I Got Addicted To HEARTHSTONE In 72 Hours And You Can Too!

There are so many factors that should have kept this from happening. I'm not one for "freemium" games, I've never so much as approached a game made by Blizzard in my lifetime, and if you asked me my opinion on "online card games" four days ago I would've said, "Meh." Despite all that I thought to be true about myself, I tried out Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft to finally see what all the hype was about.

Holy shit.

Now 72 hours later I've logged a crazy number of hours, have two custom decks, and a miserable win to loss record, but I love it. I ALSO WANT TO SPEND MONEY ON IT. For the record, I've never spent money on a "free" game. I never purchased poker chips on World Series of Poker on Xbox 360, I played with my one free character on Killer Instinct and promptly uninstalled, and I used the same basic account on Runescape for three years. This is a big step for me.

So what made me change the core of my being? Can a freemium game really be that good? Is it right for you? I'm here to answer all those questions the best I can, or until I feel the urge to login and do the daily challenge. Here's how you can get addicted to Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft and be okay with it!

It's Deceptively Easy To Learn

Like I mentioned earlier, Hearthstone is a card game. I've been told it plays similarly to Magic: The Gathering, but I've never played it so I can't confirm or deny. The basic rules go as follows.

• Each player has 30 health and starts the game with one Mana. Mana is used to summon fighters, spells, and traps.
• Your overall Mana increases by one every turn and the objective is to destroy your opponent through use of attack by monsters and spells.
• Some monsters attack, some can be used defensively as a shield, some do both. MOST OF THE TIME, if you have a shielded character on the board, you cannot be directly attacked by your enemy.

That's the basic nuts and bolts of the game, and the tutorial does a great job of laying out the basics. It takes a few games to really start to see the ways you can manipulate cards and really do some damage. Your level of play will increase dramatically from game one to game ten, and that won't take long!

Quick To Play And Action Packed

I hate card games that drag on forever. Hearthstone takes about 10-15 minutes a game on average. I'd wager to say that I rarely have a game go beyond 12 turns before completion, and that's not at all a bad game. The right cards and moment can turn an opponent who's seemingly on the ropes and near death to a comeback kid in an instant.

It's a game that pushes big counters and epic moments constantly, and never really leaves you waiting for something to happen. Some may gripe about cards ruining the consistency of play, but more often than not we call that crowd "sore losers".

Try...And Try...And Try...Before You Buy

Let it be known here and now that you can play Hearthstone and never spend a cent with no penalty whatsoever. Every three wins nets you ten gold, and daily challenges award you varying amounts upon completion. Card packs can be purchased with 100 gold, or winners can enter the arena for 150 and walk out with more epic prizes.

Maybe you grind for hours only to receive a pack that has absolutely no valuable Mage cards. While that sucks, Blizzard remedies this by allowing you to break down cards from classes you don't use to make cards you need for your current class. You also...

• Don't have a time penalty between games
• Aren't prodded every five minutes reminding you that you can purchase things
• Can play 72 hours and not spend a dime without getting bored

So If I Don't HAVE To Spend Money, Why Am I?

I spent absolutely nothing downloading this game. I played it constantly looking for that ceiling where I had to spend. It was refreshing when I realized I had the full game, and I could then purchase legitimate expansions or cards if I wanted to. That's an awesome feeling. That's a feeling that takes the "freemium" out of a free game in my eyes. This is what freemium needs to return to. That is why you need to check it out. So for real, all you guys should download it and hit me up on Battle.net under Micknasty.