Marvel Snap Collectible Card Game: Introduction, Gameplay, Closed Beta, Release Date, and More

From the former Hearthstone director Ben Brode and the team at Second Dinner development studio comes Marvel Snap, a new free-to-play digital card game based on the Marvel Universe. Since card games are our jam, we’re always excited to cover new ones! Here’s everything we know about the game so far, revealed from the official announcement and other gaming outlets.

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Introduction

The game is focused on small decks and quick games (3 minutes being the target), with a special bluffing mechanic we’ve not seen outside of more traditional card games such as poker. The initial reveal states that the launch set of cards will total about 150, not including special art variants (seem to be cosmetic skins only), and that new cards will be added monthly to keep the gameplay from getting stale.

The new Marvel Snap Reveal video of Ben and other Second Dinner developers such as Hamilton Chu (CEO) claim “The skill cap is really high, I think you can play Snap for thousands of hours and not feel like you’ve perfected it”. Monetization details have not been revealed, only a statement that it will be possible to obtain every card as a free player.

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Gameplay

So how does the game actually play? The Gameplay Walkthrough video introduces all the basic rules, and some card effects. Both players draw 3 cards from their 12-15 card decks (no duplicate cards) to start the game. The game then provides 3 randomised locations to battle for with your opponent, revealing the 2nd and 3rd on subsequent turns. Players simultaneously play character cards from their hands at a location, then reveal and resolve their play effects each round. As rounds progress, you draw 1 card and are allowed to play more powerful cards, similar to Hearthstone. The winner is the player with control of 2 of the 3 locations (via having more powerful heroes placed there) at the end of 6 rounds, unless one player forfeits sooner.

Unlike many online collectible card games, what sets Marvel Snap apart for me is the ability to raise the stakes mid-match. If you’re playing in ranked mode every game is a wager for points on their ladder system, but in Snap either player has the ability to up the ante once per game by doubling the stakes. As well, if the game reaches round 6 (the final round) without either player conceding, the stakes are doubled once more automatically. If you aren’t feeling confident in your chances, you have the ability to forfeit before the final round, and walk away only losing 1 ranked point, but if both players Snap and the game goes to round 6, one player will walk away with 8 of the other player’s points!

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Closed Beta

There is a Closed Beta taking sign-ups for players on Android devices, and promises of an “early access” PC version to coincide with the eventual mobile launch. As of this writing no official launch date has been confirmed.

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Card Gallery

There are over 150 cards in the first set with the initial release, from Marvel heroes to villains! Here are all the official card images and their cosmetic variants revealed so far:

This looks like an exciting and fast-paced game from an experienced card game designer, so I’ve already signed up for the beta and look forward to writing more about Snap soon!