Hearthstone, otherwise known as Magic the Gathering with half the rules and an actually good electronic version. Hearthstone as exploded in popularity in the last couple of years, and has also been released on multiple other platforms such as the IPad, android tablets and more recently for smartphone devices. Now, if you have not played hearthstone, you may not know what it is. Hearthstone is a card game with mechanics similar to Magic the Gathering, but simplified, set in the Warcraft universe. There are 9 different classes also from World of Warcraft, the warrior, the paladin, the hunter, the mage, the warlock, the druid, the shaman, the priest, and the rogue. Each class has its own unique set of cards as well as a class specific ability.
Now onto the topic of the blog. The phone version is functional. You can play just fine with the mobile version, the game runs smoothly with minimal interruptions. However it is harder to play with the multiple interactive game boards that merely serve to kill time while the other player is taking their turn. They offer no actual in game advantage, which is why I personally feel that limiting that specific mechanic is worth it, because otherwise you would have to shrink the board to fit in the whole thing. Instead we now have a more zoomed in board, making it easier for phone users to view the cards. This is only for phone users, PC users still have full access to the game board.
There is one problem with the dawn of the phone versions however that directly affects game play. When you are on your phone, you are likely to be away from your computer, you are likely to be doing something else or are on a short break. If you had access to the PC version, you would play it because it functions better, and constructing decks is less clumsy because you can simply click on a card to add it to your deck instead of swiping across the screen like your playing fruit ninja. Because it is more likely for people to be doing something else while playing the phone version, it is more likely that they would be interrupted, having them just sit there wasting their turn while the time starts to tick down. When a player is AFK it is not fun or enjoyable for either player. Sure, the other person can pick up an easy win or at least a free turn, but it still is not fun to wait while the other person is not even there.
That said, that is the only real main complaint I have with the phone version of Hearthstone. If the person is playing (which most of the time they are, it is rare for them to be completely AFK) the game functions perfectly fine. The only downsides come into deck construction because of the annoying habit phones and touchscreens have, you have to swipe everything. But, you can still build your deck, your deck is not limited if you are on the mobile version of the game. The actual problem I have with the mobile version comes into the UI. The UI is fine except for mana, sure it shows how much mana you have that turn, however, unless I missed the option, it does not display the amount of overload a player has. This only comes into play if you are facing or are a shaman that utilizes this mechanic. What overload is, is that some shaman cards are way too powerful for their mana cost, the way this is compensated is by restricting the amount of mana you can use the following turn. This comes into play if you are trying to determine the types of cards that the opponent can use so you can play accordingly. However, this can be avoided by simply remembering and using a bit of math. However we should not be forced to do this, it would be much easier if they simply added a 6/8 instead of putting a 6. If Blizzard implemented (which they do on PC) a 6/8 mana pool, in which 6 means you have 6 mana out of 8 total mana, this problem would be null and void. And while this is not a problem in case someone is a shaman, this is still a problem and a flaw of the port.
However, if you do not have access to the PC port, the phone version is perfectly fine and acceptable. Alright everyone, that is it for now. Have a good day.
Click this link to go to the official Hearthstone Heroes of Warcraft Website.
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