Lightseekers has definitely gotten the most mileage of my favorite games, mainly because there's an app on my phone. I can challenge James to a duel while I'm putting the baby to bed! The heart of why it's probably my favorite for the year goes back to all the cycles I go through playing collectible card games. Last year I was all about Shadowverse. Early this year, Hearthstone. But there's a fatal flaw with these games - they move too fast for me to keep up with each season and meta of competitive play. “Prime dragon keeper was sooo two updates ago…and that priest deck? Well! You might as well call yourself a noob and be done with it!” With digital CCGs, it feels worse (for me) to sink money into digital booster packs and have nothing tangible to show for it; and to be competitive you better sink real money into the starter decks and tons of boosters or you don't stand even a shred of a chance...



With Lightseekers it's all different. The frantic pacing of new expansion packs isn't there, because they are paired with the releases of the physical game. The app is generous with random chests containing cards, in-game currency, and flair. I haven't spent real money on the app yet (besides my physical collection) and my favorite deck to play is a mythic hero I randomly received in a chest. As for the competitive scene, ranked play seems more relaxed. I can take my silly deck to ranked and see someone else's silly deck, because there’s a large variety of mid-tier functional decks and strategies. This is unlike other mobile card games where there's only the top tier, expensive decks or you don't play ranked. Oh. And my favorite? They've added missions and campaigns to help you get more chests and more loot. I play those more than against real people. They're like little puzzles to pick at, rotating out cards, perfecting your deck until you beat the boss. It's great.



I haven't even gotten to the best part. It's quick and incredibly easy to learn! Honestly, I could teach it to you in under 5 minutes and play through a game with you in less than 20. Even though the art is sweet and whimsicle there's real strategy to it. If you download it, stop in and ask me for my player tag. We'll be friends. It'll be fun.