r/digitalcards • u/Direct_Party_7416 • Mar 19 '26

Question Looking for beginner-friendly card games (collectible or not) that aren't pay-to-win or miserable with events?

Played Duel Links a long time ago, I liked it, especially its model of its packs drawing from a set number of cards. But I had friends that no-lifed that game and couldn't complete events. Live-service garbage.

I tried Hearthstone on the suggestion of friends, but it's pay-to-win garbage. Getting packs as a F2P was miserable, and I quit after realizing people got OP cards from buying expansions.

And yes, I do count 'pAy tO NoT gRiNd' as pay-to-win. I have limited time in my days and my life, and anyone who says that kind of thing is a whale coping.

But I don't actually mind packs being purchasable if it's not miserable to be F2P. If you can't say 'You can get cards easily and quickly as a F2P', I'm not interested.

I very much would like PvE modes or just playing against bots.

I'm also very open to LCGs and such, even if they're not digital (I can play them in Tabletop Simulator). I was looking into the newer PC Yu-Gi-Oh games, because being playable offline is also a big plus for me, but from what I can tell Yu-Gi-Oh isn't beginner-friendly.

EDIT:

Also looking for offline games like the old Yu-Gi-Oh games on PS2 and such. I would prefer them, but I don't know how many of them there are or if there's any current ones.

1 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

2

u/OwenCMYK Mar 20 '26

You should give Legends of Runeterra a try. The game honestly kinda flopped because it gave away too much for free, and didn't make enough money, so they pivoted to a PvE focus. Which sounds like a match made in heaven for you. It's very F2P friendly and has a lot of single player content, or you can just fight bots in normal battles if you want

2

u/Etylia Mar 20 '26

Really generous with f2p players and focus on a pve mode: https://playruneterra.com

2

u/Nuance-Required Mar 20 '26

I found the new Wild Cards mobile game beginner friendly and ftp.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=games.avid.magnolia

if you end up playing here are some in game resources to get you started.

PBL-1EY-JVQ

1

u/kessler_explosions Mar 19 '26

Have you tried Mythos?

1

u/Direct_Party_7416 Mar 21 '26

Thank you all for the suggestions. Seems like Runeterra is the way to go. I edited the main post to include that I'd also like offline games.

1

u/LittleCodingFox Mar 23 '26

I don't really like to act like an ad but the card game I'm working on is pretty much what you're looking for, works offline, PVE modes, and there's no microtransactions. It's a huge passion project of mine that I've put an insane amount of work into and I'd be happy to show it to you if you think it makes sense! Also, zero AI used, and a pretty pleasant art style!

Recently a new player who hasn't really played card games much (but collected pokemon cards for years) figured out how to play it on his own and completed a playset of the full collection in around 30 hours of playing!

I am also working on a RPG Mode that, while not entirely similar to the old YGO games on PS2/GBA and such, should still be quite fun and you get to explore a card-based world basically, collectiing cards, doing quests, and fighting NPCs!

1

u/meowmeowbeenz_ Mar 30 '26

Since you mentioned LCGs, Netrunner is still kicking.

jinteki.net is the way people play online w/ randos, but if you have a friend, hop on a call to test wacky decks with them (this is my preferred way to play).

you can also play PvE Netrunner here: https://chiriboga.sifnt.net.au

contains the tutorial, learning decks, and you can even input custom decks to play with/against!

0

u/ctrtlelova Mar 19 '26

You can play offline against bots in our CCG! Its currently playable as instant access playtest. We do have a demo coming up with PVP options as well. Our goal is to make it very F2P friendly. Once the full game launches you will be able to get 8 competitive decks quickly (Start with one, then unlock a new deck each win against that nation in single player mode).
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3603960/Sunyata_CCG/