Scrolls

 PC
  • Publisher: Mojang AB
  • Release Date: TBA - Early Access
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 46 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 46
  3. Negative: 9 out of 46
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  1. Riveted
    Dec 23, 2014
    8
    Scrolls is a surprisingly deep tactical card game. Units are placed on the board, and you then have to manage positioning, attack countdowns, board modifiers, creature buffs and debuffs, unique abilities, and attempting to guess what your opponent is going to do next. This isn't so much a traditional card game as it is a complex chess match.

    For those who enjoy tactical games, this is    Scrolls is a surprisingly deep tactical card game. Units are placed on the board, and you then have to manage positioning, attack countdowns, board modifiers, creature buffs and debuffs, unique abilities, and attempting to guess what your opponent is going to do next. This isn't so much a traditional card game as it is a complex chess match.

    For those who enjoy tactical games, this is an absolute must to play, but it is rather hard to get into. Currently there are 360 cards in the game, and each of them have their own rules that affect the match in a different way. For example, one creature might have to wait 2 turns to attack after it is placed on the board, another will be able to attack as soon as it's played, while yet another will only attack after you have played 'x' number of creatures after it. Having to remember how each card works is quite a challenge for a new player, so many early matches involve using the entire 90 second turn to figure out how to react to an opponent's play. This means that matches between new players can take up to an hour sometimes, which turns off a lot of people. Comparatively, a normal match between players who know the rules, and their decks, takes an average of 15-20 minutes.    … Expand
  2. RedMattis
    Dec 19, 2014
    6
    Scrolls has a ton of cool cards, cool game design ideas, and a terrible pacing. The game was during the beta a chore to play, and it remains a chore to play with some matches seemingly dragging on forever.

    A simple comparison to Magic the Gathering. A magic the gathering a strong slowly kill the enemy enchantment might deal 4 damage to the enemy player per turn out of probably less than    Scrolls has a ton of cool cards, cool game design ideas, and a terrible pacing. The game was during the beta a chore to play, and it remains a chore to play with some matches seemingly dragging on forever.

    A simple comparison to Magic the Gathering. A magic the gathering a strong slowly kill the enemy enchantment might deal 4 damage to the enemy player per turn out of probably less than 20 hp. In scrolls a similar card randomly deals 2 damage to one out of five 10 hp idols, killing them in anywhere from 15 to 22 turns. To make matters worse interrupting this kind of combo is easy with most decks in scrolls, while setting it up can be difficult, making players only very slowly wear each other down.

    The unit gameplay is similarly slow, and games can drag on forever as you both try to whittle down the units of the other side in order to chip away at the enemy's idols.    … Expand
  3. NrpTheNinja
    Dec 15, 2014
    10
    Scrolls is an great, deep strategy game that I recommend to everyone! At the very least you can try the free demo version and get hooked. At only 5 USD, Scrolls offers enough content to keep you occupied for a long time. You will have fun collecting all the Scrolls, beating trials, and unlocking achievements. What sets Scrolls apart from other TCGs is the board. It adds a whole newScrolls is an great, deep strategy game that I recommend to everyone! At the very least you can try the free demo version and get hooked. At only 5 USD, Scrolls offers enough content to keep you occupied for a long time. You will have fun collecting all the Scrolls, beating trials, and unlocking achievements. What sets Scrolls apart from other TCGs is the board. It adds a whole new element of strategy, and the little creatures look awesome as they are summoned too! The game has a lot of social aspects like chats, trading with other players, and multi-player quick and ranked matches for a high replay value. I've been playing Scrolls for a year and a half and I still can't get enough of it. The people in the community are incredibly nice and helpful compared to other games too. Fun, varied gameplay will have you Scrolling for months!… Expand
  4. TastyWheat
    Dec 16, 2014
    9
    Surprisingly deep TCG with board game elements. It has an extensive demo, and at $5 for the full purchase, it's hard to beat. Mojang has really done a great job here. In many ways it's not your typical TCG. Board position is a crucial element, and it makes the game feel more like a clever mashup of Magic: The Gathering and Plants vs Zombies than a Hearthstone competitor. Definitely checkSurprisingly deep TCG with board game elements. It has an extensive demo, and at $5 for the full purchase, it's hard to beat. Mojang has really done a great job here. In many ways it's not your typical TCG. Board position is a crucial element, and it makes the game feel more like a clever mashup of Magic: The Gathering and Plants vs Zombies than a Hearthstone competitor. Definitely check this one out.

