Highlights
- Card games have remained popular despite the rise of video games, with inventive games like Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon gaining traction.
- Developing a card game as a video game is less costly, leading to a rise in card games available for consoles like the Nintendo Switch.
- The Switch library of card games has quietly grown more impressive, with notable titles like Cultist Simulator and UNO offering unique gameplay experiences.
Card games have been played for centuries, so it's no surprise that they remain popular today despite the rise of video games over the past few decades. Traditional games like Poker and Solitaire are mainstays, but people have gotten even more inventive as time has gone on. Today, there are hundreds of different card games with complex rules and mechanics like Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, and Magic: The Gathering.
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Creating a new card game is incredibly labor-intensive and expensive, but developing one as a video game is significantly less costly. That's why there's been a rise in card games available for consoles like the Nintendo Switch in recent years, with some of them being among the best there are.
Updated November 26, 2023 by Stephen LaGioia: Card video games have maintained a sort of cult following since their inception — with their rewarding gameplay that can be tricky despite its simple exterior. Though with the rising prominence of mobile gaming and the Steam Deck gathering steam, which befits the genre, these types of games have been able to thrive more of late.
The portability and touch-screen features of these platforms prove a perfect fit for these virtual card games, adding to their appeal. And while it remains a fairly overlooked genre on Switch, several great ones have quietly been released for the hybrid console. Even absent hits like Hearthstone and The Witcher 3's Gwent (for now), the library has grown more impressive on this front.
17 Cultist Simulator: Initiate Edition
Metacritic Score: 64
Overlayed with a dark 1920s fantasy setting, Cultist Simulator brings a unique situational card game experience; and this extends beyond its themes. It interweaves detailed gameplay with a compelling narrative of gods, rituals, and dark lore shrouded in mystery.
It also uses a roguelike survival structure to add to its difficulty and keep gamers coming back for more. The game cleverly has the player chart their own path and assemble a plot depending on the cards they choose. There are many nuances, and the game has a learning curve that demands trial and error as players toy with ambiguous effect cards, but it's worth the investment.
The core experience of this Lovecraftian-themed card title offers plenty of alluring gameplay on its own. Yet the Initiate Edition also brings the first trio of DLCs, which yield new characters as well as added mechanics and endings.
16 Card Shark
Metacritic Score: 80
In Card Shark, players can take in the atmosphere and motif of 18th-century France as they master the art of deceit and sleight of hand. Veering from the typical card game formula (despite the usage of a standard card deck), the game rewards trickery and cheating to win games rather than skill.
Players will have to be discreet and get away with cheating while switching decks, flinging cards, false deals/shuffles, and other tactics, all while being victorious and remaining unnoticed. While this may sound intimidating, much of this boils down to memorization and hitting timed button prompts while one's avatar does the rest.
This is all fleshed out with some stylized graphics, fun story-telling, and steady progression to earn a seat at the King's Table.
15 UNO
Metacritic Score: 69
Long making a name for itself as a fun pastime among friends — and a great way to make enemies — UNO reminds gamers why it's so timeless with Ubisoft's "Ultimate" rendition on Switch. The game features the fun, familiar gameplay that makes UNO appealing, as players scramble to whittle down their deck by matching numbers and/or colors with three other players.
But to keep things fresh and interesting, a few new concepts are sprinkled into the mix, including new gameplay variants like unpredictable "UNO Flip", and new action cards like "Draw Five". There are even theme cards, most notably the Immortals Fenyx Rising deck, which comes via a quasi-story mode.
Players can choose to tinker with house rules, face-off online with added video chat, or go back to basics with Classic Play.
14 Shovel Knight: King Of Cards
Metacritic Score: 83
While some card games can flourish on their own merit, this prequel to the hit retro-style action romp Shovel Knight entices gamers with classic platforming stages as its core. Yacht Club Games delivers a fun narrative, colorful medieval themes, and a mesh of sidescrolling and card-battling gameplay to round out this eight-hour experience.
