Cards and Castles

CCGs are quite popular nowadays, especially since they went digital. MTG and Hearthstone are the most recognizable games in the genre, but there are many other options out there if you are interested in slightly different concepts. However, it would seem like most other clones are designed in a rush and suffer from the pay-2-win syndrome, which drives players away in a rush.

Cards and Castles does not look like much at a glance, but it quickly shows you that it’s a class above most CCG attempts out there. It’s grid-based rather than the regular cards on the table approach from games like Hearthstone, but that only means you get to experience the action a bit more hands-on. You also have to take positioning into consideration, otherwise it doesn’t matter how strong your deck is.

Speaking of which, creating a deck is half the battle, because you depend on it to make any kind of move on the battlefield. You can only draw cards from the said deck, so it’s important that you have everything you might need during combat. There are multiple factions to pick units from, and they all have special abilities that come in handy in certain situations.

As mentioned before, movement is important. The goal is to destroy the enemy castle, which is on the other side of the grid. Every unit can only move a couple of tiles per turn, so you need to calculate your steps wisely. Some of them have ranged attacks, but the range is not long enough to stay out of trouble most of the time. There are spells you can cast as well, which thankfully don’t care about distance.

In the graphics department, the game is as colorful as it gets, and it should run on pretty much any system from the last couple of years. The artwork is funny and smooth, not to mention the fact that each unit is unique and pretty detailed. Maybe the environments could have used a bit more work and dedication, but you won’t have time to study them closely anyway.

In the end, Cards and Castles is much better than most Hearthstone alternatives out there, and it is also pretty original theme-wise. The grid-based gameplay adds yet another layer of strategy on top of the CCG element, which means that you are free to put even more tactics into practice.