    Microtransactions are there if you want to get a jump on your card collection or avatar customizations, but Mojang has done a really good job of avoiding a pay-to-win scenario. Everything you can buy with real-money (shards) is available for in-game currency (gold) at reasonable prices, while many more items are gold only, including booster packs. The all-important "Black Market" in-game trading platform is gold only too.    … Expand
  5. Tb87670
    Jan 27, 2015
    0
    Terrible game. It seems cool, you get that feel like when you collected cards as a kid and got excited to see what you got until you realize nearly a good quarter of the cards are near-useless or underpowered. Then you get into the game and realize there are literally nerds running rampant with their spreadsheets making decks that are minmaxed for the current balance of the currentTerrible game. It seems cool, you get that feel like when you collected cards as a kid and got excited to see what you got until you realize nearly a good quarter of the cards are near-useless or underpowered. Then you get into the game and realize there are literally nerds running rampant with their spreadsheets making decks that are minmaxed for the current balance of the current version. This isn't as bad as the fact that you buy the game and literally have to grind like it's an F2P game, after you already paid for it. This would make me upset if I got this game for more than the $1 I paid for it.

    To top it off bad community. They say they are nice but bring up any flaw in the game that is obvious and they turn into furious fanboys and viciously attack you. These people must be mad they invested so much time during it's beta and so much money just for the game to release in such bad shape. Literally the #1 killer of this game though is decay. The most overpowered deck. For 1/10 the cost of what your enemy spent you can wipe out a whole row of enemy units, decked out enchanted and whatnot. Or for a small price you can temporarily negate the attack of your enemy during their turn when their attack counter is ready, turning an expensive unit into a weakling with no attack for 1/5 the cost of said unit. Even worse is a better version called languid which PERMANENTLY knocks 2 damage off a unit's attack for very little cost. Again, taking an expensive unit and making it as weak as a smaller cheap one for less cost. The balance issues are so glaring and the idiotic fanboys keep saying it's fine while using nothing but decay to win over and over and over. I got it for a buck, I got a buck of enjoyment and had to take several bucks in pain relievers because of all the BS that entails this failure of a game. Shame Mojang chose to work on this over Minecraft, this is so terrible. By the way don't listen to the 10 scores, if you read them you can tell it's biased non-real reviews probably by paid Mojang team members.    … Expand
  6. iScrE4m
    Dec 15, 2014
    10
    Strategy, CCG, collecting, awesome community, hardcore gameplay, big esports potential. Those are just few things that define what Scrolls is. With amazing development team behind it I have high hopes for Scrolls future.
  7. Shiny
    Jan 2, 2015
    10
    I really love this game. It combines a traditional card game with a board game mechanic, that makes this game very strategical.
    You build your deck and start a game, place units, cast spells and enchanments and try to destroy the oppenents idols, while keeping your own safe.
    At the beginning you start with just one Growth Starter Deck. So, what to do? You can play Trials, which have    I really love this game. It combines a traditional card game with a board game mechanic, that makes this game very strategical.
    You build your deck and start a game, place units, cast spells and enchanments and try to destroy the oppenents idols, while keeping your own safe.

    At the beginning you start with just one Growth Starter Deck. So, what to do?
    You can play Trials, which have custom rules. Beating them not only rewards you a lot of money, but alos shows you the mechanics of the game.
    I'd recommend doing a couple of those, for you get new starter decks for beating other factions.
    That way you can easily test all other factions and pick one to dive in.
    You can spend your gold then on booster packs, or preconstructed decks, to further enhance your library.

