Card games are a relatively new phenomenon in the video game category. We’re not talking about solitaire or spades, although those count too; we mean the in-depth games with complex rules and tons of cards to collect and show off.
There are a lot of high profile options on the Play Store, so we sifted through what’s on the market to find the best card games available to download and start playing.
There’s a huge variety of card games to play here, if you’re looking for something that’s a step up from your standard solitaire games. Most of these have some serious RPG elements, but others are a little more casual to pick up and play when you don’t have too much downtime. Read on to see what’s available.
Hearthstone
As far as popularity goes, Hearthstone almost certainly takes the cake in the battling card game category. It’s made by Blizzard and isn’t ashamed to take cues from its bigger, overarching universes, especially from World of Warcraft, which makes for an exciting but familiar game.
You’ll start your journey with a premade deck and sets of cards, which you’ll use to battle AI opponents or other players. Winning games nets you more cards and in-game currency, and you can break down duplicate cards for extra currency to get even more cards. It has all the fun qualities of collectible card games from your childhood, without it being absolutely necessary to spend real money. You can skip a lot of grinding if you open your wallet, however.
Blizzard keeps the game fresh with a constant stream of fixes and updates, and a weekly tavern brawl keeps the games exciting with new rules and challenges. You can build tons and tons of different decks to suit a multitude of play styles, which also helps to keep the fun going.
It’s free, so it’s absolutely worth checking out for anyone that’s into Blizzard’s usual style.
Play Store Download Link | Free
Gwent
There’s no shortage of CD Projekt Red fans in the gaming industry, and they managed to capture a lot of attention with the Gwent card game in The Witcher 3. If you spent more time collecting and playing cards than slaying monsters, you’re not alone.
So of course they made Gwent a standalone game. You can download it on your phone and get a revamped version of the game from The Witcher, which is considerably more in-depth with significantly more cards to collect. The cards play into the lore of the franchise, too, which should appeal to fans of the trilogy and books.
Gwent also functions a little differently than other battling card games, since you can play pretty much any card right out of the initial draw, instead of waiting to build up enough mana or energy to play stronger cards. This makes games move a little faster, which might work out for someone on a time crunch that still wants to get a few rounds in.
It’s another free one on the list, so check it out if you’re a fan of side quests and collectibles.
Play Store Download Link | Free
The Elder Scrolls: Legends
The Elder Scrolls: Legends is currently kind of a mixed recommendation, but it’s a very solid and still active game nonetheless. The game has shifted developers and has seen quite a few updates, but development has discontinued and outside of patches Bethesda isn’t anticipating any more content coming to the game.
With that being said, if you’re looking for something to really settle into without dealing with frequent meta changes, it’s a good option. Like Hearthstone, you start with a basic set of cards and can play other people or complete story missions to gather more cards and resources. You can get some specific, exclusive cards through Bethesda’s well crafted story and puzzle missions, or just rack up gold in the arena to buy more packs and decks.
While the game itself doesn’t shake up too much of the standard card battle formula, having that Elder Scrolls skin on everything makes for a pretty fun experience for any fans of the series. And there’s no shortage of expansions to play through right now, so it’s certainly worth checking out at its free price tag.
Play Store Download Link | Free
Eternal
If you liked The Elder Scrolls: Legends, you might also want to check out Eternal. It’s actually made by the original developers, Dire Wolf, before things shifted over to Sparkypants and eventually discontinued.
With that being said, it’s certainly a game that feels more like Magic: The Gathering than ESL, but built for a digital experience. It also attempts to merge a traditional RPG with card battling mechanics, delivering a diverse experience with random boss battles and complex AI on top of quicker matches and rounds.
Plus, there’s a big selection of cards to play with, and Dire Wolf continually updates the game with more content. All the cards can be obtained in-game without spending real money, too, although like most of these games, it’s still an option if you’re crunched for time and really want that new thing.
Play Store Download Link | Free
Solitairica
If you don’t have time to play a big, in-depth collectible card game, you can get some of that complexity in a more bite-sized package with Solitairica. Like the name implies, it spins the typical solitaire experience into something much like an RPG dungeon crawler.
You can play with different decks with differing abilities, and your goal is to win a game of solitaire. It’s not that simple, obviously, because you’ll be battling monsters that change up the rules. Those monsters will try and damage you to end your run, but you can use some of your own abilities to counter it and stay alive. Additionally, you can purchase upgrades in between battles during each run, which include better cards, skills, or items.
There are also a variety of decks that play differently to try and beat the game with, which offers some decent replayability. Throw in a couple DLC card decks, and you’ve got a good time.
Solitairica costs $3.99 for the full game.
Play Store Download Link | $3.99
RogueJack
Maybe you’re more into casino games than some of these other card games. Don’t worry, we’ve got something for you, too.
RogueJack combines a rogue-like dungeon crawler experience with blackjack. It’s a little more simple than a big card battler with different sets of cards and decks to collect, but it does the RPG genre much better than any of these, too.
You’ll start off fighting low-level monsters in a dungeon, but you beat them by playing quick blackjack rounds with them. Win the round, and you do damage and win. Beat more monsters, collect more stuff, and go deeper in the dungeon. Do a little better each time and make it further and further while scratching your blackjack itch with none of the potential losses.
It’s fun and slower paced with no timers, making RogueJack a very good option for short burst sessions, plus it’s free to try.
Play Store Download Link | Free
