Card games have been popular for the longest time. Even with today’s current gaming landscape being largely focused on digital games, card games have proven to have dedicated communities. The benefits of playing digital card games primarily come down to the ability to play against anyone in the world, but there is a lot more to them.
What are the best card games for PC?
Here is a list of the ten best card games you can play on your PC, sorted alphabetically.
Related: The 10 best steampunk games worth playing
Cultist Simulator
Cultist Simulator is a surprisingly deep game. While the name may make you laugh at first, it offers a superb blend of card collecting and storytelling, crafting an emotional atmosphere. It explores how cults form and how people are manipulated to fall in line. It’s a cool experiment that breaks new ground in how it approaches its goal.
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
Gwent became a viral sensation when The Witcher 3 came out, and for a good reason — the game is highly addictive due to its battle system and the way you could find more cards through the game’s world. It only made sense for them to make a full-blown game of Gwent afterward, with the full game having even more cards to collect and unlock.
Hearthstone
Possibly the most popular game on this list, Hearthstone offers you so much to do and is incredibly accessible. The flow of the game is near-perfect, and Blizzard continues to release regular card updates and content. It all works so well together and creates one of the best card game experiences you could ever want.
Inscryption
Inscryption is a dark, creepy roguelite game with you facing off against Leshy, a dark cabin dweller. While you can do other things like solve escape room puzzles, the card game here is what has earned the most praise. You use cards to face off against the opponent, tipping some scales piled with teeth to be in your favor depending on your battle successes. If you lose too many times, your character will be captured and turned into a playable card that can appear in a later playthrough.
Legends of Runeterra
Like every significant series needs a card game spin-off, League of Legends is no different. It is a fairly complex game with plenty of cards that are divided into regions and come with their own unique effects. This kind of system allows players to create some very unique decks and to experiment with different abilities.
Magic: The Gathering Arena
If you’re looking to play arguably the greatest tabletop card game in history on your PC, then Arena is the best option to do that. It gives you much of the original game’s mechanics and systems, with some new animations and sounds to bring the whole experience to another level. There is no shortage of Magic fans and players, so the servers here are always filled with challengers.
Monster Train
Hell has frozen over, and you have been tasked with getting the last burning Pyre out of Hell as you battle with Heaven’s soldiers. The gameplay combines the elements of a rogue-like and a card game to create a deep and addicting game. As you clear areas, you decide which path to take your train and which bonuses you unlock as you progress. You can also work on your deck and on which cards you want to duplicate or upgrade.
Slay the Spire
Combining the worlds of a card game with a rogue-like, Slay the Spire has you trying to climb the tower. You will be sent back to the bottom if you die, and everything will be different when you return. It is a game perfect for experimentation as you pair different cards together, build unique decks, and try to make it to the end.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends
Inspired by games such as Hearthstone, Elder Scrolls: Legends brings its own twist to the gameplay by adding lanes to the map. The right lane can offer you a place to hide for a single turn, while the left lane has no effect. While it sounds like a small thing, it adds a new layer of decision-making to your turns.
Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel
The Yu-Gi-Oh card game has been heavily popular for a long time, but Master Duel is the one that truly elevates it in the gaming market. This free-to-play game features crossplay and cross-progression while giving you the chance to accumulate your favorite cards and decks as you work your way up the competitive ladder. It doesn’t rewrite anything, but the accessibility and ease of use here and on other platforms make it a recent favorite.