    If you feel you need a human to test your deck against, go into a quick match.
    Feeling already experienced enough? Go Ranked, which is tougher, of course, but you learn a lot about other cards, factions and playstyles that way.
    You can also compete in Judgement. Though, there you get a random selection of cards and try to build the best deck possible with these limited cards. Each win with this deck grants you more rewards (more gold and more cards to keep from the random deck you build).

    There's also Crafting, Black market, Watch Live Games, but I won't explain everything at this point.
    Pay to Win? Not a chance. You earn gold in game quite easy and there is a limitation on real-money transactions. I have never had the need to pay some real money and already got 75% of the cards at least once (playing since release).

    All in all, it's an addictive game, with a deep level of strategy involved and a lot of stuff to get into.
    Try the demo, it's free and offers you already a lot. 4,50 € isn't much to spend and keeps ragers and people of that sort away.
    Now that I think about it, the community is really great. Never in a game have I experienced such a friendly atmosphere.

    Well, again: Try the demo yourselves! :)    … Expand
  8. tuckboat
    Jan 13, 2015
    9
    The only negative I can find with this game is that it can be very time consuming. Slow-pacing is a requirement for a good tactical turn-base game. I for one am loving all of the digital card games that are popping up everywhere and this is one of my favorites. It's got it's own mechanics that make it feel like a somewhat new experience even if you are an old-school fan of the genre. AlsoThe only negative I can find with this game is that it can be very time consuming. Slow-pacing is a requirement for a good tactical turn-base game. I for one am loving all of the digital card games that are popping up everywhere and this is one of my favorites. It's got it's own mechanics that make it feel like a somewhat new experience even if you are an old-school fan of the genre. Also the artwork and illustrations are top-notch (something I have seen overlooked too often). If your a fan of the genre you need to download now!… Expand
  9. GuidoFubini
    Jan 6, 2015
    10
    Played scrolls for about 18 month now and still excited to play after having played several thousand games. Content unlocking is incredibly generous and you can buy the full version of the game for 5$ (there is a free demo version). The community is super friendly and helpful and the game has great potential to become even better with more people joining and tournament scene developingPlayed scrolls for about 18 month now and still excited to play after having played several thousand games. Content unlocking is incredibly generous and you can buy the full version of the game for 5$ (there is a free demo version). The community is super friendly and helpful and the game has great potential to become even better with more people joining and tournament scene developing further. Fully recommend it.… Expand
  10. Sghignifiss
    Jan 7, 2015
    10
    This game wins hands down in the ever growing field of TCGs. It has a very deep strategy in card definitions and some very intriguing tactic aspects in the use of a board game-like battlefield in which creatures are summoned and moved. I've already seen this concept in other card games, but never in such a well designed way.

    The game itself in my opinion is the perfect balance between    This game wins hands down in the ever growing field of TCGs. It has a very deep strategy in card definitions and some very intriguing tactic aspects in the use of a board game-like battlefield in which creatures are summoned and moved. I've already seen this concept in other card games, but never in such a well designed way.

    The game itself in my opinion is the perfect balance between complexity and playability, deep mechanics and user-friendliness. Games are quite long if you campare them with games like Heartstone but they're very involving and give much fun and satisfaction. So many game modes to chose between will keep you playing for hours in a single session: from daily pve trials to pve skirmishes to an infinite list of specific pve trials that keeps you playing for MONTHS, to quick pvp games or ranked games, or even the judgement mode, which is a draft mode similar to Heartstone's Arena mode but much more well designed to create actually working decks and not just random 'keep-the-best-card' decks.

    You can add to all this that this game cost is just 5$, meaning that you pay 5$ to get the full game and then nothing more: you'll earn (many) gold playing and you'll use it to purchase everything in the game. The game is even cross-platform and if you purchase the full game for a platform you'll get it free for the others. I bought the game for PC when it was in beta and got the Android version for free.

