Cards and Castles

Simple game with surprising depth. Great for short games, nuanced strategy, and a randomness based on card pickup that keeps the game fresh and interesting.

Seems to be pay to win. I know I have a lot of hours on it, but I played it when it first came out and it wasn't as bad as it is now.

Fun game. Cool concept. Easily to learn. I have always liked card games and i am enjoying this one.

The only thing i would like to see done is making it easier to collect cards with out having to spend money. Also the ranking system. It if difficult to play against someone that has 4 legend cards and epics in there deck when i have none.

Best things about this game. In no particular order.
-The game mechanics/design are good
-The visuals are nice
- Variety of themes you can use

Worst things about this game.
- The balancing is awful.
Basically, Aura (3x3 damage during both players turns), 5x5 AoE spells, and rapid mass dragon spam are ridiculously overpowered and all you'll see once you get past the middle level of competition. Oh and the Yrhmm Giant too

Enjoy

not pay 2 win and devs keep updatin the game and work with it a lot wich is nice to hear.. ye totaly a good game to spend time on it i definitely recomend it !

I bought this game in before it was released for free, and even bought the special steam pack for early access buyers. I'd played this game on my iPad ages before it was on steam, and when i heard about it, i was in bliss. it was an amazing game, and i played it nonstop for a few hours every day.

However, as i stated above, it WAS a good game.

They have added so many new stuff. While that doesnt sound so much like a bad thing, I should also add they added restrictions for the cards that i had been playing with and using in good, fair games. I'll admit, i havent played this for a few months, and this was the first time i came back to it. However, i couldnt play as ANY of my decks online, and (I think) they removed casual play, so all of the cards I (admittedly) spent quite a bit of money on are now useless. Not only that, they then made nerfed clones of them, so that every single card in the game has a nerfed form. Whats the point in that? the point of the whole game is to play games to get more cards, then get better cards by scrapping the cards you dont need, and eventually crafting a dream team of Vikings, Crusaders, Pirates, Warlocks or ninjas. To me, this company killed the game i used to enjoy and love, then re-wrote most of the old code ontop and keps the name of its old form. However, it is free now, so im not saying 'Don't buy this game, its awful!' but im saying that to long term players like me and probably many others, this game was ground to shards and formed into a less valuable form (thats a joke on the games crafting system)

Oh Cards and Castles, When i ran into this game over 2-3 years ago, I have to be honest I didn't expect much. Now looking where I am and the game is today I felt like this game may have been one of the greatest games I've ever run into. The game itself is a great combonation of Collectible cards and strategy with very intersting mechanics and a meta that keeps gameplay interesting.

The evolution of the game has been a positive one in terms of graphics and gamplay. The graphics back in the day of course looked pretty floppy but it eventually evolved to fit the faster pace of the game in which it is currently in. The several Mechanics of the game provide for startegical thought as well as positioning which throws aspects of chess like thinking into the game. Not to mention deckbuilding which throws even more thinking in the game due to thoughts like determing how you wish to play or how you would want to win matches. The state the game is in currently certainly shows its progression and for people just discovering the game you may find it to be pertty well made

However there is the argument of P2W, a central issue for all card games. The shop found within the game gives off a mood of "Please use your money to do well", while that is not the case. The store merely provides for players who want try out startegies with the pre made decks or boost their collection with booster packs, this IS NOT a P2W model. the model found here is very genrous imo, If you are a new player, you start out with a great amount of starter cards for deck options. If you are a consistently returning player, the free packs allow you to boost your card collection, or shard count depending on your collection. Speaking of shards, another aspect of the game that allows you to create (or craft) a certain card without having to buy packs searching for it, a good way to get what you need without spending cash.

The community is also great, people who are always willing to help test out strategies and give advice to anyone who needs its. The devs are also better here and more responsive than in other games you might come across.

To me, these negative reviews may have come from people not giving the game enough time to show what it can do. I really enjoy the game, I know many other people enjoy the game, and I hope to stay through all of what happen in the game itself. Keep up the great work Red Team Games.

Cards and Castles, the game that I have been playing for around 2-3 years when it's still in mobile. Probably the game I've played the longest. It's a good game.

Gameplay: Most people will say that it's a combination of chess and card games, and that's pretty accurate. It combines the strategic depth of the two genres, because in addition to playing your cards correctly, you also have to position your units around properly. There is also the element of deckbuilding, which adds another layer of strategy as it determines how you want to win and how you will play.

It is also rather fast-paced due to the Sudden Death mechanic, which you may either love or hate.

Graphics: The game uses a bright cartoony artstyle (take note: cartoony, not anime) and it's rather pleasant to look at imo, and fits with the fast-paced nature of the game.

And then, there's the sacred topic in all card games. Pay to Win.

