The mobile gaming market has had many evolutions over the last two decades or so. From the earliest days of playing Snake on Nokia flip phones, to playing watered-down versions of God of War and Prince of Persia on Java phones, to the advent of touch-screen casual gaming with Cut the Rope and Candy Crush, the mobile gaming industry has worn many faces, and its continued growth has led it to become one of the biggest gaming markets of the modern day, with a new viral hit every few months. The latest mobile viral hit may have just landed, taking the form of Marvel Snap.
Released to the public a few weeks ago, Marvel Snap is a mobile card game that sees players collect different characters from every corner of the Marvel universe, and use them to battle with other players. While mobile card games are all over the market nowadays, Marvel Snap manages to tower above its competition thanks to a few key factors, all of which combine to make the game an accessible, addictive title that may just end up being the next viral mobile hit.
Marvel Snap's Keys to Success
Marvel Snap is currently making the rounds on social media, and a big reason behind its success is its high level of accessibility. It's often the case with mobile card games that players can get overwhelmed with all the game's different rules and restrictions, with tutorials often bombarding the player with every piece of information they'll ever need to play the game straight away. Marvel Snap has a refreshing approach to its tutorial, instead choosing to take its time, and gradually introduce its mechanics to players over the course of a few matches.
On the surface, Marvel Snap is an incredibly simple game. Players get a deck of iconic Marvel characters, and draw a few cards at the start of a match. Each card has a specific energy cost to play, and has a certain power level. The board has three locations that open up during the course of a match, which usually has six turns. Players play their cards to a specific location, and their specified power level is then added to that location, on their side of the board. The player with the most power at two or more locations wins the match. It's all pretty simple stuff, and Marvel Snap introduces these mechanics in an intuitive and streamlined way.
However, peeling away the surface reveals that Marvel Snap can actually be quite complex, requiring some real strategy. Many of the game's cards have special abilities, such as granting cards around it +1 power, or increasing the card's power when the opponent has more cards at that location. Marvel Snap encourages players to use these abilities, along with the location's special trait, to gain an edge over their opponent. This is all introduced to the player gradually, with more complex cards being unlocked further through the game, once the player has a handle on the basic mechanics.
Marvel Snap's high level of accessibility gets players in the door, and its subtle complexities keep them playing long after that first match. Another element that really sets Marvel Snap apart is the game's lack of predatory microtransactions, which is a big reason why it's getting so much recognition. In free-to-play card games, especially mobile ones, players are often able to buy the best cards in the game right off the bat. Marvel Snap takes a different approach, earning its revenue mostly through cosmetics and unique card variants. While players can purchase some cards using real cash, they won't give them a sizable advantage in the game, keeping Marvel Snap a fair and balanced experience.
Marvel Snap is available now for Mobile and PC.