    Add also to all this that the gold earning/shop costs ratio is very affordable: you'll get 10 new cards with every 3 or 4 games. And there's A LOT of ways to get cards, too: from the shop with 10 random cards packs, single card puchases or preconstructed decks, from the black market, in which you can buy and sell your single cards, and from the trading channel in which you can even trade your cards for gold or other cards with other players live!

    All this is surronuded by a GREAT community effort to keep the game fresh and alive: you can find TONS of guides, articles and so much useful web tools to manage decks, create new cards, analyze game mechanics and discuss about the game in general. The work done here to maintain the game open to community input is wonderful.

    This is a real TCG game like only MtG could be. This is for real TCG players. It will not be easy. It will not forgive mistakes. It will take you moths to learn and to master. But if you call yourself a serious TCG player you have to try it. The demo is free to download and it consists in the full game limited to easy level pve and qick match pvp. If you're a real TCG player you'll love it.    … Expand
  11. Roper
    Apr 18, 2015
    1
    Scrolls is a waste of time and money. Only positive about this game is its fair pay model.
    The game is infested with elitist community members, boring stall decks and the devs lack any sort of incentive to change this. Game last between 20-30 minutes. The game is filled with imbalances, poor design, poor animations and questionable patches. To make things worse, the game usually only has    Scrolls is a waste of time and money. Only positive about this game is its fair pay model.
    The game is infested with elitist community members, boring stall decks and the devs lack any sort of incentive to change this. Game last between 20-30 minutes. The game is filled with imbalances, poor design, poor animations and questionable patches. To make things worse, the game usually only has 100-200 people online (on peak hours!) and despite being a 'beta', the devs have a seperate test server which only certain people can access. Please, do not support this game. If you are looking for a fun, balanced and exciting TCG/CCG, look up Hearthstone, Infinity Wars, Duels of the Planeswalkers or just play some paper Magic.    … Expand
  12. JRice
    May 13, 2015
    7
    Scrolls is a very cheap and generous, yet extremely deep, beautiful and professionally made card and board game. Still in very active development, Scrolls has already developed and improved tremendously and offers a high amount of content and worth:
    4 very different and complex factions, many different scrolls, a draft mode, daily quests, generous rewards for winning and losing, a    Scrolls is a very cheap and generous, yet extremely deep, beautiful and professionally made card and board game. Still in very active development, Scrolls has already developed and improved tremendously and offers a high amount of content and worth:
    4 very different and complex factions, many different scrolls, a draft mode, daily quests, generous rewards for winning and losing, a tutorial, missions, tactical gameplay, great mechanics, comfortable interface and design, great balancing, a nice and friendly community, a real observer mode and unlimited replayability, available for both PC and Tablets.

    Still, only 7 points you ask?
    Which brings us to the big downside of the game: Unpredictable gameplay!
    There are too many cards, which are able to change the board situation drastically, and which can turn the tide within one single round. You could dominate the whole game and still lose, because a single card or combination has taken your whole army apart.
    That means, that no matter how perfect your skill, deck and strategy might be: You will always have to hope that the opponent doesnt have this or that card(s) in his deck and hand, or you might lose.
    For newcomers, it just feels like the outcome is decided by draws, not skill, which of course isnt completely true, but still much closer to the truth than it should.

    And thats the point where i stopped playing. After a game, where i outplayed and dominated my opponent from the start, just to have my army destroyed by a ridiculous combination of cards that improve speed and grant mass destruction.

    For me, good play and thinking is just not rewarding in this game...

