{"id":90463,"date":"2016-06-17T13:01:22","date_gmt":"2016-06-17T11:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=90463"},"modified":"2016-06-17T13:02:20","modified_gmt":"2016-06-17T11:02:20","slug":"top-5-collectible-card-games-you-can-play-for-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/pc\/90463-top-5-collectible-card-games-you-can-play-for-free","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Collectible Card Games you can play for free"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The collectible card game (or trading card game) genre of video games has seen a revival after the global popularity of Blizzard&#8217;s Hearthstone.<\/p>\n<p>The trading card game was first made popular in its physical tabletop form by Magic: The Gathering &#8211; the most competitive and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/video-games\/20-magic-gathering-still-going-strong-not-just-school-lunchrooms-f8C11044163\" target=\"_blank\">widely-played<\/a><\/strong> physical trading card game in the world.<\/p>\n<p>There have been various Magic: The Gathering digital titles, some of which were fairly successful, although they did not come close to the success of Hearthstone.<\/p>\n<p>Since Blizzard&#8217;s success, other developers have been quick to try and capitalise on the interest in the genre.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Let&#8217;s take a look at some of the best free-to-play trading card games available right now.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>Hearthstone <\/strong>(Windows, Mac OS, Android, iOS)<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/pc\/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft\" target=\"_blank\">Metacritic Critic Score: 88<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/pc\/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft\" target=\"_blank\">Metacritic User Score: 6.3<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tradingcardgames.com\/review\/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft\/\" target=\"_blank\">TradingCardGames.com Score: 9.4<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s get the obvious candidate out of the way first, shall we?<\/p>\n<p>Hearthstone is almost single-handedly responsible for the renewed interest in this previously niche genre.<\/p>\n<p>Available on multiple different platforms, the game presents relatively simple mechanics coupled with engaging and accessible gameplay.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o84Y_cSjVyE\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>Hex: Shards of Fate <\/strong>(Windows, Mac OS, iOS)<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/pc\/hex-shards-of-fate\" target=\"_blank\">Metacritic Critic Score: 88<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/pc\/hex-shards-of-fate\" target=\"_blank\">Metacritic User Score: 6.5<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tradingcardgames.com\/review\/hex-shards-of-fate\/\" target=\"_blank\">TradingCardGames.com Score: 8.7<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hex is the best trading card game released in 2016 so far &#8211; and set to be Hearthstone&#8217;s strongest challenger.<\/p>\n<p>The game has scored high amongst most critics and features unique mechanics that are more complex than Hearthstone&#8217;s, without sacrificing accessibility.<\/p>\n<p>Hex: Shards of Fate has a single-player campaign which allows players to become acquainted with the complex and revolutionary trading card game, blending elements of multiple genres to create a unique title.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KxUN8RRYK0Q\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>Spellweaver<\/strong> (Windows)<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/pc\/spellweaver\" target=\"_blank\">Metacritic Critic Score: 61<\/a> <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/pc\/spellweaver\" target=\"_blank\">Metacritic User Score: 8.0<\/a> <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tradingcardgames.com\/review\/spellweaver\/\" target=\"_blank\">TradingCardGames.com Score: 9.1<\/a> <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Spellweaver released to a mixed reception despite its appealing depth.<\/p>\n<p>The game scored points due to its originality and high level of polish. Coupled with complex and balanced gameplay, these mechanics allowed Spellweaver to gain a fair level of popularity.<\/p>\n<p>The gameplay is similar to that of Magic: The Gathering, allowing veteran Magic players to quickly grasp basic concepts and mechanics.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y5n9AgD26HY\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>Magic Duels: Origins<\/strong> (Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Xbox One)<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/pc\/magic-duels-origins\" target=\"_blank\">Metacritic Critic Score: 77<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/pc\/magic-duels-origins\" target=\"_blank\">Metacritic User Score: 6.0<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tradingcardgames.com\/review\/magic-duels-origins\/\" target=\"_blank\">TradingCardGames.com Score: 8.5<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Magic Duels: Origins is Magic: The Gathering&#8217;s best attempt so far at reclaiming its hold over the genre.<\/p>\n<p>However, Magic Duels does not seem to hold up against a title like Hearthstone. Despite being a free-to-play Magic: The Gathering game, Magic Duels: Origins has failed to captivate players in the same way as Blizzard&#8217;s title.<\/p>\n<p>Magic Duels: Origins is a limited version of Magic: The Gathering, featuring less cards and trading complexity for simplicity.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/saNAgbhd2gw\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>SolForge<\/strong> (Windows, iOS, Mac OS)<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/ios\/solforge\" target=\"_blank\">Metacritic Critic Score: N\/A<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/ios\/solforge\" target=\"_blank\">Metacritic User Score: 6.8<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tradingcardgames.com\/review\/solforge\/\" target=\"_blank\">TradingCardGames.com Score 8.0<\/a>:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>SolfForge is a free-to-play trading card game that initially gained popularity due to its mobile platform.<\/p>\n<p>However, the game has since been criticised as pay-to-win, stunting the content of free players with microtransactions.<\/p>\n<p>The game remains a very decent mobile title despite the pay-wall, and features solid game mechanics coupled with a fair amount of depth and complexity.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KUkS5cgoj8s\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>What is your favourite online trading card game? Let us know in the comments and forums.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">More gaming news<\/h3>\n<p><strong><a title=\"Permalink to Cell C LTE-Advanced launched\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/broadband\/90471-cell-c-lte-advanced-launched.html\" rel=\"bookmark\">Cell C LTE-Advanced launched<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"Permalink to How to stream and record Xbox One games to your PC without a capture card\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/pc\/89871-how-to-stream-and-record-xbox-one-games-to-your-pc-without-a-capture-card.html\" rel=\"bookmark\">How to stream and record Xbox One games to your PC without a capture card<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"Permalink to Games you can play this week \u2013 snipers and swords\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/features\/90401-games-you-can-play-this-week-snipers-and-swords.html\" rel=\"bookmark\">Games you can play this week \u2013 snipers and swords<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are the top five online competitive trading card games that you can play for free right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232,"featured_media":90465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_enabled":true,"_sma_x_custom_text":"","_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,3],"tags":[17241,18267,11962,18265,3881],"class_list":["post-90463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-pc","tag-ccg","tag-collectible-card-games","tag-hearthstone","tag-hex","tag-magic-the-gathering"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/232"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90463"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95675,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90463\/revisions\/95675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}