In 2017 I tried Blizzard's digital collectible card game, Hearthstone. It was a strange month. By the time of my entry Hearthstone had already existed for three years. People were well advanced in the game, and it showed. My main complaint was that most of the people I played at low ranks had better cards. Choosing to play Ranked mode began the player at rank 25. Winning made your rank go down. Starting at rank 20, opposing players used none of the original cards. They had either played many hours to acquire better cards or bought them.
In 2022 Second Dinner released Marvel Snap, a Marvel digital collectible card game to overwhelming accord. Second Dinner was created by Ben Brode, the lead designer of Hearthstone from 2015 to 2018.
I played Marvel Snap on the phone. I tried it in the tail end of 2022. It debuted in October 2022, meaning I joined soon after the initial release. There were 150 unique cards on release. As of this moment MarvelSnapZone.com counts 249 unique cards available. Players who have been playing longer have an advantage in card catalog and in experience, but nothing compared to Hearthstone.
Based on my limited experience it seems that while there is opportunity for amazing combos, the gameplay of Snap is quicker and simpler than Hearthstone, making it less punishing for new players.
That derives from the fusion of gameplay and the payment model. In Hearthstone players collected cards. You'd do that by playing a lot, or paying a lot. The result in both cases was many low level duplicate cards, but sparsely hidden among them were powerful cards.
Marvel Snap isn't as interested in selling the player new cards. Instead the developer wants to sell cosmetics. We'll return to this topic after a description of the gameplay.
Gameplay is straightforwardly simple. Each player builds a deck of just twelve cards, no duplicates. Matchmaking sets two players against each other. Between the players is a board with only three locations. Each area has a special effect, such as; cards cost 1 less to play, card's can't be played here on turn six, or when you play a card here fill this location with copies of it. Every area can hold a maximum of four cards per player.
Players start by drawing three cards each. Each player draws an additional card at the start of each turn. Cards have an energy cost to play; one through six (also zero, but that is rare). They also have a power number. The raw power number maximum seems to be twelve (the Hulk is twelve). Cards also have abilities which are categorized into; On Reveal, Ongoing, Discard, Move, Destroy, and No Ability. For example, White Tiger's On Reveal places a 7 power card at another location when she is placed. Mister Fantastic's Ongoing adds two to adjacent locations as long as he exists. Playing Blade Discards a card from your hand. Vision can Move locations every turn. Gambit destroys a random enemy card when he is played. And the Hulk has No Ability.
On the first turn each player has one energy to spend. On the second turn, regardless of how much energy used the previous turn, they have two points. Each turn the player has energy equal to the turn number. This is not affected by how much they spent the previous turn. The player can not save energy from turn to turn. Often the player will only play one card per turn, but can play more on later turns if they want to play two cheaper cards. Because each location can only hold four cards, this doesn't seem viable. Players play their cards simultaneously.
After six rounds whichever player has a higher Power value in two or more locations wins the match.
It's straightforward, it's fast, but it's not overwhelmingly simple. Snap is a bluffing game, with superpowers, and its components will certainly appeal to many players.
Part of its appeal is its collectability. The cards are collectible, but in a different manner than that of Hearthstone. While Snap contains a variety of cards to collect, the collection is in the aesthetics.
There are two elements. Cards can be upgraded. This does not affect the game. It alters the card's visual effect. Common cards look common. An in game currency (which is surprisingly easy to earn) unlocks visual upgrades. The visual stages are Common, Breakout (the card's visuals break over the edge of the card), 3D, animation, shiny logo, border animation, and foil effect. In just a few hours I had a sizable collection of 3D and animation cards. Snap is not stingy about free in game currency to upgrade cards. Some cards are locked behind a currency that requires real cash. These are art styles. Characters have a variety of different looking cards, including, but not limited to; Regular, Pixel, Artgerm, Baby, and Anime. These, which I never collected, can also presumably be upgraded with Breakout, 3D, etc.
Marvel Snap seemed very free with both visual upgrades and new cards. I did see players with cards I didn't have, but I was constantly unlocking new cards. Also, while some cards are certainly stronger than others, new cards didn't seem particularly stronger or weaker than older cards.
If Marvel is your thing, all your favorite characters are there. They already have 250 characters. But I wonder how long Snap can continue, before it succumbs to power creep, or a shrinking hero pool. Will players stick around when they unlock D tier super heroes? Will it retain the same levels of excitement and engagement?
Also are the power levels cannon? Obviously not. The developers thought it mandatory to make the Hulk one of the most powerful characters, but I doubt Marvel/Disney will refer to these power numbers for future developments. They don't want to be bound by them, like Spiderman being a power three. I'm sure somewhere, and I haven't dared look, that these power levels have created fierce debates about the powers of favorite superheroes.
In Conclusion,
Marvel Snap is more accepting of new players. It's a simpler collectible card game. It doesn't punish new players with inferior cards. But it retains committed players with visual effects. Unfortunately, Marvel Snap was confused when I changed phones. I can still access my original cards on my old phone, but I had to start all over on the new device. Instead, I decided it wasn't worth my time.
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