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The card portions, tagged "Joustus", bring a refreshing detour to the experience, as players can tinker with over 130 distinct cards and clash with various challengers to earn the title of champion.
The goal is to push out foes and occupy as many gem-holding spaces as possible. While the action-platforming and strategic card bouts couldn't seem more different at first, they share a commonality of overwhelming and out-muscling opponents to claim dominance on a shifting battlefield.
13 Iris And The Giant
Metacritic Score: N/A
A stylistic fusion of Roguelike, RPG, and card-battling traits, Iris and the Giant has become something of a hidden gem of 2020. The game was inspired by the designer Louis Rigaud's experience in making interactive papercraft books for children — as illustrated by the distinctly cute, colorful aesthetic.
The game runs with an adventure narrative wrought with thematic elements of depression and anxiety a la Celeste, though its card-based combat is more akin to Paper Mario: Color Splash. On the grid-laden battlefield, players can take out foes using things like bows and swords — as well as abilities such as thunder that wipes out each baddie of the same species.
Though it's a stretch to tag this fantasy trip as a card game in the strictest sense, Iris and the Giant similarly stresses the tactical use of one's deck to gain an edge in battle.
12 Roguebook
Metacritic Score: 66
Roguebook
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS4 , PS5 , Switch , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- June 6, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Abrakam Entertainment S.A.
- Genre(s)
- Strategy , Tactical
Roguebook is a roguelike deck-builder that is closely linked to another card game developed by Abrakam: Faeria. That experience in developing card games really shines through, and fans of the genre may be familiar with how well their first release played.
Beginners playing Roguebook might feel a little overwhelmed with how unforgiving the game can be from time to time but like most card games, it's just a matter of learning how to work with the game mechanics. The initial choice of which heroes to use alone makes a huge difference in how best to approach each challenge.
11 Yu-Gi-Oh Legacy Of The Duelist: Link Evolution
Metacritic Score: 79
Given its nature as a monster-fighting franchise and trading card game, the Pokemon-esque Yu-Gi-Oh would seem to make a fitting backdrop for a card-battler. And this 2016 spinoff from Other Ocean Interactive reinforces that notion. In Legacy of the Duelist, players can take on the role of over 90 characters and assemble custom decks from a whopping 10,000 cards representing their favorite Yu-Gi-Oh.
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Beyond the sheer selection and fun tactical gameplay, the studio crafts much around the card fighting to bring traditional game elements. These include a full narrative spanning much of the Yu-Gi-Oh timeline, an expansive campaign, and gripping online play.
10 Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
Metacritic Score: 82
- Standouts: Last Card, Blackjack, Texas Hold'em, Sevens
Even more than its Nintendo DS predecessor, this charming party game collection bombards players with a vast, diverse lineup of cards, sports, and other minigames, even a reworked take on the maddening board game Sorry!
While there are bound to be some duds for most who cycle through this compilation, even the most jaded gamers will likely find some enjoyable romps here. Clubhouse Games particularly excels when it comes to its card games, which make up roughly a third of the lineup. Titles include three versions of the classic Solitare, the highly fun online Poker, Blackjack, and others.
A standout is the underrated (four-player) Sevens — which has players scramble to empty their hand by dropping cards in sequential order by suit. With simple mechanics, intuitive touch controls, and snappy online play for many titles, this may be the best way to play traditional card games on Switch. This is especially true with the bigger, brighter OLED model screen, which proves solid for the game's tabletop offerings.
9 Monster Train: First Class
Metacritic Score: 85
Monster Train: First Class is a roguelike deck-builder that sees the player take control of the forces of evil, fighting against enemies who attempt to reach the end of the train. Players can use one of two types of cards, either to summon monsters or use special actions to put a stop to their opponents.
The game has solid combat mechanics and does a great job of putting players under pressure as they fight against wave after wave of enemies, allowing for hundreds of hours of entertainment.