Imo, this game is decently generous with it's payment model. The game gives you a decent amount of the basic cards through a free timed pack system, which may be a bit annoying for some. You are also rewarded for progressing through the ranks. Some of the higher rarity cards may seem like it's necessary for winning, and it might actually be. And it may seem like it's P2W. But imo this is way more generous than Hearthstone or other alternatives in the market.

The devs are also more responsive than Hearthstone devs, and the community is way better than HS.

Basically, ditch HS. Get this game. Jumping to the conclusion of not trying this game because the negative reviews which are claiming P2W in a CCG is a bit close-minded.

Yeah I'm getting really fed up with all the major changes and card updates you guys keep making..

**UPDATE** And.. There goes the cards again.. Done investing in you guys. Good luck.

**UPDATE** And.. They changed the cards.. AGAIN. Getting real close to deleting this app. Please consider doing a beta test, a GOOD ONE before you change everything on all your players.

NVM Im out good luck with this game.

(as of 23/12/15)

I don't normally bother posting reviews, would rather spend the time actually gaming. This is the first one I'm posting, as I don't think the game deserves less than a "positive" overall opinion.

My perspective comes from having always enjoyed CCGs and TBS, since earlier days of e.g. Magic: The Gathering and Final Fantasy Tactics/Fire Emblem. Naturally, I was excited to see a game marrying both elements (not that it's the first out there), and I've been playing C&C for months now on mobile. So what's kept me playing, and why should you play, or not play it?

ART:
YMMV. The game goes for a particular cartoonish art style, which you'll like or dislike instantly - just see the screenshots. Clear differences between the 5 factions. If you appreciate the style, the art and animation are excellent. If not, perhaps the game isn't for you. However, there's no reason to diss the graphics as terrible; contemporaneous CCG-type games such as Hearthstone or Card Hunter have totally different art styles which are equally attractive. In comparison, I don't like how March of War looks - it's all personal taste.

MUSIC:
...adequate for the genre - i.e. turn off in favour of your own music after 1 hour.

GAMEPLAY:
5 factions, which you may choose to play solo, or combine with another faction (e.g. crusader/warlock or warlock/pirate) for a total of 15 different combinations. Playing solo factions gains you access to powerful faction-specific "hero" cards, while including a 2nd faction obviously provides versatility. Factions are distinct with their own playstyle, and quite well-balanced (especially after recent changes to pirates). Also, all deck types are viable - aggro, midrange, control, ramp, whatever type your fevered mind can dream up.

P2WIN-NESS:
The obvious bugbear for some. If you're looking to gain a significant collection without putting in any effort, I would suggest against playing any digital CCG-based game.

What some people may be sore about is facing players with many epics/legendaries and getting stomped. Do realise - the game has been out on mobile for > 1 year, and many players have near-complete collections. However, many of them haven't paid significant amounts of real $$, and you're getting stomped as they know the game better than you do, not because their cards are significantly better than yours.

The question is, can you compete as a new player? It's entirely possible with mostly common/uncommon cards, with a smattering of rares. Legendaries are limited to 1 copy each/deck (used to be up to the normal 2 copies/deck until a couple of months ago), which helps to limit their use. Overall, no better or worse than Hearthstone (which seems to be the benchmark, after all) in this aspect.

Finally, no gameplay element is locked behind a real $$ paywall, only cosmetic stuff (e.g. different castle looks) or more deck slots (>9).

ACCESSIBILITY:
Big one for me - the ability to play asynchronous games, which is what I wish Hearthstone had. Not as relevant to the desktop gamer, but hey - you can play on your desktop, and continue to play in short bursts on the go on mobile.


CAVEATS:
I decided against putting in a "Pros" section - I've covered most of the points above. Let the game speak for itself, it's free to try now anyway. However, some caveats are as follows, especially if you're considering putting in real $$.