    Therefore, sadly not recommended.    … Expand
  13. mrrockitt
    Mar 16, 2015
    9
    Excellent!
    Great twist on the TCG. Good, clear graphics and intuitive interface. This game is very generous with the gold-gathering unlike may other TCG's and you certainly don't get the feeling that you won't get anywhere unless you spend real money.
    There's good variety in the decks and play-styles available and the game has one of the nicest community's out there! Highly recommended    Excellent!
    Great twist on the TCG. Good, clear graphics and intuitive interface. This game is very generous with the gold-gathering unlike may other TCG's and you certainly don't get the feeling that you won't get anywhere unless you spend real money.
    There's good variety in the decks and play-styles available and the game has one of the nicest community's out there!
    Highly recommended to TCG fans who wants something a bit more cerebral than Hearthstone!    … Expand
  14. Hordeon
    Jan 21, 2015
    7
    Do not trust the 10's (Fanboys are blind). The game is decent, but it actually doesn't feel polished enough and has some minor flaws. I actually enjoy this game very much (I bought my 2nd account recently). So the strong points of the game:

    + CCG in a grid with creature attack timers feel a realy unique and fun aspect of the game. + Even though when you buy the game you still need to    Do not trust the 10's (Fanboys are blind). The game is decent, but it actually doesn't feel polished enough and has some minor flaws. I actually enjoy this game very much (I bought my 2nd account recently). So the strong points of the game:

    + CCG in a grid with creature attack timers feel a realy unique and fun aspect of the game.
    + Even though when you buy the game you still need to collect all the cards, the pacing of progression seems balanced and there are no game breaking legendaries that hearthstone has. (Rarest card: Rare). You can buy rarest card for in game gold. Even the most expensive ones can be gathered after about 1 hour of playtime if not less.
    + Fun game mechanics.
    + Interesting "Trials" (Daily and non-daily challenges).
    + Fun PvAI (Player vs AI - Computer is very balanced).
    + The potential of this game is real. If they would tweak all the negatives mentioned below, I would give this game a solid 9/10.

    - Hard to get into (Reason: Starter decks which you get at the start are only capable of beating computer players, you have to grind for cards for at least a week to get going in PvP).
    - The UI could be better.
    - About 10% of scrolls in the game are useless (Totally Underpowered).
    - The draw/sacrifice mechanic is way too cheesy, most of the games are decided by draws if you are smart, because with a good deck spotting good plays is not too difficult and hands get out of fuel very early in the game for both sides.
    - Matches can drag on for a while (Longest one I played: 1hour 20minutes, however the average is about 15-20minutes).

    Conclusion:

    "This game has a lot of potential and even though it has some downsides I still consider Scrolls to be one of the best CCGs ever released on PC. My picks - Scrolls and Hearthstone for PC CCG world. If you have the time and love card games, then the game is definitely for you. And... If you are new to the genre then still... Feel free to try it out, the demo version is free and if you decide that you like it you can then upgrade to full version and keep all the cards you got in demo"    … Expand
  15. porkbus
    May 4, 2015
    9
    I downloaded the demo version of Scrolls this morning. I've played most of the day, which is surprising. I just recently tried Magic 2015 and played that first campaign before I hit the paywall. I spent maybe 5 hours? on that. I refuse to spend money on Magic online when I'd rather have the cards and play with people at the store. I downloaded LOTRO and spent maybe 6 hours with that beforeI downloaded the demo version of Scrolls this morning. I've played most of the day, which is surprising. I just recently tried Magic 2015 and played that first campaign before I hit the paywall. I spent maybe 5 hours? on that. I refuse to spend money on Magic online when I'd rather have the cards and play with people at the store. I downloaded LOTRO and spent maybe 6 hours with that before I got bored with it; it's pretty, but I spent too many years with WOW. For me, Scrolls is the highlight of this year by far. Last year it was The Cave and Ittle Dew. Scrolls, for me, is comparable. I don't consider it a AAA title, which is good; those sorts of games are big on glam and short on gameplay, as a general rule. My kids won't even play with the Wii or the 2DS, but they do love their Android games (Piano Tiles is big at the moment) and my 5yo will not let go of the Ouya. They both consider Scrolls boring, which I consider a "thumbs up". There are no COD players in my household.

    I would give this a 10 for the card game genre. Maybe a 6 or 7 if you're a MMORPG player (and your server's down). Probably a 3 if you're a tactical boardgame person (it's a small board, but it does have hexes). If you're a COD person, you will never read this, so whatever.