8 Nowhere Prophet
Metacritic Score: 81
Nowhere Prophet presents an interesting take on the roguelike deck-building genre, with players controlling a prophet who leads a group of people around a hostile planet. Players expand their deck, gather more followers, and equip new gear as they travel through the planet Soma.
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The aim of the game is for the prophet to eventually find a haven for his followers — but doing so isn't straightforward and there are hours of content within that goal. Nowhere Prophet is visually appealing and has a unique soundtrack, but the core game itself is also very well-made.
7 Slay The Spire
Metacritic Score: 85
Slay The Spire is almost universally regarded by fans as one of the best deck-builders available, and for good reason. Thanks to the fact that it's a roguelike game, Slay The Spire is incredibly addictive and has virtually endless replay value.
As players keep attempting to climb the titular Spire, they unlock new cards and even new characters to use in future attempts. While all of this adds to the fun, the true genius of Slay The Spire lies in the combat mechanics and the events that players encounter on their journey.
6 Steamworld Quest: Hand Of Gilgamech
Metacritic Score: 81
The Steamworld series has been quickly gaining popularity since the release of its debut game, Steamworld Tower Defense. In 2019 the series changed direction slightly with the release of Steamworld Quest: Hand Of Gilgamech, a deck-building game with some RPG elements.
As with the other games in the series, the cool steampunk setting makes for some fantastic visuals. Although Steamworld Quest: Hand Of Gilgamech is pretty light as far as RPGs go, it more than makes up for that with solid combat where players collect punch cards to direct the attacks of their robots.
5 Voice Of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
Metacritic Score: 76
Voice Of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars looks and feels very much like a tabletop RPG, but with almost everything in the game functioning through the use of cards. It's actually one of the most underrated card games available, thanks largely to the deep story that players experience as they make their way through the game.
As an added bonus, if players find that they enjoy Voice Of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars then there's plenty more where that came from. Square Enix has also published two entertaining follow-up games, The Forsaken Maiden and The Beasts Of Burden.
4 Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales
Metacritic Score: 84
The Witcher 3 is one of the best-selling games of all time, and it remains one of the best third-party games available on Nintendo Switch too. One of the most interesting elements of The Witcher 3 was the in-universe card game that it introduced, Gwent.
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CD Projekt Red quickly realized how popular Gwent was among fans, and they developed standalone games for fans to continue enjoying the card game. Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is the single-player version of Gwent that has a lengthy campaign to keep fans of the universe engaged.
3 Griftlands
Metacritic Score: 84
Griftlands
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch , Xbox One , PlayStation 4 , Linux , Microsoft Windows , macOS
- Released
- July 11, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Klei Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- RPG , Indie Games , Adventure , Strategy
Griftlands is a sci-fi role-playing card game developed by Klei Entertainment, the same company behind Don't Starve and the ridiculously stressful management gameOxygen Not Included. Although the map stays the same in each run, Griftlands does have roguelike elements as the events and missions are all procedurally generated.
What sets Griftlands apart from other deck-builders is the fact that players are tasked with managing two decks at once. One deck of cards is used in combat, while a separate deck is used in negotiation.
2 Cardpocalypse
Metacritic Score: N/A
Cardpocalypse might seem more light-hearted than other modern card games available for Nintendo Switch, but it has surprisingly deep gameplay for players to enjoy. It's a game about a ten-year-old moving to a new school and enjoying the card game "Mega Mutant Power Pets" before it gets banned and things take a turn.
What makes Cardpocalypse unique is the level of customization and the fact that virtually everything is constantly changing. Players can upgrade their cards using stickers and the rules of the game change depending on who's in charge.
1 Monster Slayers
Metacritic Score: 86
Players create a hero to take on hordes of enemies in Monster Slayers, with all the combat coming in the form of card battles. There are 12 different classes to choose from, and they influence what deck the player will build during their run.
Monster Slayers is a roguelike game where everything is randomly generated for players, and each run allows players to unlock new abilities for future use. This structure allows players to sink dozens of hours into the game before they ever come close to seeing everything.
