Hearthstone - I know you're playing it
1I'm not a CCG gamer, but I love Dominion. I've always wondered what about CCGs interested people. The barrier to entry is very high for what appears to be very little reward. Hearthstone scratches the curiosity itch for me. My investment is low (time only), and I am matched up well enough that it's not constantly infuriating.
Biggest downside so far has been friend-play. The regular 1v1 modes (Play & Arena) do a good job of balancing my investment (again, just time) with the rewards (cards, in-game currency). The friend play does nothing. The two friends I play against are poorly matched (one much better in skill and cards, one equal in skill but fewer good cards). There are no rewards, no wagering, and the play doesn't count towards quests. Basically, there's no reason to play against a friend.
So, who wants to add me? fgarriel@gmail.com
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I was in the closed beta for Hearthstone and sunk a considerable amount of time as well as some cash into it. I played Magic: The Gathering on and off over the last 15 years or so and do enjoy CCGs, but the cost and having to actually carry and store all of the physical cards as well as difficulty finding (normal-ish) people to play with made me play less and less.
I really loved Hearthstone and think it gets the formula for a digital CCG exactly right. Everything is designed very well and it's just plain fun. I stopped playing because I just kind of overloaded on it, I was playing every night for a few hours instead of in small bite-sized chunks which is how I feel it's meant to be played.
To your point about playing with friends not giving rewards - it's true but the reasoning is the massive amount of exploitation that would occur if any tangible rewards were given. Having worked in the games industry, you can never underestimate exploiters and hackers.
When I played with friends it was solely for fun and for testing out random deck ideas.