Hearthstone logo

What I’ve Been Playing: Hearthstone

Darcy Musings Leave a Comment

So what is Hearthstone?

Well to borrow heavily from the the Wikipedia entry, Hearthstone is “an online collectible card game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. It is free-to-play with optional purchases to acquire additional cards and access content quicker. The game was released on March 11, 2014 and is available on Microsoft Windows and OS X systems and on Windows 8, iOS and Android touchscreen devices. New content for the game involves the addition of new card sets and gameplay, taking the form of either expansion packs or single-player adventures that reward the player with collectible cards upon completion”

The tagline for Hearthstone:
Deceptively simple. Insanely fun.

Like other collectible card games before (see Magic: The Gathering), “Hearthstone revolves around matches that consist of one-versus-one battle between two opponents. Gameplay in Hearthstone is turn-based, with players taking turns to play cards from their hand, casting spells, equipping weapons, or summoning ‘minions’ to do battle on their behalf. Games may be between two players, or one human player and one computer-controlled opponent.”

Each player is represented by their chosen ‘hero’ who in turn who represents a particular class. The chosen class determines the special cards and unique hero power available to player for the match. Each hero starts with 30 Health – if that number is reduced to zero, the hero is destroyed, and the player owning that hero loses the match. There is a stable of 9 heroes to choose from. Players can choose to play using one of several pre-assembled ‘basic’ decks or a deck of their own making. While many cards are available to heroes of any class (the neutral cards), a substantial portion are limited to a specific class, giving each hero their own strengths and unique possibilities.

The Heroes of Hearthstone

Choose one of nine classes to annoy the hell out of your opponents.

In order of appearance,: Mage, Warrior, Warlock, Priest, Shaman, Hunter, Paladin, Rogue and Druid.

Blizzard Entertainment is the same developer/publisher who brought us games such as Warcraft, Starcraft, World of Warcraft and Heroes of the Storm. The game is easy to learn, difficult to master and as mentioned before, is playable on a number of devices. I’ve played a lot of games on mobile devices and I have to say that this one is by far the best one I’ve played. Blizzard does an amazing job of getting the experience the same between 30″, 10″ and 5″ screens.

Blizzard knows how to hook people with rewarding game play. Seven million people still pay $15/monthly to play World of Warcraft, an 11 year old game.

I first played it on a PC a few months ago and have to say that I was pretty impressed with the polish, user interfaces and subtleties that were found throughout the game. Blizzard knows exactly how to hook you but not in the typical pay-to-win type of game that is highly prevalent in the phone/tablet ecosystems.

I have to say that I’ve been playing pretty regularly over the past 2 months and think it’s quite accessible to most since they have a pretty good tutorial and you get to play against computer opponents at the beginning in order to teach you the basics and slowly build your cards that you can use. As of May 2015, there were 30 million registered Hearthstone accounts and in an articled posted in August of 2015, Venture Beat states that Blizzard is taking in about 20 million dollars a month from Hearthstone which is impressive as I know several people who have played it for quite some time and they haven’t spent a penny on it. Of course this doesn’t touch Candy Crush Saga‘s numbers of 1.5 billion in 2014 but I think this gaming experience is more rewarding. I highly recommend that you give it a try.

Check it out on Google Play or the Apples App store.

  • Download Hearthstone on Google Play
  • Download Hearthstone on the App Store!

Worthy Quotes

If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect.
Ted Turner
Don’t ever wrestle with a pig. You’ll both get dirty, but the pig will enjoy it.
Cale Yarborough
Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away
Benjamin Franklin
We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true.
Robert Wilensky
If the lessons of history teach us anything it is that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us.
Anonymous
He that lieth down with Dogs, shall rise up with Fleas.
Benjamin Franklin
Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.
Cullen Hightower
Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
Mark Twain
It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.
Benjamin Franklin
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Well done is better than well said.
Benjamin Franklin
A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.
Winston Churchill
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
Benjamin Franklin
To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.
Abraham Maslow
Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Benjamin Franklin
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.
Benjamin Franklin
Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.
Ovid
Poet (43 BCE - CE 17)
You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.
Wayne Gretzky
A Man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.
Benjamin Franklin
We learn something every day, and lots of times it’s that what we learned the day before was wrong.
Bill Vaughan
The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.
Mark Twain
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.
Benjamin Franklin
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
William Arthur Ward
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
Benjamin Franklin
There are lies, damned lies and statistics.
Mark Twain
I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.
Mark Twain
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.
Harry Truman
Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
Albert Einstein
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
Tis a great confidence in a friend to tell him your faults; greater to tell him his.
Benjamin Franklin
Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.
Erica Jong
Try a thing you haven’t done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time, to figure out whether you like it or not.
Virgil Garnett Thomson
Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.
Alfred A. Montapert
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
Mark Twain
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.
Native American Proverb
Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand.
Kurt Vonnegut
You can do anything, but not everything.
David Allen
Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
Benjamin Franklin
Never ruin an apology with an excuse.
Benjamin Franklin
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill
When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.
Benjamin Franklin
If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake.
Frank Wilczek
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill
Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five.
Benjamin Franklin
History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
Winston Churchill
We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!
Benjamin Franklin
If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.
Mark Twain
If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.
Mark Twain
The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.
Mark Twain
Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.
Mark Twain
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
Oscar Wilde
The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.
Mark Twain
When a person can no longer laugh at himself, it is time for others to laugh at him.
Thomas Szasz
Adam and Eve had an ideal marriage. He didn't have to hear about all the men she could have married, and she didn't have to hear about the way his mother cooked.
Kimberley Broyles
Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music.
Kristian Wilson
Nintendo, Inc, 1989
Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame.
Benjamin Franklin
Do, or do not. There is no 'try'.
Yoda
Jedi Master
There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.
Steven Wright
Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.
Groucho Marx
Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.
Will Rogers
History is written by the victors.
Winston Churchill
Well begun is half done.
Aristotle
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
Mark Twain
To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.
Jack Handey
Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today.
Benjamin Franklin
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
Plato
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.
Plato
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.
Mark Twain
I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception.
Groucho Marx
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
Albert Einstein
Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.
Franklin P. Jones
The measure of a life is not what that life accomplishes,but rather the impact that life has on others.
Jackie Robinson
People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.
Zig Ziglar
Once in a while you will stumble upon the truth but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened.
Winston Churchill
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Gandhi
The manager administers, The leader innovates. The manager maintains, the leader develops. The manager relies on systems, the leader relies on people. The manager counts on controls, the leader counts on trust. The manager does things right, the leader does the right thing.
Forbes Magazine
We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle
Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.
Benjamin Franklin
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost

Subscribe!


Instagram Feed

Share this Post