The best Strategy & Card games
Sometimes you need to flex those brain wrinkles and really sink your teeth into a deep, complex strategy game. From tower defense to player-versus-player, resource and economy, real-time, turn-based and so much more, strategy games are immensely multifaceted and they'll put your planning and management skills to the test.
Card games can also often be strategic, but they are just as likely to have chance added to the mix. Card games have come a long way from your basic solitaire and poker apps, with some of the best games to come out in the past few years hailing from card-based design. Here are just a few of the best free strategy and card games.
Clash Royale
Grown tired of Clash of Clans gameplay but still love the characters and world that the folks at Supercell have created? Clash Royale is for you! You get to unlock and upgrade classic troops, build your battle deck, and take on real-life opponents in real-time battles.
Join or create a clan and share cards and strategies with friends from around the world. You'll need to employ quick thinking and genuine strategy to win, so you'll be compelled to keep tweaking your decks by working in new cards. This game's been around for a few years now, so there's a ton of grinding and chest unlocks ahead for newer players to rank up and unlock all the best troop cards and whatnot.
Gwent
If we're talking about my personal favorites, Gwent is there at the top. This card game spawned from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, one of the best games of the last decade. Fans of The Witcher universe are probably already aware of Gwent, but if you haven't tried it out yet and you love Sapkowski's world, then Gwent is a must.
Unlike Hearthstone, you win a game of Gwent by winning two out of three rounds. You do this by having the most points when the dust settles, and you earn points by playing cards. Each card has a point value, but it can be nullified or destroyed by the opposing player. Gwent can get pretty intense at higher skill levels.
This is the full Gwent experience with cross-play. If you liked the mini-game in The Witcher 3, then you'll like the expanded version. It has many more cards to collect (with stellar art, I might add). Just keep in mind that Gwent is a massive install, so make sure you have plenty of storage and bandwidth before downloading it.
Legends of Runeterra
Legends of Runeterra is League of Legends' attempt at creating a Hearthstone equivalent. It's much of the same as its Warcraft counterpart, but Legends of Runeterra has a few tricks up its sleeve.
In Legends of Runeterra, you're fighting to deplete your opponent's health pool before they smash yours by playing cards that have different attributes, like attack or defense. However, each round sees an attack and defense section. If you're attacking, your opponent has a chance to defend themselves from your onslaught. Whoever comes out victorious in that instance depends on the plays made up to that point.
It feels quite similar to Hearthstone, but if League of Legends is more your jam than Warcraft, then give Legends of Runeterra a try.
Marvel Snap
Our choice for Android Central's best mobile game of 2022, Marvel Snap isn't just one of the best card games out there, it's one of the best mobile games on the market right now. And yes, it's entirely free—with optional in-app purchases, of course.
Many video games with the Marvel seal on them have been rife with controversy over the years. Still, somehow Marvel Snap managed to dodge all those problems to deliver a rock-solid deck-building PvP experience. Matches take place over six rounds, with each opponent vying for control of three locations on the field. Each field comes with unique conditions that might help or hurt your position, so playing your cards to the optimal locations is often the key to victory.
If you're feeling extra confident about your chances, you can choose to "Snap" and wager your rank that you'll win. If you pull it off, you win big. If you lose, you lose big. It's a nice twist on the card-battling formula to help ratchet up the drama. Games are quick and snappy (har har), making this an excellent pick-up-and-play choice for just about anyone. If you haven't tried Marvel Snap yet, there's no better time to hop on deck.
Vainglory
Vainglory is one of the best multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games for mobile that offers cross-platform support. The game looks stunning and offers 120FPS for devices that support it. There are game modes for both casual and competitive play, with Blitz 3-vs-3 games available for fast five-minute matches and a robust 5-vs-5 mode that typically lasts up to 25 minutes.
Featuring an ever-growing roster of heroes to choose from and exciting action that you can play on the go, Vainglory is a solid game that's free to play and supported by in-app purchases. In my experience, Vainglory's biggest problems are its server stability, its slow, unrewarding progression system, and terrible matchmaking. It's a crapshoot if you're going to land on a solid team or get stomped before you can even blink.
Still, Vainglory is the best MOBA on Android, and it's a blast to play when things work right. I've never stepped into the competitive environment since MOBAs have never been my forte, but the casual mode is just fine for me.