- As some have pointed out, it's harder to craft epics/legendaries in C&C compared to e.g. Hearthstone. The cost for those was increased a couple of months ago, ostensibly so that crafting them would be harder and actually getting one would be more exciting. ...Whatever the reason, do note that it won't be easy to obtain epics/legendaries without spending at least a little $$.
- Smaller card pool. Currently, the card pool is in no way comparable to e.g. Hearthstone, even vanilla Hearthstone from way back. I don't feel like there's a lack of variety even after 4-5 months or so of playing, but it's just something to keep in mind. There's an expansion (Age of Dragons) coming up Jan 2016, which will help shake things up.
- Grindiness. The gold (non-premium currency) earning rate was nerfed, and coupled with the high cost of crafting epics/legendaries, you may feel pushed to spend just to get the juicy looking epics/legendaries. That said, as mentioned above - you can compete (in a fair fashion) using common/uncommon/rare cards. Some figures for the current state of the game - 1 quest per day (generally 800-1200 gold), average of 15-50 gold/win, 1 booster costs 2000 gold ---> 1 booster every 2 days (or slightly less, depending on how much you play). Whether or not you think it's worth your time, you decide.
- Fluidity. The game has had more significant card/balance changes since its mobile launch days than e.g. Hearthstone, including some changes (e.g. to ranged units, or to many pirates cards) which happened even after the devs posted that they were done with significant changes to gameplay (after the 2.0 update on mobile). While the changes have been beneficial for game balance and shows that the devs are responsive, C&C does not (and may never have) have the stability/polish that the big players (e.g. Hearthstone or MTG) exhibit. To their credit, it's rather hard to match the big boys when you're a small developer with a small team. Anyway, be prepared that what you like/don't like about certain cards/factions can change (sometimes suddenly).
- Fluctuating business model. Let's just say that changes in costs (both upwards/downwards) for many things (crafting, boosters, the recent "wing-based" expansion, draft tournaments) have made some unhappy. While I would not call out the developers for greed/making the game P2W, they're experimenting as they go, so prices may not be as stable as some would like (definitely not as stable as e.g. Hearthstone). Be prepared before you spend any $$ (although, the premium currency prices have not changed at all since I started playing - what's changed is the costs of what you can buy with it).

TL;DR:
- All things considered, C&C has lots of charm, and a good degree of game balance/variation. It scratches my itch for a TBS/CCG mashup and isn't overly complex. Furthermore, there are many potential mechanics yet to be explored, so the game has lots of room to grow.
- The best testament: I stopped playing Hearthstone. I still play C&C.
- Don't want to get stomped by the pros? Join now! Since it's recently out of early access, more new players will be flooding in. This is the best time to fumble around together :)

Hello,
I’m going to be blunt with this review in the very beginning incase you don't want to read the rest.

It’s a worse Hearthstone(HS).

I am a very avid HS player, and Cards and Castles (CaC) is infuriating. I’d like to warn any and everyone, that since i am a big HS player i will be making all my comparisons to it.

Lets start off where i'm ticked off the most and we’ll make our way to the positives.

CONs

• The “dust” system is completely broken ( they call it shards) but its ...i cant belive im saying this but more grindy than HS !
  ....here's proof
  

• i understand it just left early access but its driving me crazy how i have this visual glitch, that makes me restart my game to get rid of it.
  
• I hate when people call games that are not P2W (Pay 2 Win), P2W. most card games i've seen including HS are NOT P2W, i gave them my own title called P2S (Pay 2 Succeed). Why? because the term P2W means u NEED to pay real $$ to get items unobtainable by free players. Which is not true in HS, and (that i've noticed) not true in CaC. So yes you can pay to Advance faster so u dont have to grind, but damn it seems more expensive than HS xD. I never knew that was possible too. For being a very early game and charging 12,000SP (Silver Points [Premium Currency] ) for a PreOrder of a new expansion just like HS. Which is not so uncommon for a Game (HS) because they have a massive company behind them to support them which CaC does not have
  
  FYI: 12,000SP = $50
  
  
• a lot of the HS mechanics seams copied
  
  
  

  PROs

  
  
  [list]
  
• You can have more than 9 deck slots ( Bad news, you need to pay for extra slots with IRL$)
  
• the battlefield is a grid so it's different than HS’s gameplay style ( not saying one is harder than the other)
  
• ”Async” lets u play games at your own pace ( never tried it but from what i understand..) it's a mode where you and a friend set up a game and unlike a real time turn based game, whenever one of the players finishes their turn the other player gets a notification to play for up to 1 day.
  

• i only compared CaC to HS so people who have played HS and did not "P2W" *cough* P2S, would understand that it was going to be a long road
  
• soley on the aspect of how CaC plays i had to compare it to something 70% of the population is firmliar with because if i state, its a really fun game that feels fast paced than you realise its not a faced paced but was acctually slow paced the whole time, IDK many people that would understand
  

• ok so... here it is a quickish summary of CaC
  
• you play on a grid, with 3-4 cards starting theres buildings that give passive buffs/debuffs, spells and units
  
• the objective is to destory the enemy castle, while not losing your own
  
• you play minons and try to "outsmart" your opponent, while card favor might be a thing (his/her deck is rated higher because of how powerful the cards it contains are)
  
• you may think card favor isnt that big of a deal but it is because in all honesty with most card games ( at least online that i have noticed) 50% of the game is decided before it starts, for instance your playing a rush character while the enemy has "face" heals and distracts so any damage you do is null/void and wasting your time, see my drift?... this does not happen very often in most games... also RNG is a huge factor in ALLLLLLLL card games some more then others but still a factor)
  
• hmm other things about why I dont personaly enjoy the game
  
[*] UI is super glitchy, card searching mechanic is non-existant, actual gameplay seams to be all rush decks, yes u can play controll but it has its hits and misses

If Hearthstone and Final Fantasy Tactics made love and had an adorable kid that grew up to be a badass Collectible Card Game, Cards and Castles would kick that game's ass!

