A lot of fantasy card games use horror elements, but it’s perhaps Gwent which is the best suited for fans of the genre. The card game from CD Projekt Red which was first introduced in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features a full faction of monster cards for players to use. Within the set of cards, there are vampires, ghouls, werewolves and other iconic beasts. Gwent is still in its infancy but it is attracting a lot of players due to its strong themes and also some similarities with other popular card games.
Gwent is an online, free to play fantasy card game which pits one player against another. It is turn-based and runs over three rounds. To win a round, players need to get a higher value score than their opponents. The player who prevails in two of the three rounds wins the game. Part of the fun of the game is for players to create their own decks from one of the five factions available. Each of these faction represents a certain aspect of The Witcher world.
Horror fans would find the Monsters faction most interesting, where each of the creatures available has a unique ability which is appropriate to the genre. For instance, vampire cards can apply a bleeding effect to opposition units or even drain some of their value. Ghouls can consume units from the graveyard of discarded cards. The cards even look frightening, and the music which accompanies the faction is eerie and tense.
To make Gwent a well-balanced game, CD Projekt Red arguably took ideas from existing card games such as poker. And it’s also thanks to the familiarity with card games like poker that so many people have been attracted to playing Gwent. A lot of players play online poker at sites like Paddy Power, where there are regular tournaments. These people often fancy a change, though, and branch out to other games to improve their skillsets.
Like in poker, Gwent requires players to use bluffing and deception to get the better of their opponents. Building a strong deck is only part of the challenge, and second-guessing what your opponent is going to do poses another issue. Poker players enjoy the mathematical side of Gwent because essentially it is all about outvaluing your opponent. But players also need to assess whether it is worthwhile to lock or destroy certain engines and decide when the perfect time to use the unique leader ability is. Because there are so many different factors involved with the strategy, Gwent appeals to a wide range of card game players.
Horror fans may find games like Hearthstone a bit too childlike in the graphics and gameplay. Think of Gwent as being the adult version of the Blizzard Entertainment title. The CD Projekt Red offering is dark and gritty, and the monsters are realistic and scary. Gwent could be the ideal option for horror fans seeking a new card game.
