The hero class can also be seen as a replacement of Magic’s color system.
I could frankly go on and on about the game, but it’s free to play, available on all operating systems and iPad, so if this piques your interest in the slightest, I suggest you try it out yourself.
One last word about the cost of the game: this is a free-to-play done right. I promise you that you won’t feel exploited or compelled to spend to win. You will be matched with players of a similar skill level, and due to Blizzard’s nearly unparalleled experience in setting up balanced player networks for Starcraft, Hearthstone’s player-to-player interface is wonderful. You can gain cards simply by winning more at the game, and you can enjoy yourself simply by going through different classes and unlocking all of their basic cards. If you do end up feeling compelled to spend a little money on the game, you can spend as little as a few bucks, and given how much care and attention went into Hearthstone’s design, I’d say you’ll feel good throwing a few coins in Blizzard’s direction.
Expect regular Hearthstone articles here henceforth, insofar as I “regularly” post here. Heh.