This is way more fun than it has any right to be. Go to card hunter.com and play old school hack and slash D&D with a neat card-based ability system. I dare you to not get instantly addicted.
It’s great, but later on the battles can get frustrating. Some melee enemies can kill your guys from full hp in one round and most fights feel unfair one way or another, especially if you are doing them the first time so you are going in blind. At least beta experience made me realize a dwarf warrior was too slow and an elf wizard too fragile, running an all-human team now.
On the other hand, when all you have alive is a 2 hp wizard and the enemy’s big boss has heavy armor card in hand and you win because the GM botches two dice rolls in a row, it can be a great feeling.
I played through the first few missions and rather enjoyed it, but I can definitely see that the makers are going to reeeeally want you to spend cash money to be able to afford the better gear so that you can beat the later missions.
You mean the developers want money for their game? That’s novel. 
It’s not really a value judgement about the developers, though I personally don’t like games that purport to be free but are actually frustration machines designed to goad you into paying money (Candy Crush being one of the prime culprits here).
I don’t know yet whether Cardhunter will fall into that category or not. From the descriptions above, though, it seems plausible.
A game like this cannot be free. Unless it’s being funded by some eccentric millionaire. I’m pretty sure the devs want to get paid.
So the question becomes not IF they are going to monetize it (because they have to), but how.
I do agree that some ways are better than others. Of course there is the DOTA way: pay only for purely cosmetic changes. This works if your user base is 10 million. Not so much otherwise.
I guess the model here is paying for cards, right? As though you were purchasing them at a store, booster packs etc.
I can see that being quite expensive, yeah.
You can do that, yes, but you can also unlock extra adventures and get different skins for your characters. And wasting your RL cash on chests doesn’t seem very efficient way of gearing up. I’ve seen a lot worse freemium systems than this one. My biggest gripe with it is the fact you can’t just toss a few bucks to the devs and get something nice - the smallest currency exchange option is for 10 USD.
Even if you spend cash and get extra stuff it gives you more options, not more raw power. If you don’t know what sort of equipment you need for the harder fights and your tactics suck, having all epics isn’t going to get you anywhere.
I really recommend this one for anybody even remotely interested in tactical fantasy combat, at least to try it out.
Wow I’m hooked! It’s cool that your equipment is tied to the type of cards you have available. It’s a deadly combination of card collecting AND loot collecting.
Looks interesting. Think I’ll give it a try.
From the FAQ
What will I have to pay?
You can play Card Hunter for free. However, if you wish, you can buy some stuff with real money. You can subscribe to become a member of the Card Hunter Club. This boosts your loot drops. You can buy treasure chests that contain loot and costumes for your characters. You can also buy some Treasure Hunt adventures which give you an epic quality item if you complete them.
Aren’t free to play games just designed to make you have to pay to win?
Some free to play games are designed that way, but our model is that we want to provide you a great free experience with the option of purchasing stuff if you like the game and want to enhance your experience. We are striving hard to make sure the game isn’t “pay to win”. With the exception of the Treasure Hunts and the costumes, you can access everything else in the game for free.
Hmmm, Android tablets support flash, right?
They really should have gone HTML5 with this thing, though.
Down for maintenance. Aiya! Looks like it will be cool once I can get it to load, though 
It warms my heart to see a thread on this game, since I’m one of the developers.
Yes, we would like to get paid for our work, but we very consciously made sure the game was not “pay to win.” There’s no pay-wall that prevents you from continuing at any point, and you can play through the entire campaign, and be competitive in multiplayer, without spending a dime. Spending money basically speeds up your progress (or gives you purely cosmetic figures), but there’s no loot that you can’t also get just by playing the game.
I’d be happy to field any questions you have, though my response time may be sporadic, as my Dope-time is somewhat limited.
Awesome! That’s the way the freemium model is supposed to work, imo. Thanks for doing this.
It’s a game developed by a long-term doper?
Sign me the fuck up for some premium content, then!
You are clearly a man of good taste and discrimination. I salute you!
This game kicks me right in the nostalgia bone. It reminds of of huddling over an old table with friends, rolling dice and casting magic missiles at evil gazebos.
I’ve been slowly devouring the PvE content and I’ve also read some other threads about the game where people complain its too hard and they never win, and I can see how the game is challenging to the point people with limited tactical skills are just going to be left on the beach … but for people like me who can finish the fights, the feeling of accomplishment when you see that Adventure Complete! unicorn is above and beyond what I usually can get from games. I don’t think of myself as one of those grumpy old hardcore players who think everything is too easy these days, but between all that easy stuff it’s very refreshing to play something that gleefully kicks you right in the d20s - sometimes because you screwed up, sometimes because your luck sucks and you didn’t manage to compensate enough. And sometimes you can still snatch a victory right from the jaws of defeat by kiting six zombies around the map for 25 turns with your sole remaining cleric, slowly killing them off with the few crappy attacks she has in her deck.
I just hope the payment model works for you guys. I did buy some pizza today after I realized I’ve probably played over 20 hours already. 
Got in tonight. Very very fun!
While I cast no aspersions on this game’s FTP implementation (I can’t comment as I haven’t tried it, while fully intending to do so as soon as I get home, it sounds ace - and with a doper on board I have more confidence in it)
Has anyone ever heard of any game’s FAQ saying:
Aren’t free to play games just designed to make you have to pay to win?
Yes, we intend to force you to continuously give us money. Each player will be given advantage according to the money they give us and we will harass those who don’t until they cough up. Our motto is: “If you can afford to eat this month, we haven’t pressured you enough”
Parthol, I gotta say…this game is the cat’s knees and the bee’s pajamas. Brings back so many memories of old-school D&D sessions fueled by soda, chips, and mild to moderate social anxiety disorder. Funny writing, fun graphics, and tons of strategic and tactical decisions. When’s the sequel?
I’m not sure whether it’s a statement on the PC gaming industry or just my own tastes changing that all I’m playing on my computer is this, T.O.M.E., and Keldon’s AI of Race for the Galaxy, all of which are free.