David: Hearthstone

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I've been in the Hearthstone beta for a couple of weeks, and there hasn't been a day go by since that I haven't played a few hands. The game itself is enjoyable. Although I did purchase a deck of M:TG cards once, I never really played that game or any other CCG/TCG. That said, i'm enjoying the strategy where it exists, and cursing the luck (my bad/opponent's good) where it doesn't.

One thing has been bugging me, though. I don't find the game as fun as the standard action oriented titles I play, and yet I have barely touched any of those since I started in on Hearthstone. I was struggling to determine what the difference was, and of course it was leveling and progression.

As with any CCG, Heartstone is based on collecting and building decks out of a library of cards. Beyond a few basic class specific cards, the majority of the library is locked to a new player. New cards are unlocked by purchasing packs of 5 randoms. These packs are bought with real money (no thank you) or gold, the in-game currency. There are several ways to earn gold, but the most reliable way to earn a quick chunk is by doing a daily quest (playing as a certain class, winning a certain number of hands, etc.). So boom, you're playing once a day.

But it doesn't end there.

Every 3 games you win earns you 10 more gold. So if you completed your quest in 2 hands, you only need to win one more for that 10 gold bonus. Might as well play another hand.

Hey congratulations! You just won 3 hands in a row. Here's your 10 gold. By the way, did you notice that your character is leveling up and you only need about one more hand's worth of experience points to hit the next level? Then you'll unlock the golden version of one of your existing cards. Just one more hand. Promise.

Hey you leveled up! Way to go! You also moved up a rank with that hand! Aren't you just a little curious how tough the competition is at this rank? You are?! Play another hand then!

Wow! You're on a roll! This new rank is nothing to you, maybe you can burn through to the next one quick. Besides, you only need one more win to get to that next 10 gold bonus.

And so on, and so forth.

I see the strings, and yet I don't mind doing the dance.

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