The best card games for players new to deck building

Dear Polygon,

While I like a good card game and deck building, I am not a great player. I’ve tried lots of games from SteamWorld QuestYou can find more information here Marvel SnapAlthough I do enjoy playing the cards, I find it difficult to predict what cards will be drawn and how I’ll set up my deck. So, I leave the game. Can I get the opposite side of this coin? Do I have to be disappointed? Thanks.

— Card Confused

I’m with you, Card Confused. I wouldn’t have described myself as someone who likes card games until I played Marvel SnapBut now, I’m there. But I’m still overwhelmed by deck building and planning out clever strategies in advance — but if I have a deck already made for me, I feel less intimidated by working out ideas. Would recommend. Marvel Snap if you hadn’t mentioned it. In order to avoid getting overwhelmed by all the cards, I found it helpful that cards gradually unlock. Could pick.

I don’t know how to change the way you feel about deck building, or how to make that easier for you, unfortunately — especially if Marvel Snap didn’t do the trick for you. But maybe you just haven’t found the right kind of card game yet to keep you interested. Card-taking seems to be a dying art.Based gaming is having a moment, and there are a bunch of card games that make the genre more approachable by adding different story elements and mechanics — it feels natural to experiment, too, without playing against actual humans.

Are you a player? Encryption? It was Polygon’s game of the year in 2021. It’s a puzzle game, a roguelike, an escape room, and a deck-building game. The game’s narrative unfolds as you’re learning how to play the card game, which could be a motivator to keep you playing. The deck-builder is intertwined with the escape room it’s placed in, and is only one part of the game’s twisting story (though if you love it, there’s an expansion that lets you play the card portion over and over). There are a lot of layers to pick apart, like Polygon’s Cass Marshall said: “Encryption is a game about games, centered around a narrative with as many layers as a Russian nesting doll.”

I’d also recommend Signs that the Sojourner is HereA game in which the cards serve as an intermediary for human conversation. You take the cards you’re dealt, using them to make friends (and enemies) through conversation. Each card has to match (or not) the “tone” of a conversation. The deck you choose to interact will alter as your choices change. This can affect the quality of the connections you have with other people. It’s absolutely not a traditional card game, and that’s its big strength.

Ich möchte auch anrufen StacklandsThe game of constructing a village using only cards is called. The board is used to combine cards, creating a village. You start with three cards with resources, but as the game goes on, you’ll get a bunch more cards — like fruit bushes, new material types, and even weapons and armor — that enable more complex stacks. This allows you to experiment with different combinations of cards. You could even put two cards together, and see what happens.

There are two more games that are more complex, but don’t lock you into one specific deck: GriftlandsAnd Take down the Spire. GriftlandsIts story is what makes it stand out. This sci-fi Western RPG lets you play one of three roles. You build two decks (combat or negotiation), and then fight and cajole your way around the town. There are RPG elements that balance deck building. You have the option to add NPC friends or pets to your team, as well as item cards which heal and add buffs. You can also add NPC friends, and even pets to your crew while Take down the Spire has some of the most challenging deck building of the bunch, it’s one of the most versatile. Because it’s a roguelike, you’re never locked into a strategy for too long, which means trying wilder builds (think HadesIt is possible to quickly improve your game by learning the basics.

That said, both of these last two games feel less approachable than the others I mentioned here, which may not be what you’re looking for. That’s not to say that the games I named above are simple — they’re all complex in different ways, but make for more approachable deck building.