Hearthstone Beta Impressions

I finally secured an invitation to the beta for Blizzard's new game, Hearthstone. I've played Magic: the Gathering for many years, so I'm very familiar with how collectible card games work, and they've done a great job at bringing the format to the screen. Probably a much better job than Wizards has done with Magic Online. It plays fast and is very easy to learn, with all of the concepts taken directly from World of Warcraft.

There is no trading or selling of cards in this game, so you won't see the gold farmers migrating in to make cash from this one. It also reduces the chance of people only buying the best cards in the game to use against you. You'll still be at a disadvantage to people who have spent cash, but players won't be buying packs only to flip them for cash. One aspect I do like is the ability to disenchant cards you don't want, turning them into dust, which you can then use to create cards you specifically do. 

You can play for free, but you also have the option to buy packs and arena tickets with real money. You don't need to buy them, but collecting them from currency won in the game itself will be painfully slow, and you will be facing opponents who have much better decks than you do.

It seems fairly fun, and to drop in and just play a few hands at any time will be nice. I just don't know how much long term enjoyment there will be, as some of the more complex mechanics from Magic are not there, so it may get somewhat repetitive after a while. It's free, so there's no reason not to jump in, at least for a while and try it out. The Battlenet friends list is fully integrated, so you can play against your friends easily enough.

I'm also playing Magic 2014 on my tablet, which is mainly a single-player experience, but it really offers some great game-play.

Random Thoughts for July

Well, I came off of our camping trip with a big high, having had a great time.  We cooked out, played a lot of Magic: The Gathering, and I worked on my guitar playing quite a bit.

The day after we get home, I slipped in the shower, fell, and broke my left ring finger. Shattered the knuckle.  I can't get health insurance until next February, so if I want it fixed properly, it'll run me more than $3000 in cash, all up front, which I don't have.  I bought a $3 finger splint in Walmart, and I'm doing a lot of praying that it will eventually bend ans function close to what it used to.

My guitar playing is on hold until I see how it heals, so dreams of a nice Rickenbacker will remain dreams.

My son Kyle came back from the Navy for a visit, and we all went down to the comic shop and played in the Magic: The Gathering tournament.  We all lost, but it was fun.  I'm just amazed that after all of the Pokemon, Yughioh, etc, and other games, the original is still going stronger than ever.  Trish picked it up really fast, and has become quite the opponent!

I haven't done much art lately.  I really need to get back to it.

The Magic Comes Back

So, I've got this camping trip coming up soon, and I'll be unplugged from the computer for a while.  I've been having this nagging urge to play some Magic: The Gathering for a while now, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get a few decks and start up again, just for fun.

Years back, I was in on the initial launch of Magic, when it first became a sensation, and you could hardly find it anywhere.  I had almost full sets of Antiquities, Legends, Arabian Nights - stuff only seen in dreams now.  I played this game when most of the kids playing it now weren't even born yet.

My collection has long since been sold off and I haven't really played in years.  My son has started though, and he's very enthusiastic about it.  I guess some of that rubbed off on me, and I decided to wade back in to the shallow end and see what the game looks like today.

I picked up a few Deck Builder's Toolkits.  One for me, and one for my wife Trish, whom I hope to be able to introduce to the game.  She's got a very good mind when it comes to puzzles and I think she'd be great at it.

I made some simple decks, and very quickly picked up the game again.  I lost every round but one.  It was great fun, and I still have 2 of my old classic decks, which I haven't dusted off, as I'm trying to get acquainted with the newer sets.  I see there's all kinds of Fat Packs and collections, plus an online version.  Lots to consider!

I'll post some updates from the camping trip and we'll see how it goes!