I requested this game because I’m such a big Witcher fan. Actually, that’s not true. I’ve never played a Witcher video game. But I liked the concept of the card game, and my sister is a Witcher fan, so I thought it would be fun to play together and discuss, thus allowing for an evaluation from the perspective of someone familiar with it, and someone to whom it was completely new.
Gwent: The Legendary Card Game is a two-player (with options for multi-player) card game, adapted from the card game Gwent, which is featured in the Witcher franchise. Playtime is about 20 minutes.
Gameplay Overview:
A standard game of Gwent is played with one opponent facing off against another. Each player will choose a faction and a leader card with a special ability, then create a deck using that faction’s cards, or they can use a pre-set deck. A typical deck will contain about thirty cards, but it may include more, and each faction has a specific style of play, although the card selection does have some crossover.
Once players have assembled their decks, they draw ten cards to form their hand, potentially redrawing up to two. This hand of cards is all they will have for the entire game (some abilities do allow for additional cards to be drawn or played).
On their turn, a player can either play a card from their hand, activate their leader’s once-per-game ability, or pass. Once a player passes, they will play no more cards for that round, though their opponent may continue to play cards if they wish. Cards are played to three rows on the player board, depending on their type, and each card has a listed strength value. The goal is to have a higher strength value than your opponent at the end of the round. Some cards also have special abilities that can affect you and/or your opponent. A game lasts until one player has lost two rounds, at which point the other player immediately wins.
Game Experience:
The concept is pretty simple; you’re just trying for the highest value on your side of the board, but the heart of the game is in rationing your ten-card hand to see you through two or three rounds. This creates a very pleasant tension in the decision of what to play, when to play, and when to pass, as well as allowing for a bit of bluffing.
As someone coming to this having no history with the video game, good news! You don’t need to have played the video game to enjoy this. However, I do think prior experience with the game will give you a better grasp on the rules: they’re not complicated, but the rulebook is a little sparse. The writers either assumed everyone playing would already know how to play or didn’t want to scare off casual gamers with too much minutiae. The info is there, but it could have been a little clearer, maybe with some examples of gameplay.
What about those who have played Gwent in the video game? I do think being a fan of the Witcher games will endear this to you more. I enjoyed it, but my sister and her boyfriend liked it even more because they understood the source material. From what I understand, this is basically the same as the video game version, except that players will won’t have the computer doing the scoring for them anymore, so there’s a little more upkeep. The game also includes a separate booklet for other game modes, such as tournament rules for deck creation, which I think are probably the best rules in order to have a balanced game, as well as playing the game with more than two, and a solo variant.
The big topic people always talk about in games like this is whether it’s balanced. I will say that on the surface, some factions do feel stronger, particularly ones with a lot of cards that allow you to go through your deck and add more cards to the battlefield, which can be really powerful. But it’s possible we just weren’t seeing the best counter strategies. Often, I find that games are more balanced than initially supposed; it’s just a matter of becoming more familiar with the game. Maybe that’s the case here, though I’m not quite convinced.
What I really like about this game is the ten-card hand limit because it forces you to pace yourself. The decision of when to pass and save your cards for a future round, or when to push and take another turn, does a lot to elevate the experience. True, there is some luck in the cards you draw, and there were certainly games where I felt like the winner was decided from the start based on the hand they drew, but other playthroughs felt tight and uncertain up until the end. So there’s generally a good amount of tension and tough decision-making involved.
Final Thoughts:
Gwent: The Legendary Card Game is a bit luck-based; some factions felt more powerful than others… and yet, I had a lot of fun playing this. I keep coming back to that push and pull of pacing your cards. I loved that part of the game! And each game is so short that a bit of imbalance usually doesn’t bother me that much. It just made you want to reset and play again.
If you’re a Witcher fan, and especially if you enjoy playing Gwent in-game, then this is definitely a good fit for you. If you want a not too convoluted head-to-head card game with some wonderful tension- and you don’t mind a bit of luck and some seriously grotesque artwork- then this is also for you! If you’re looking for variety, depth, and tons of different combos to play, then maybe pass.
Final Rating: 3.5 Stars – An alluring, if not quite legendary, card game.
Hits:
• Really liked the forced limitations
• Not overly convoluted
• Plays quickly
Misses:
• Some factions felt unbalanced
• Might be too luck-dependent for some
