Phew, finally, we made it back from the Shadow Realm. And sadly, it feels like the Yu-Gi-Oh CCG has gotten a bit stale for us. So, we’ve done a deep dive to find some of the other fantastic collectible card games the market has to offer. Some are video games, some are purely physical, and a select few are both. But, all of these are card games with a pretty big following and intensely complex mechanics. So, if you’re looking for another game to play that doesn’t need a duel-disk or all five parts of Exodia, then we’ve got you covered.
That being said, the surge of new online card games has created some stiff competition for Yu-Gi-Oh. Some of these games have gotten large enough followings to justify printing physical cards for retail purchase. These games could easily unseat Yu-Gi-Oh as the king of card games in the years to come.
Updated on May 25th, 2022 by Russ Boswell: There’s no denying that Yu-Gi-Oh stands proudly as one of the greatest TCG franchises ever created, thanks to its wide array of video games, movies, and spin-off shows that rose from the popularity of the base card game. That said, there have been tons of unique and interesting card-based releases that have hit store shelves in recent years, with many indie developers bringing engaging and entertaining card-type adventures into the digital space. To shine a better light on some of the best TCG-style games and card-based adventures that players can get their hands on, the following list has been updated. It now includes even more entries for games like Yu-Gi-Oh.
18
Voice Of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
Those looking for something with a bit more story substance with their card games will definitely enjoy Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars. The recent release (October 2021) is played from a tabletop perspective, giving players access to a semi-open world where they are free to choose their winding paths through the main storyline, while still having a solid amount of “side content” to sift through. The entire game itself is told through cards, with events, struggles, and combat elements all handled through the beautifully-designed rectangles that players can unlock and collect.
There is a lot of content to uncover in Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars, and it should appeal to those that love all things TCG-related.
17
Inscryption
There have been a lot of great card-based Indie games released in recent years but Inscryption stands out among them as one of the best experiences ever created. The unique title oozes style thanks to its heavily-inked drab-colored visuals and fantastical character designs. There is so much to enjoy just in the visuals, atmosphere, and overall look of Inscryption, but past that lies a truly entertaining game that blends together multiple genres to create a truly engrossing experience that will grip the player throughout its entire runtime.
Gamers will have to strategize, solve puzzles, and even engage in escape-room-like tactics to survive the ordeal.
16
Monster Train
Slay the Spire received a lot of positive attention thanks to its roguelike elements blended together with card-based, deck-building mechanics. The end result was a truly engrossing RPG-style turn-based battle system that gave players a lot of customization options and strategies for how to best tackle the difficult ladder of enemies and bosses found throughout the game. Monster Train takes a similar approach, giving players more control over a subset of units, abilities, and items, rather than one hero-like character.
Players will feel more like a mastermind in Monster Train, collecting units and mutations to create decks that can punish their foes. There is tons of content for players to sift through in Monster Train, thanks to a hefty series of updates from the developer.
15
Ratropolis
Ratropolis is an interesting combination of genres all rolled into one fun-filled experience. Developer Cassel Games did a wonderful job combining real-time strategy, tower defense, and deck building into this rat-themed realm.
The player is tasked with defending a city of rats from various enemies, all while building upon the city’s defenses using cards from their deck. With over 500 cards and relatively short playtimes, Ratropolis is an intense, ever-changing experience.
14
Legends of Runeterra
Legends of Runeterra is Riot Games’ own League of Legends-based card game and has grown a large following since its release in 2020. The game features familiar characters from League of Legends going head-to-head in an online battle arena.
The game is heavily based on strategy, as deciding when to play a powerful champion card can be the difference between victory and defeat. Long-time fans of League of Legends can easily gravitate towards Legends of Runeterra for a slower, but still competitive experience.
13
Hearthstone
First and foremost we’ve got to start things off with probably the biggest Digital CCG in recent memory, Hearthstone. This worldwide phenomenon developed by Blizzard is one of the largest games on Twitch and has some of the biggest tournaments/competitions in the E-sports scene. And yes, it is the game that was being shown off when Blizzard (rightfully) got into a bunch of trouble for their way of handling the whole Blitzchung situation. While the game has changed pretty drastically since the release, its constantly getting updates, new expansions, new game types, and new systems. So it’s a perfect game to check in on every once in a while.
12
Chroma
Chroma is a beautifully designed free-to-play digital card game. It allows the player to choose a hero and gradually build their deck over time, all while never having to actually pay for cards. There are four main factions in Chroma. Each hero corresponds to one of the factions, allowing for a variety of ability combos.
There is an in-game store that players can visit to buy cosmetic upgrades for their deck, but no purchases of actual cards occur, eliminating the pay-to-win aspect of most card games.
11
Digimon
Digimon fans have been waiting for decades for the release of a collectible card game that allows them to take control of their favorite digital monsters from the acclaimed television series. Recently, their wait came to an end with the official release of the first set of the new Digimon card game in North America.
Players evolve their Digimon and allow it to learn new abilities so they may power through their opponent’s defenses. Victory is claimed when one player runs out of Security Area cards and a knockout blow is delivered.
10
Magic: The Gathering And Its Digital Releases
Alright so we’ve talked about the biggest digital CCG, now it’s time to talk about the biggest physical version. The would-be, of course, Magic: The Gathering. This CCG series has been running since about 1993, and since then has become the premier card game for people to jump into if they love the hobby of CCGs. Magic was also most-likely the reason video game versions of card games even found any success, considering that either Magic Online in 2002 or Magic: Duels of The Planeswalkers in 2009 introduced millions of people to the game. People finally got to train against AI and build digital decks before having to commit to any big physical card purchases, which was a huge help for the hobby as a whole.
9
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
Let’s get meta and talk about a card game that was hidden inside of another video game. Big RPG’s have a habit of making neat little “bar games” just for their worlds, and we love it. Final Fantasy 8 had Triple Triad, the indie darling Shovel Knight just released their expansion that had a mini-game called Joust, and The Witcher 3 might as well be called The Witcher 3: Geralt’s Quest For Cards.
Gwent is the game introduced in TW: 3, and it’s a blast to play. It’s simple mechanically, yet deep strategically. It has different decks based on in-game factions, with each having multiple specialties and configurations, and it has fantastic art. Gwent became so big in fact, that CD Project Red made a standalone game for it, as well as the Thronebreaker expansion for it.