What is Hearthstone? To put it bluntly, it's a card game where you try to bring your opponent down from 30 health to none using an assortment of cards that are either secrets, spells, or minions. To me, Hearthstone is more than just an exciting card game- it’s an exciting card game that you can play in your free time.
That might sound strange, but think about it! How do you play cards in your free time when you’re at the dentist’s office, in a parking lot, on an airplane, or in the middle of the sidewalk? You make it virtual. Now you don’t have to buy and lug around packs of cards that awkwardly don’t fit in your back pocket like your phone does. Now you don’t even pose the risk of losing a card and ruining a whole set. Virtual cards can’t be creased, wetted, burnt (hey, some people get crazy with their free time), or dirtied.
Another interesting feature of Hearthstone is its limited communication between players. The game offers a set of 6 very PG emotes that you can send to your opponent, but there is no messaging between players unless you have added them as your friend. This prevents cheating, spamming, flaming, hacking, and other problems that can arise in card games. The limits imposed on the communication forces some people to be creative in getting “heartfelt” messages across the board, ultimately giving the game a unique experience and a little charm of its own.
The style is interesting, and so is the format of the game itself. You might think that a card game couldn’t get cooler, but it does- and it does by a lot. Hearthstone adds the neat little twist of being able to play as a certain class. There are 9 classes in total, each with their unique set of cards and a Hero Power made accessible only to their particular class: Mage, Warrior, Warlock, Shaman, Paladin, Hunter, Druid, Rogue, and Priest. Each hero power has its benefits; for instance, a warrior’s hero power is adding two armor once a turn. With armor, you can protect yourself from enemy offenses. You can also synchronize the amount of armor you have with specific cards that utilize it to advance you forward in the game.
The game is so complex because of the wide array of cards that set up a game you won’t experience twice and the playstyle. Some decks might be based around a singular card, but when the match starts, you are the one that chooses how and when to play them. Such a flexible game that continues to modify by the years is one that I will probably carry with me into the late future. Consider trying Hearthstone, and maybe like me, you’ll find yourself in unlikely places during your free time playing a card game.
