5 Free-to-Play Digital Card Games You Should be Enjoying Right Now

Scratching the itch for fun social interactions, seemingly limitless replayability, and over-the-top strategic thinking, digital card games have undoubtedly found their niche in the gaming realm. There’s just something magical about the combination of testing your wits against other online players in a predominantly free-to-play (F2P) platform all while praying to the cyber Gods and dealing with the dreaded random number generator (RNG) monster. It also helps that despite the limitations in terms of face-to-face, peer-to-peer interaction, these online casters still find ways to create and cultivate a thriving community.

With this in mind, here’s an overview of the five F2P digital card games you should be playing right now.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is arguably the “Godfather” of digital card games. Game Rant shared that, on Twitch alone, the Blizzard online card game has more than 7 million followers, thanks to its mostly uninterrupted gameplay along with its aesthetically pleasing art. Here, players outwork each other mainly using custom meta decks from nine different classes; with regular updates to keep the game fresh, exciting, and competitive. Over the years, Hearthstone has established itself as a fixture in the professional eSports scene, as well as regional multi-sport events in Asia.

Magic: The Gathering Arena

If Hearthstone is the “Godfather” of online card games, Magic: The Gathering is the "Grandfather" – the real OG of the collectible card game genre. Since its debut in August 1993, it has gone through a handful of digital iterations, with Magic: The Gathering Arena being the latest, most successful to date. It features the core set, as well as all the cards in the Standard format, giving online players the same excitement of a traditional round of Magic in a more convenient F2P setting.

Clash Royale

Considered as the “little brother” of the widely successful mobile game, Clash of Clans, Clash Royale is Supercell’s take on the online card game genre. App Samurai details how the game offered a distinct out-of-the-box concept, which helped them progress from being an extremely unique version of strategy and deck building to becoming a worldwide phenomenon. It helps that developers effectively adapted characters of an already-flourishing mobile game, into an easy-to-learn yet complex digital card game.

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game is similar to the aforementioned Hearthstone and Clash Royale in the sense that they’re all expansion from highly successful games. Our very own NoobFeed Senior Editor, Adam Siddiqui, reported how the new online card game by CD Projekt Red will lean more towards the PC and mobile versions for more efficient development. The piece even suggested that console users, Playstation 4 and Xbox One, migrate their accounts to PC and/or mobile before June 9, 2020. With an added focus on the more popular mobile version, look for Gwent to slowly creep into the consciousness of digital card gamers in the coming months.