By Rachael M. Shugars, Entertainment Columnist

Hearthstone is a game developed by Blizzard Entertainment that has climbed its way to popularity since its release in 2014. Similar to something like the card game, Magic the Gathering, Hearthstone is a free-to-play online card game that allows players to build their decks and battle both computer-generated opponents and other players from around the world. Hearthstone is an offshoot of the wildly popular PC game, Warcraft. The characters you get on each card or the feats you draw all come from gameplay for the Warcraft world.

I decided to give this game a whirl and chose to download it on my phone rather than my PC. I have played PC games but because of the convenience, I felt that trying the game on a phone would easier for me. The first perk is that its free. I’m a fan of games that let you give it a whirl without spending anything. Second, it’s actually pretty fun. I found that after playing a few rounds I was starting to really hope for certain cards and got into the game play and strategy of it all fairly quickly. The game generated opponents are also pretty amusing. Third, it’s kid-friendly; no foul language, no gore, cool characters, and lots of magical stuff. I know that a lot of gamers don’t mind these elements but as a gamer mom to a five-year-old I have to make sure that the stuff I play around my son won’t scar him for life. That’s why I save games like Fallout 4 for when he’s not around. He was just as into this game as I was.

Now for the pros and cons. The pros start with the general overview of gameplay. The game does well at explaining how to play cards and offers suggestions on how to focus your card usage. Don’t ignore these things or that darn dwarf king will kick your butt just as bad as he kicked mine. Another aspect I enjoyed were the visuals. Characters, cards, graphics, they all seemed pretty enjoyable for a free game on my phone. You can also get pretty far along in the game before you really have to buy anything. If you want additional card packs then you have to shell out some dough. In terms of cons, I think the general size of the download on my phone was the biggest issue. I had the space but once I got the game downloaded, I realized that it probably plays a bit slower on this machine over a much quicker PC.

Hearthstone has gotten some great reviews from some pretty big names in gaming. The Imagine Gaming Network (IGN) gave it a 9 out of 10. Gamespot gave it an 8 out of 10, and game review site, Metacritic, gave it a solid 93 out of 100. I would say it’s definitely worth a try and has the potential to be a lot of fun to gamers of all ages.

Picture courtesy of Hearthstone – Hearthstone Wiki (gamepedia.com)