    I personally consider this superior to Magic and most anything else on the PC. It's a different story IRL, so let's hope Mojang doesn't start printing cards and hexmaps.

    Specific to the game, I have not found any bugs yet. Everything works. The only drawback I've discovered is that I feel I'm stuck with a Growth deck, as I opted to spend that initial 5k gold I earned in the first hour on the Explorer's Packs, instead of a preconstructed deck of another resource. I like the feel of opening the pack, which nets me random cards.

    The AI is not that bright. I've found I can concentrate on a few undefended idols for an easy win, as the AI won't move its pieces away from whatever idol I've given up as bait; it's reluctant to move around. But this is a minor quip, as the Trials are for making gold and picking up on general strategy. I haven't yet tried a multiplayer match. There are player rankings (the top 100) and I noticed several player-made decks for sale in the store itself (talk about bragging rights). There is also a "black market" in-game where you can buy and sell cards. And there are tournaments. I clicked through to a Twitch stream this morning before I knew what I was doing at all. There's a lot going on here.

    The deck-builder sucks. I can't sugar-coat that one. Thankfully, it lets you sort by resource and cost. I'm not really a fan of the drag-a-card thing.

    Oh, there's no undo button. If you meant to move somewhere else on your turn, too bad. I kind of like that. I'm not sure why.

    I hope this keeps me entertained for more than the 4 or 6 weeks? that Archeage did at release.    … Expand
  16. CalebKane
    May 17, 2015
    0
    Wow. Just... wow. I have been playing this failed attempt of an online TCG for several hours now because i couldn't believe the negative votes this game has gotten. I couldn't believe that a developer would be so dumb to put the most basic, fundamental features behind a paywall.

    Just let me count off the things you cannot do in the "demo"/"free" version: - upgrade/craft    Wow. Just... wow. I have been playing this failed attempt of an online TCG for several hours now because i couldn't believe the negative votes this game has gotten. I couldn't believe that a developer would be so dumb to put the most basic, fundamental features behind a paywall.

    Just let me count off the things you cannot do in the "demo"/"free" version:

    - upgrade/craft scrolls/cards.
    - buy anything else than the most basic, randomized cards/booster packs in the in-game store
    - edit&save your in-game avatar that you also have to pay for with in-game currency as well.
    - sell&buy scrolls to&from other players.
    - play ranked matches.
    - choose your own starter deck/faction. (I got Growth even though i've read on the internet several times that it's one of the weakest factions of the game. The starter deck is horrible, and even after buying several scrolls and packs from the store plus having read the strategy hints at the "scrolls academy" the AI still curbstomped me in the skirmish mode on easy because the AI gets the better cards and also when it needs them at the right time.
    - play against other players in ranked matches.

    I cannot understand why someone would prefer this over Hearthstone, for several reasons.

    True, Hearthstone may be simpler at first glance, but with Hearthstone you don't have to grind and/or pay to get promised features.

    Hearthstone has free ranked matches, you can buy booster packs with ingame currency and you can use the crafting system without having to pay to unlock the feaure.

    Additionally, the number of players online is a good indicator as well... the most recent number being around 2000 players. No, not in an hour or so, but... yesterday. Whole day. Hearthstone comparatively has a player base of around 30 million in total. Not because the game is made by Blizzard Entertainment, but because Hearthstone can be fun to play, offers a fair and square pay model and because it doesn't put up a pay wall for basic features.

    Don't waste your time with Scrolls. Go play a fun game, even if it's not Hearthstone.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. CD-Action
    Mar 4, 2015
    80
    I strongly urge you to give Scrolls a chance, especially that there’s a free demo available and the full game costs next to nothing. [02/2015, p.54]
  2. Games Master UK
    Feb 22, 2015
    79
    A clever card battler that's fantastic for genre fans, but too hard to pick up to win many new ones. [Mar 2015, p.70]
  3. games(TM)
    Feb 13, 2015
    70
    While its an advancement on Hearthstone mechanically, if Hearthstone is the standard for the genre these days, then invariably Scrolls becomes one for CCG veterans only.
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