Card Hunter (2013)

Card Hunter gets it right in every which way that matters, and even in some of the ways that don't. It's geeky, goofy tabletop fun remade for the modern web browser: brilliantly designed, highly appealing and top-notch fun.

If you’re a tactics nut like me, Card Hunter is wonderful stuff. Deep, smart, and lovingly crafted - this is proof that free-to-play can work even without costumes and hats.

It’s even more remarkable that all of this exists in a browser-based game.

A must play for SRPG fans and wistfully nostalgic D&D enthusiasts.

Those interested in CCGs, but slightly daunted by endless rule sets, will find Card Hunter the perfect place to be. [Jan 2014, p.83]

It’s the early days of Card Hunter, but it feels charming and exhilarating, with the promise of co-op and new campaigns in the future. We’ve played with and without spending a dime, and while cash can assuredly speed things up, Card Hunter is a valid experience for penny pinchers and pizza lovers alike.

A truly magical fusion of tabletop RPG and CCG that’s only missing pizza and beer—and co-op.

Even with its frustrations, Card Hunter is easy to recommend to tactics enthusiasts. The charming nods to old-school dungeon crawls are spot-on, but the depth of the incredibly flexible combat system gives Card Hunter its legs. There’s even a well-designed multiplayer mode that lets you test your skills against fellow online players. The fact that Card Hunter is also a free browser-based game is icing on the cake, and a potent reminder that awesome games are cropping up in all sorts of unexpected venues these days.

Card Hunter is a remarkable and sophisticated casual game with a deep strategic soul. Unfortunately it lacks some options to personalize matches and involve other players in our own adventures.

Card Hunter is anything but inconsequential. It’s a top tier turn-based tactics game, a secret TCG, and the first RPG I’ve ever played to make a virtue of a generic fantasy setting. It’s the inspired XCOM variant that Space Hulk seems to have turned out not to be.

Card Hunter looks simple but it conceals a treasure trove of fun stemming from card combinations, RPG features and the multiplayer battlefield. [Nov 2013]

This is a game that takes its fantasy as seriously as it needs to be, which is to say both lightly and with rigour in homage to the communal games that make up videogames’ heritage. But it’s also a real original.

Card Hunter folds the best of card games and video games into a single experience. The combat and aesthetics all gel together in a unique browser-based game. Try the game, even if you’re not into board games, as it a should scratch the itch of anyone who is missing a polished turn based experience.

Card Hunter's fusion of tabletop role-playing games and trading cards is easy to get into and hard to pull away from.

Delightful and thoroughly addictive genre-blending fun teetering on the cusp of greatness. [Oct 2013, p.80]

If you've ever spent an evening huddled around a table telling tales of crypts and wyverns, I highly recommend that you give Card Hunter a shot. Even if you eventually hit a paywall, you'll have a ton of fun, and may even recall some of your fondest role-paying memories in the process.