Mix and match factions, ASYNCHRONOUS PLAY, combat card game over a 5x9 grid. Also, friendly and responsive devs that listen and work with the community! Come for the competative multiplayer, stay to pull off the Over Powered One-Turn-Kill Wombo Combo!

In my opinion it is very good, vell ballanced tcg on the field where you can not only play but also move your units. In some points quite similar to Hearthstone, but much better ballanced. Devs are strongly supporting the game, for example, by lowering the power, health or changing special abilities of too powerful cards. I would recommend this game.

Turn-based strategy games require a high degree of balance to maintain even a basic level of enjoyability. Incorporating cards, this game ran a particular risk in that it could easily become heavily P2W, require too much time to attain necessary game elements, and/or botch its game board element by way of card abilities.

This game avoided all of the vices.

Cards and Castles upholds the virtues of its genre(s). As of its most recent patch, it is highly balanced and increasingly so. It lets you jump in head first without stripping the player of all merit-based reward. And perhaps most importantly: The game is FUN. With my first 100 hours of gameplay, I can safely say that the game has lots of steam left in it. You can enjoy this game in passing moments via Asynchronous play, in short sessions to test new decks via friendly mode, or grind it out over time toward the heralded Rank 1 in ranked mode. Each option grants the full Cards and Castles experience in its own way.

I look forward to continued improvements. Slight bugs persist, but they are addressed quickly. Connection issues have improved rapidly. Never before have I messaged about slight issues and had the lead game developer personally respond about the status of the fix toward the issues I had brought to light.

This is the work of people who know what they are doing and anyone would be wise to jump in early and grow alongside the game.

The single-player content that's included in this purchase is fun, but there isn't much of it. Multiplayer is pay-to-win. In addition, the majority of planned single-player content (which unlocks cards that can be used in multiplayer) will not be free. Sure, there's one free campaign planned. But there are also five paid ones, which will together cost either $35 or 250,000 of the in-game currency. Is this a joke? I earn 700 currency from the single daily quest that exists, and less than 50 from a match. Something here doesn't add up.

I played this game on android before the steam release and it really is a lot of fun. As others have mentioned, it is a nice blend of Hearthstone and Scrolls, but that doesn't mean that Cards and Castles isn't its own game. I highly recommend giving it a shot.

excellent game, strategic and not pay to win!

EDIT: as of 18/11/2015, game has undergone huge changes and remedied a lot of past complaints.

Game is still VERY enjoyable, possibly one of the best in its genre whilst being very open and accessible to new players.

EDIT: as of 1/8/16, I've stopped playing due to the constant changes and difficulty in accruing a decent collection. Even though I've invested a lot of time and money into this game, I've moved on to other games.

Fun, addictive strategy. And, most importantly for me, great asynchronous play. There's also a timed mode, but forget about that - asynchronous mode! There's not enough asynchronous multiplayer games out there.

It's like Hero Academy, but not abandoned. And better, due to the combination of deck building and strategy. There's some fun combinations people have developed, and it's always great facing off against a new type of deck that you hadn't seen or thought of before.

Made by active developers who are often introducing new cards and adjusting cards for balance. They're very involved on their forums and social media, responding to customer feedback. Any issue I've had has been resolved with their help.

This is a great game on mobile, and the PC version is looking good. I'm pretty sure it will be able to stand its own as a PC game as well.

The comparison to Hearthstone is inevitable as the game borrows heavily from it and is now competing in the same markets, so I will make it a lot, since I guess many people have experienced HS.

The game is like Hearthstone done right. No RNG bs effects on cards. Fast iteration on card balance (no patrons ruining the game for months). And tons more options for how you use your units thanks to the fact that you have to move them on a chess-like board. All in all a fantastic mix of card strategy and positional tactics.

The F2P model is very good (basically the same as in HS) and you can get any cards by just playing the game. There is no pressure to buy stuff. Even the scenarios are price accessible (unlike HS)

Cons: the artwork is very nice and colorful (if you like that kind of fun-light style) but not very consistent. Unit drawings vary in style (shading, outline color), and unit animations are kind of stiff looking. But this kind of superficial, as the game plays great and looks good in general.

I used to play this game a lot on mobile. It was fantastic, peformed great and was very addictive.
After a while, I dropped away since I was winning all the matches I was placed in and there wasn't a large community to face. But now, with the Steam release, we should hopefully see more players.

Graphics 9/10
The graphics with the Steam release are even better than mobile. The only thing I'd like to see improved is the resolution of the players and buildings on the field.

Controls 10/10
Work just like they did on mobile and it just....works.